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`Elephant herds and tigers will be happier'

D. Murali

On February 27, the apex court passed its verdict in Mullaperiyar Environmental Protection Forum vs Union of India case. Accordingly, Tamil Nadu State Government was permitted to proceed with strengthening of the Mullaperiyar dam, as suggested by the Central Water Commission (CWC), and also raise the level of water to 142 ft. And the State of Kerala was directed not to cause any obstruction to such work.

The dam in question is more than a century old, and is surrounded by high hills on all sides. And the main question before Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, and Justices C.K. Thakker and P.K. Balasubramanyan of the Supreme Court was about the safety of the dam if the water level were raised beyond its present level of 136 ft.

HISTORY

Here is a snatch of history from the text of the judgment: "An agreement dated October 29, 1886 was entered into between the Maharaja of Travancore and the Secretary of State for India in Council whereunder about 8,000 acres of land was leased for execution and preservation of irrigation works called `Periyar Project'. In pursuance of the said agreement, a water reservoir was constructed across Periyar River during 1887-1895. It is known as Mullaperiyar Dam consisting of main dam, baby dam and other ancillary works."

Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of the masonry dam is 152 ft; and `irrigation benefit in Tamil Nadu' is 68,558 ha (169408.68 acres). "In the past, reservoir was filled up to full level of 152 ft." One learns that there was leakage in the gallery of the dam that affected its security and, therefore, the water level was stopped at 136 ft in 1979.

"After thorough study and considering all aspects, the CWC felt that certain steps were required to be taken immediately and both the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala ought to cooperate." On taking those steps, water could be allowed to be filled up to 142 ft, the CWC had said.

However, Kerala Government objected to raising water level above 136 ft. It said that the life of the dam was 50 years from the date of construction, and since that period was over, the dam had served its useful life. It was, therefore, dangerous to raise water level beyond 136 ft, said Kerala State. If something happened to the dam, serious consequences could ensue and "three adjoining districts could be completely wiped out and destroyed," feared Kerala. Another reason cited was the occurrence of frequent tremors in that area.

`UNHOLY HASTE'

Kerala had averred that the CWC could not be considered the highest technical body in the country for giving technical advice; and that the decision taken by CWC without consultation of State of Kerala was not binding on the State. Among the many questions raised by the Forum was one about the legality of the agreement between the Maharaja of Travancore and the Governor General. The Forum said that the agreement was entered into in `unholy haste' and that the Maharaja was forced to accept it.

The judgment also speaks about the possible impact of raising water level on the area available to wildlife in the Periyar sanctuary, spread over 777 square km.

T.N. PLEA

Tamil Nadu State had contended that the submergence of land due to raising of water level from 136 ft to the designated FRL 152 ft would cover only 11.2 sq km; and that the percentage of area that gets submerged is only 1.44 per cent of the total area. Tamil Nadu asserted that the raising of water level would only improve, and not affect, wildlife habitat.

On this the court noted, "Elephant herds and the tigers will be happier when the water level slowly rises to touch the forest line. In nature, all birds and animals love water spread and exhibit their exuberant pleasure with heavy rains filling the reservoir resulting in lot of greenery and ecological environment around."

On the safety aspect in raising the water level to 142 ft, the court found the apprehensions to be baseless, in view of the various reports that have examined the safety angle in depth, including the viewpoint of earthquake resistance.

"In fact, the reports suggest an obstructionist attitude on the part of State of Kerala," observed the court.

E&OE@TheHindu.co.in

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