There is no new conflict between the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar dam issue, chairman of the high-power committee (HPC) on Mullaperiyar appointed by the Supreme Court Gulshan Raj has said.
Talking to mediapersons after visiting the dam at Kumily on Tuesday, he said there was no need for anxiety on the security of the dam. The committee members hoped that there would be a positive response from the Kerala government with the proposal to strengthen the baby dam.
The Kerala government had not given permission to fell the trees close to the dam to take up the construction works.
This was in addition to the proposal pending with the Kerala government for drawing power lines to bring electricity to the dam area.
Mr. Singh said the delay in construction works was due to the location of the dam inside the forest and permission was required from various departments. He said that security steps, including setting up of CCTV cameras, in the dam would be put in place soon.
Road repair sought
The members representing Tamil Nadu requested the committee to take steps to repair the Mullaperiyar-Vallakadavu road which was destroyed in the 2018 floods and electrification of the dam. The committee said that permission of the Forest and Environment Ministry was needed for road repair works and drawing power lines.
The team comprising Mr. Singh, Kerala representative B. Ashokan and Tamil Nadu representative K. Manivasan reached the dam area by boat through Thekkady. The visit was after a gap of eight months and the team inspected the main dam and the baby dam.
