Periyar vaigai irrigation farmers to protest over including Kerala officials in Mullaiperiyar panel

In response, the union government has now constituted a new supervisory committee under the National Dam Safety Act, 2021.
Mullaiperiyar dam
Mullaiperiyar dam Photo | Express
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THENI: Members of the Periyar Vaigai Irrigation Farmers Association have threatened to stage a protest at Kumuli on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border on 25 January against the inclusion of Kerala officials in a new panel formed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to oversee safety matters concerning the Mullaiperiyar dam.

This comes in the wake of the union government constituting a seven-member panel, chaired by the head of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), to oversee all safety issues related to the dam.

In a statement, association coordinator S Anvar Balasingam, also known as Pennycuick, said the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition related to the dam on 8 January, had questioned why there was no national-level committee to supervise safety matters. In response, the union government has now constituted a new supervisory committee under the National Dam Safety Act, 2021. The panel will be chaired by NDSA chairman Anil Jain.

Members of the panel include Tamil Nadu’s additional chief secretary (water resources) Manivasan, chairman of the Cauvery technical committee Subramani, Kerala’s additional chief secretary Vishwas, Kerala’s minor irrigation department chief engineer, an official from the Indian Institute of Science and Research, Bangalore, and a member from the disaster management authority, Pennycuick said.

He condemned the formation of the new committee, which includes officials from Kerala, claiming that officials from the minor irrigation and forest department of Kerala had previously prevented Tamil Nadu PWD officials from carrying out maintenance work on the dam. He argued that including Kerala officials in the new committee would only encourage further interference in maintenance work. “Moreover, Tamil Nadu’s rights to the Mullaiperiyar dam are based on a 999-year settlement. Tamil Nadu pays the Kerala government for the use of water for irrigation, so there is no need to include Kerala officials in the committee,” he said.

Speaking to TNIE, an official from the Tamil Nadu PWD stated that the Mullaiperiyar dam had been brought under the Dam Safety Act, 2021, on 20 November 2024, and its safety, maintenance, and inspection were previously overseen by the central water commission’s supervisory panel. The NDSA chairman will directly address the issue, and officials from Kerala are only members, which will not create hindrances, he added.

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