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Kerala Assembly passes resolution unanimously
The Kerala Assembly at a specially held one-day session on Friday unanimously passed a resolution calling for Central intervention for the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-year-old structure and for keeping the reservoir level at a safe 120 feet down from the presently permitted 136 feet till a new dam was constructed.
Moving the resolution in the House, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the only solution to the Mullaperiyar issue was construction of a new dam. Such a dam should be constructed keeping in mind the question of the safety of several lakhs of people living in four downstream districts, Chandy said.
The resolution said that Kerala’s approach was “safety for State and water for Tamil Nadu” and that the neghbouring State would continue to get water from the reservoir at the present measure even if a new dam was constructed. Tamil Nadu is drawing the entire water of the Mullaperiyar reservoir on the basis of an 1886 lease agreement which would be valid for 999 years.
Replying to the discussions on the resolution in which 13 members representing various parties participated, the Chief Minister said that the Government would respect the sentiments of the House and work accordingly. He summed up the House’s sentiment saying that Kerala should work to achieve its goal with unity.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan, who participated in the discussion, said Advocate General KP Dandapani’s statement that a breach in the Mullaperiyar dam might not cause a huge disaster as the Idukki dam downstream could contain the entire water of that reservoir had shaken the very foundations of Kerala’s argument in the issue.
Even while declaring full support to the call of the resolution moved by the Chief Minister, Deputy leader of Opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the Congress-led UDF Government had failed in effectively dealing with the Mullaperiyar situation. He said the entire responsibility for the skirmishes on the inter-state border earlier this week was with the Government.
The special Assembly session also witnessed some drama when Water Resources Minister PJ Joseph declared his readiness to observe fast till death if the Centre did not take measures to decommission all outdated dams in the country. However, the Minister apologised for his statement after the Speaker said the House should not be used for such speeches.
The relations between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which had been at loggerheads over the dam issue for the last several years, worsened after several low-intensity tremors hit the Mullaperiyar dam area inside Kerala territory on November 18 causing escalation of fears among people living downstream.
The panic further intensified a weak later following recurrence of tremors with epicenter just a few kilometers off the dam base. Following this, Kerala re-invoked its earlier demand for a new dam and lowering of water level in the reservoir while Tamil Nadu refused to listen saying this was part of Kerala’s strategy to deprive it of Mullaperiyar water.
Meanwhile, reports from Idukki district said that arrival of vegetables and other essentials from Tamil Nadu through border check-posts was yet to resume. The movement of trucks from Tamil Nadu to Kerala had stopped earlier in the week following tension on the border which forced the authorities to clamp prohibition orders in three areas.
Traders in central Kerala, however, said that the situation had not caused any huge shortage or notable price rise as vegetables had been coming from Karnataka in abundance. “If the farmers of Tamil Nadu decide not to send vegetables into Kerala, it will be their loss. We have alternate sources now,” said Thomas, a trader in Thodupuzha, Idukki.
The Kerala Assembly at a specially held one-day session on Friday unanimously passed a resolution calling for Central intervention for the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-year-old structure and for keeping the reservoir level at a safe 120 feet down from the presently permitted 136 feet till a new dam was constructed.
Moving the resolution in the House, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the only solution to the Mullaperiyar issue was construction of a new dam. Such a dam should be constructed keeping in mind the question of the safety of several lakhs of people living in four downstream districts, Chandy said.
The resolution said that Kerala’s approach was “safety for State and water for Tamil Nadu” and that the neghbouring State would continue to get water from the reservoir at the present measure even if a new dam was constructed. Tamil Nadu is drawing the entire water of the Mullaperiyar reservoir on the basis of an 1886 lease agreement which would be valid for 999 years.
Replying to the discussions on the resolution in which 13 members representing various parties participated, the Chief Minister said that the Government would respect the sentiments of the House and work accordingly. He summed up the House’s sentiment saying that Kerala should work to achieve its goal with unity.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan, who participated in the discussion, said Advocate General KP Dandapani’s statement that a breach in the Mullaperiyar dam might not cause a huge disaster as the Idukki dam downstream could contain the entire water of that reservoir had shaken the very foundations of Kerala’s argument in the issue.
Even while declaring full support to the call of the resolution moved by the Chief Minister, Deputy leader of Opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the Congress-led UDF Government had failed in effectively dealing with the Mullaperiyar situation. He said the entire responsibility for the skirmishes on the inter-state border earlier this week was with the Government.
The special Assembly session also witnessed some drama when Water Resources Minister PJ Joseph declared his readiness to observe fast till death if the Centre did not take measures to decommission all outdated dams in the country. However, the Minister apologised for his statement after the Speaker said the House should not be used for such speeches.
The relations between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which had been at loggerheads over the dam issue for the last several years, worsened after several low-intensity tremors hit the Mullaperiyar dam area inside Kerala territory on November 18 causing escalation of fears among people living downstream.
The panic further intensified a weak later following recurrence of tremors with epicenter just a few kilometers off the dam base. Following this, Kerala re-invoked its earlier demand for a new dam and lowering of water level in the reservoir while Tamil Nadu refused to listen saying this was part of Kerala’s strategy to deprive it of Mullaperiyar water.
Meanwhile, reports from Idukki district said that arrival of vegetables and other essentials from Tamil Nadu through border check-posts was yet to resume. The movement of trucks from Tamil Nadu to Kerala had stopped earlier in the week following tension on the border which forced the authorities to clamp prohibition orders in three areas.
Traders in central Kerala, however, said that the situation had not caused any huge shortage or notable price rise as vegetables had been coming from Karnataka in abundance. “If the farmers of Tamil Nadu decide not to send vegetables into Kerala, it will be their loss. We have alternate sources now,” said Thomas, a trader in Thodupuzha, Idukki.
