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Our Bureau Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to go ahead with the legislation on dam safety till the State’s genuine concerns are addressed and a consensus is evolved among all States.
In a letter to Modi, the Chief Minister also urged him to instruct the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to withdraw the Dam Safety Bill, 2018 introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 12.
Earlier letter
In a letter written on June 15, Palaniswami had urged Modi not to legislate an Act on Dam Safety till all the States are consulted and consensus is evolved.
The Resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on June 6, expressing concerns of the people of Tamil Nadu on the proposed Dam Safety Bill was also sent to the Centre. However, a Bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha without considering views/comments of the State governments, Palaniswami said.
The Bill specifies that where the specified dam in one State is owned by another State, then the National Dam Safety Authority would act as the State Dam Safety Organisation for that particular dam. This implies that the dam owning State will have no rights over safety and maintenance of the dam located in another State.
Dams in Kerala
Mullaperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu and Peruvaripallam dams are owned, operated and maintained by the Tamil Nadu government by virtue of Inter State Agreements but are located in neighbouring Kerala. Further, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the rights of Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam in a ruling on May 7, 2014.
To deny Tamil Nadu the right to be the Dam Safety Authority to these four dams and vesting the powers to the National Dam Safety Authority will tantamount to encroaching on the rights of Tamil Nadu, which is unconstitutional.
It is also a violation of the federal principles enshrined in the Constitution, the letter said.
“I request, that the clause should be suitably amended to ensure that the Dam Safety Organisation of a State should have jurisdiction over the dams owned, controlled, operated and maintained by it even though they are located in another State,” it added.
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