The Mullaperiyar dam has been the bone of rivalry between Tamil Nadu and Kerala for an extended time. Browse here to grasp the history of the 126 years previous dam. The Supreme Court’s direction recently to the supervisory committee for the Mullaperiyar dam regarding the difficulty of the water level has revived the conflict encompassing the dam.
The order was issued while hearing a petition raising apprehensions regarding the superintendence of water levels of the reservoir, particularly throughout the season and as Kerala has conjointly been experiencing remarkably serious spells of rain.
During Oct 18-25 2021, the dam also received a considerable influx. Despite the Court’s nod in 2014 to store water up to 142 linear units, Tamil Nadu has been careful in drawing the maximum amount of water as potential in order that the amount doesn’t reach the permissible level usually. So, let’s move ahead to understand everything regarding Mullaperiyar Dam UPSC.
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Mullaperiyar Dam History
The Mullaperiyar Dam is on the stream Periyar and its tributary, the Mullayar within the state of Kerala, therefore the consolidation Mulla-Periyar. It’s situated 881 m (2,890 ft) higher than the mean water level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki district of Kerala, India. It was created between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick, once a land Government set to divert the water eastward to service the farmers within the Madras presidency (present-day Tamil Nadu).
Pennycuick planned the stream interlocking to bring barren and rain-starved areas underneath cultivation. The road from Cumbom to Kumily, currently a part of the Kollam-Theni national main road, was created for bullock carts to manoeuvre equipment to the dam website.
The first tram was additionally created there, which was later shifted to Munnar. An agreement between the Pandya kings who dominated Madurai and also the erstwhile Travancore kingdom was signed for water sharing, which is currently a bone of contention between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Madras presidency under British rule explored the Periyar because the Kingdom of Madurai was facing an acute shortage of water with drought taking a toll on people and cows. This was added to the loss suffered by the farm sector. The ruler of the poultry State at the start objected to the water-diversion theme because it was feared that the dam would have an effect on water flow and movement of products and other people through the Periyar to the sea.
On twenty-nine October 1886, a lease indenture for 999 years was created between the maharaja of Travancore and also the British Secretary of State for India for Periyar Irrigation Works. The lease indenture granted full right, power, and liberty to the Secretary of State for India to construct, build, and perform on the chartered land.
After independence and state reorganization, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were born, and also the Kerala authorities declared that the earlier agreement that had been signed between British rule and Travancore was invalid and required to be revived. After many failed attempts to renew the agreement in 1958, 1960, and 1969, the agreement was revived in 1970 once C Achutha Menon was Kerala’s, Chief Minister.
According to the revived agreement, the tax per acre was accumulated and for the electricity generated in Lower Camp using Mullaperiyar water, the charge was ₹12 per kW per hour. The Tamil Nadu State uses the water and also the land. The government of the state has been paying the Kerala government. This is for the past fifty years tax annually for the full land and additional as a surcharge for the full quantity of electricity generated.
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Mullaperiyar Dam Issues
Kerala has discovered the unfairness of the 1886 lease agreement and has challenged its validity. However, the danger exposed by the 126-year-old dam to the protection of the individuals of Kerala in the event of a dam collapse has been the main focus of disputes since 2009. Kerala’s proposal for decommissioning the dam and constructing a brand new one has been challenged by Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has blamed Kerala for delaying the completion of the rule curve for the dam.
The rule curve in a very dam decides the unsteady storage levels in a very reservoir. The gate opening schedule of a dam relies on the rule curve. It’s a part of the “core safety” mechanism in a very dam.
The rule curve level is fastened to avoid the emergency gap of dam shutters just in case of a flood-like state of affairs. It helps in controlling the water level within the dam throughout peak monsoon.
Kerala has created consistent efforts to impede Tamil Nadu from operating the dam as Tamil Nadu isn’t able to access information that’s in Kerala’s terrain. There’s no road designed, the ability provided has not been rehabilitated though Tamil Nadu has acquired it. Kerala has suspected Tamil Nadu of adopting an “obsolete” gate operation schedule chemical analysis back to 1939.
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Mullaperiyar Dam – UPSC Notes
Now, let’s have a look at the verdict of the Supreme court on this issue.
#. 2006: SC by its call by a three-member division bench, providing the storage level to be raised to 142 feet (43 m) unfinished completion of the projected strengthening measures, provision of different extra vents, and implementation of different suggestions.
Kerala didn’t object to giving water to the province. Their main reason for objection is the dam’s safety because it is as recent as one hundred ten years (in 2006). Increasing the amount would add a lot of pressure to be handled by the already leaky dam.
Tamil Nadu needs the 2006 order of the Supreme court to be enforced to extend the water level to 142 feet (43 m).
Kerala State government enacted the Kerala Irrigation and conservation (Amendment) Act in 2006. It was framed and enacted to confirm the security of all ‘endangered’ dams within the complete state.
#. 2010: The Supreme Court set to represent a five-member authorized committee beneath Justice A. S Anand to review all the problems of Mullaperiyar Dam and ask for a report from it within six months.
The committee said that the dam is “structurally, hydrologically safe”, and the province will raise the water level from 136 to 142 feet when closing repairs.
#. 2014: Supreme Court of the Republic of India declared the Kerala Irrigation and conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006 as unconstitutional and allowed the province to boost the water level from 136 feet to 142 feet and conjointly formed a permanent higher-up Committee to require care of the difficulties regarding the dam.
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Conclusion
Well, we hope that you have fetched all the mandatory information regarding your UPSC exam preparation from this article. You must go through more such articles to perform well in the UPSC exam. So, visit the UPSC Pathshala website.
