Taking strong exception to Kerala’s reported “unilateral” action in ordering real time monitoring of Mullaperiyar Dam along with the Centre without Tamil Nadu’s consent, the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, today slammed it as a “blatant violation” of the principle of federalism and constitutional framework.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, she referred to reports of Kerala deciding “unilaterally” to install real time monitoring system for water build up, calling it yet another attempt to exacerbate fears in Kerala about its safety.

Making it clear that it would not compromise on its rights on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue, the AIADMK Government in Tamil Nadu has alleged that it is a victim of the Centre’s “persistent indifference” and accused Kerala of whipping up “mass fear and insecurity” over the row.

“The attempts on the part of Kerala to whip up mass fear and insecurity through false propaganda have been the primary cause of these (recent violent) incidents,” Governor, Mr K. Rosaiah, said in his customary address to the first session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly this year.

Interview with Ramaswamy R. Iyer, former Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources. THE controversy over the Mullaperiyar dam has acquired emotional overtones, with both Kerala and Tamil Nadu adopting intractable positions on the future of the dam. Is there a middle ground? In this interview, Ramaswamy R. Iyer, a well-known expert on inter-State water disputes, offers a sensible way out of the imbroglio.

The State Government has expressed its favourable disposition to the idea of a ‘joint control' of the proposed new dam at Mullaperiyar.

But it could not have been more happy and relieved to learn that the ‘new dam in place of the century-old' should have found wide acceptance, according to the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy.
EXTRA MILE

The Centre has decided to keep “in abeyance” constitution of an expert panel by the National Management Disaster Authority (NDMA) to prepare a contingency plan for the Mullaperiyar Dam in the backdrop of strong opposition from Tamil Nadu.

A communication to this effect has been received by the State Public Works Department, a senior PWD official said.

NDMA’s decision to form an expert panel to prepare a contingency plan has been “kept in abeyance” till the Supreme Court appointed Empowered Committee completed its work, he said.

The Centre would spare no effort to find a solution to the Mullaperiyar Dam row between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the Defence Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, said here today.

“The Centre’s efforts to find an amicable solution to the vexed issue have not been fruitful so far. But that does not mean the Government will lose heart and abandon efforts in that direction,” he told reporters here.

The Kerala Government today reiterated its willingness for bilateral discussions with Tamil Nadu or a dialogue through the Centre to resolve the vexed Mullaperiyar dam issue but insisted that it would not compromise on the demand for a new dam.

“Kerala is ready for bilateral talks with Tamil Nadu or a dialogue through the Centre to solve the issue. We are equally committed to provide the same quantity of water to Tamil Nadu as it is getting now,” the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said here while speaking at a seminar on ‘Mullaperiyar — the way forward’.

In a bid to defuse a volatile situation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the Kerala government to create a conducive atmosphere for speedy resolution of the Mullaiperiyar Dam issue following which chief minister Oommen Chandy appealed to protesters in the state to call off their agitation.
The chief minister’s appeal came after an all party delegation led by him and Leader of Opposition VS Achuthanandan met Prime Minister seeking his immediate intervention in persuading Tamil Nadu to settle the issue.

Voicing Kerala’s readiness to walk the extra mile to resolve the Mullaperiyar Dam row, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, has said that he is even willing to enter into a tripartite agreement and enact a law assuring Tamil Nadu that it will get “same quantity” of water from the new dam.

However, he made it clear that the state cannot wait “too long’’.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court has refused to entertain the plea of the Tamil Nadu government to pass a gag order against Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy and his colleagues from making any public statements on the Mullaperiyar dam. It also did not entertain Kerala government’s plea seeking direction to reduce the water level in the dam from 136 feet to 120 feet.