The State Government has cancelled the controversial order allowing Tamil Nadu to cut 15 trees and clear the undergrowth near the baby dam at Mullaperiyar to commence civic work to strengthen the ageing barrier.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition had alleged that the “dubious order” had served the interests of Tamil Nadu and imperilled that of Kerala in the interstate Mullaperiyar dam dispute.
A buttressed baby dam would bolster Tamil Nadu’s case in the Supreme Court to raise the water level at the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar barrier to a “dangerous” 152 feet.
It would also undermine Kerala’s case for a new dam at “seismically unstable” Mullaperiyar, thus condemning nearly 40 lakh people living downstream to a perpetual state of worry and fear about the barrier's health.
The Congress also said the order issued by Chief Wildlife Warden (CCW) Bennichen Thomas had undermined Kerala’s position in the Supreme Court that Tamil Nadu required Central clearance to fell trees in the Periyar Tiger Reserve(PTR).
A top government source told The Hindu that the Cabinet had suspended Mr. Thomas immediately pending an inquiry.
CS to probe
It has tasked Chief Secretary (CS) V.P. Joy to investigate the circumstances that led to the promulgation of the order that ran against the grain of Kerala’s stance on Mullaperiyar and identify the officials responsible for the faux pas.
The administration pointed out that the business rules insisted that officials submit issues concerning interstate relations before the Cabinet. The order had no legal sanctity because Tamil Nadu had not submitted the mandatory clearances required for felling trees inside PTR.
Major embarrassment
The CWW’s order had come as a major embarrassment for the Government. Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran had told the Assembly that it had caught the Government unawares.
Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said his Ministry was not a party to the order or the process that preceded it, including a Kerala-Tamil Nadu joint inspection of the baby dam in September.
Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan saw a plot to undermine Kerala’s interest and blamed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He also demanded a judicial inquiry and said the LDF Government had sacrificed Kerala’s interests at the altar of political expedience, the CPI(M) being a DMK ally.
