Tamil Nadu forms panel to pre-empt disaster at Mullaperiyar dam

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has set up a ten member sub-committee led by the public works department secretary to maintain high level of preparedness to pre-empt a disaster involving Mullaperiyar dam. This is to comply with a Supreme Court order delivered earlier this year. The Kerala government has already constituted its own panel as per the order.
An order issued by Tamil Nadu revenue and disaster management department recently announced constitution of the committee under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.The Theni collector (in whose jurisdiction the dam falls) is the vice chairman of the committee, while others are heads of revenue, water resources, police, forest, health services and fire and rescue services in the respective district. Executive engineer of water resources department, Periyar dam special division, Cumbum, is the convener.
“We will convene meetings and chalk out the action plan and be prepared to avert any kind of risk or disaster. The committee will be headquartered in Theni,” collector M Pallavi Baldev told TOI. Despite persistent efforts of TN government to restore power supply to the dam, disconnected in 2000, Kerala is yet to accord permission.
The Supreme Court endorsed the safety of the dam in May 2014 after its own empowered committee led by Justice A S Anand certified that the dam was safe in all parameters - hydrologically, seismically and structurally - following intensive study by a handful of country’s premier institutions.
“The dam is being periodically inspected by the court-appointed committees and it has been found safe to raise the storage to 142ft. Thrice in the last five years it touched this mark. Now the state is duty-bound to follow the apex court order and set up the disaster management panel,” a senior PWD official said. It is the fourth committee set up for the dam’s safety.
In 2014, the court constituted a supervisory committee led by Central Water Commission chief engineer (dam safety) to supervise the restoration of full reservoir level of 142ft and keep a close watch on its safety. It is assisted by a five-member subcommittee of engineers from the Centre and states.
Following the SC order in January, the Centre set up a ten-member sub-committee led by secretary of ministry of water resources, with members drawn from various agencies and states to ensure high level of preparedness. While passing an order in January last, the court, however, made it clear that the exclusive sub-committees for disaster management for the Mullaperiyar dam did not anyway remotely suggest that there was any doubt about the safety or life span of the dam.