A STUDY ON THE MULLAPERIYAR DAM
CONTROVERSY
Introduction
Mullaperiyar Dam
The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on
the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala
It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom
Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India.
The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir.
The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and
maintained by the neighbouring state Tamil Nadu under a period of lease. The
Periyar river which flows westward of kerala into the Arabian sea was diverted eastwards
to flow towards the Bay of Bengal to provide water to the arid rain shadow
region of Madurai in Madras Presidency which was in dire need of a greater
supply of water than the small Vaigai River could provide
For Tamil Nadu, the Mullaperiyar dam and
the diverted Periyar waters act as a lifeline for Theni, Madurai, Sivaganga and
Ramnad districts, providing water for irrigation and drinking, and also for
generation of power in Lower Periyar Power Station. Tamil Nadu has insisted on
exercising its unfettered rights to control the dam and its waters, based on the
1886 lease agreement. Kerala has pointed out the unfairness in the 1886 lease
agreement and has challenged its validity. However, safety concerns posed by
the 119-year old dam to the safety of the people of Kerala in the event of a
dam collapse, have been the focus of disputes from 2009 onwards. Kerala's
proposal for decommissioning the dam and constructing a new one has been
challenged by Tamil Nadu.
Need and Significance Of The Study
Mullaperiyar
Dam has been in the newspaper columns recently.It has raised some serious
issues which is everthreatening the two states Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the people living there. If an
earthquake causes the dam to collapse, it can threaten the lives of 3.5 million
people downstream. The issue needs to be looked at as a national problem, not
as a dispute between two states.In this scenario an analysis of the issue is
necessary and so the study is significant.
Statement
Of The Problem
In
1979,there were few minor earthquakes experienced in the regions surrounding
the dam following which safety concerns were raised over the dam. Since then,
both States Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads with each other on
the issue. Thus the present study is entitled as “A Study On The Mullaperiyar
Dam Controversy”.
Objectives
Of The Study
The
present study is an attempt :
i.
To understand about the history of Mullaperiyar dam.
ii.
To analyze the problems related to dam
iii.
To evaluate the interstate dispute
between Kerala and Tamil Nadu regarding the dam.
Methodology
Methodology is a
system of method used for the study. Here I used reference method to carry out
this study and for that I collected information from secondary sources like
books, journals, articles, newspapers and internet.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis
of the study is set that the present Mullaperiyar dam
crisis should by all means seen as a
national issue rather than an issue between two states.
Limitations
The study, as obvious, has a number of limitations.
The major limitation of the study was time constraint.
History
The unique idea
of harnessing the westward flowing water of the Periyar river and diverting it
to the eastward flowing Vaigai river was first explored in 1789 by Pradani
Muthirulappa Pillai, a minister of the Ramnad King Muthuramalinga
Sethupathy.The first attempt at damming the Periyaar with an earthen dam in
1850 was given up due to demands for higher wages by the labour citing
unhealthy living conditions. The proposal was resubmitted a number of times and
in 1862, Captain J. G. Ryves, M.E., carried out a study and submitted proposals
in 1867 for another earthwork dam, 62 feet high. The matter was debated by the
Madras Government and the matter further delayed by the terrible famine of
1876-77. Finally, in 1882, the construction of the dam was approved and Major John Pennycuick, M.E., placed in
charge to prepare a revised project and estimate which was approved in 1884 by
his superiors.
On 29 October 1886, a lease indenture for 999 years was made
between the Maharaja of Travancore, Visakham
Thirunal Rama Varma and the British
Secretary of State for India for Periyar Irrigation Works.
The lease agreement was signed by Dewan of Travancore V Ram
Iyengar and State Secretary of Madras State J C Hannington. This lease was made after 24 years
negotiation between the Maharaja and the British.
In May 1887, construction of the dam
began. As per "The Military
Engineer in India" Vol II by Sandes (1935), the dam was constructed from
lime stone and "surkhi" (burnt brick powder and a mixture of sugar
and calcium oxide ). The
Periyar project, as it was then known, was widely considered well into the 20th
Century as "one of the most extraordinary feats of engineering ever
performed by man". A large
amount of manual labour was involved and worker mortality from malaria was high. It was claimed that had it
not been for "the medicinal effects of the native spirit called arrack, the dam
might never have been finished". 483
people died of diseases during the construction of this dam and were buried
on-site in a cemetery just north of the dam.In 2012, it was announced that a
memorial dedicated to dam engineer Pennycuick would be erected at the dam site.
Dam Safety
After the 1979 Morvi
Dam failure which killed up
to 15,000 people, safety concerns
of the aging Mullaperiyar dam's and alleged leaks and cracks in the structure
were raised by the Kerala Government. A
Kerala government institution, Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, had reported that the
structure would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 6 on the Richter
scale. The dam was also inspected by the Chairman, CWC (Central Water Commission).
On the orders of the CWC, the Tamil Nadu government lowered the storage level
from 152 feet to 142.2 feet then to 136 feet, conducted safety repairs and
strengthened the dam. Current safety concerns hinge around several issues.
Since the dam was constructed using stone rubble masonry with lime mortar
grouting following prevailing 19th century construction techniques that have
now become archaic, seepage and leaks from the dam have caused concern. Moreover, the dam is situated in a
seismically active zone. An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale
occurred on 7 June 1988 with maximum damage in Nedumkandam and Kallar (within
20 km of the dam). Consequently several tremors have occurred in the area
in recent times. These could be reservoir-induced seismicity, requiring further
studies according to experts.
Interstate
Dispute
The control and safety of the dam and the validity and
fairness of the lease agreement have been points of dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states. Supreme court judgment came in 27 February 2006, allowing Tamil Nadu to raise the level of the dam to 152 ft (46 m)
after strengthening it. Responding to it, Mullaperiyar dam was declared an
'endangered' scheduled dam by the Kerala Government under the disputed Kerala
Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006. Section 62A of the Act provides for
listing in the schedule, "details of the dams which are endangered on
account of their age, degeneration, degradation, structural or other
impediments as are specified". The Act empowers Kerala Dam Safety Authority (Authority specified in the Act) to
oversee safety of dams in the State and sec 62(e) empowers the Authority to
direct the custodian (of a dam) "to suspend the functioning of any dam, to
decommission any dam or restrict the functioning of any dam if public safety or
threat to human life or property, so require". The Authority can conduct
periodical inspection of any dam listed in the schedule.
In
pursuance of Kerala's dam safety law declaring Mullaperiyar dam as an
endangered dam, in September 2009, the Ministry of Environment and Forests of
Government of India granted environmental clearance to Kerala for conducting
survey for new dam downstream.Tamil Nadu approached Supreme Court for a stay order
against the clearance; however, the plea was rejected. Consequently, the survey
was started in October 2009.
Findings Of The Study
The major indings of the
study are as follows:
Ø Mullaperiyar
dam was declared as an endangered dam by the Kerala Govt because of its
damages.
Ø TamilNadu
made objections that the dam has no damages.This is the main cause of the
interstate dispute.
Ø Kerala
has objection in the lease agreement of 1886.
Suggestions
Ø Mullaperiyar
dam crisis should by all means seen as a national issue rather than an issue
between
two states.
Ø The politicians need to
think of the best, most secure option in order to
relieve their people of the tension about the Mullaperiyar dam.
Ø The investigating
committee should make a clear and suitable
study to solve the dispute.
Ø Lives of people are more
important than development.
Conclusion
The
Mullaperiyar dam has been a bone of contention between the Tamil Nadu and
Kerala governments.From the above analysis we can conclude that the control and safety of the dam and the validity and
fairness of the lease agreement have been points of dispute
between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states. The Kerala Government states that it does
not object to giving water to Tamil Nadu, their main cause of objection being
the dam's safety as it is 116 years old. Increasing the level would add more
pressure to be handled by already leaking dam. Tamil Nadu wants the 2006 order
of Supreme court be implemented so as to increase the water level to 142 feet
(43 m) to irrigate large tracts in the state.What we see here is a microcosm of
the bigger problem that India faces with China, which is building dams on
Brahmaputra.
Reference
Ø Social
Science Text Book Std X
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