The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea by a resident of Idukki district of Kerala to lower the water level of Mullaperiyar dam to 130 feet saying there is a danger of earthquakes and floods in the area as monsoon progresses in the State.
The Tamil Nadu government, however, countered before a three-judge Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar that the plea has become infructuous and Mr. Joy has a similar petition pending in the court since 2018.
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“Two years have passed and a similar matter is pending since 2018”, advocate G. Umapathy submitted.
Advocate Wills Mathews, for Mr. Joy, said six districts in the State were under the threat of floods and earthquakes.
Pleas tagged
The Bench finally tagged the new plea along with the 2018 one and agreed to hear them on August 24.
In early August 2018, on Mr. Joy’s plea, the court agreed with the conclusion of the disaster management sub-committee that the water level in the reservoir should be maintained two or three feet below the permissible limit of 142 feet till August 31 as an immediate precaution to guard against floods or other disasters.
The sub-committee had met on an urgent basis in the aftermath of the deluge that ravaged Kerala where the dam is located. It informed the court that the water level in the reservoir was 139.998 feet.
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Mr. Joy approached the court in 2018 during the heights of the flood situation in Kerala. He highlighted the perils faced by the people living downstream Mullaperiyar dam on the Periyar basin. He said there was lack of coordination, no disaster management plan and people were living in constant fear of flash floods.
Tamil Nadu had termed his petition a “clever device” to circumvent the 2014 judgment of the court that fixed the permissible water limit at 142 feet. The verdict also saw the setting up of a supervisory committee for the Mullaperiyar dam.
The court, however, proceeded to allay the apprehensions of Tamil Nadu, saying it would only go into the disaster management aspect and none other.
