Supreme Court directive for panel meet

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 15. The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to ensure that the expert committee set up to examine the repairs to the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala meets within four weeks from today.

The court directed that Tamil Nadu and Kerala ensure the presence of their members at the meeting of the committee. The committee was appointed by the Centre in June this year pursuant to an earlier directive of the apex court to representatives from the Centre and the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The committee could not meet earlier as Kerala nominated its representative only a few days ago.

Two related petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu Government and the Janata Party president, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, seeking a direction to increase the height of the Mullaperiyar dam from 136 ft to 152 ft were before the court.

During the resumed hearing of the petitions today, the Solicitor General, Mr. Harish Salve, submitted to the three-judge Bench comprising the Chief Justice, Dr. A. S. Anand, Mr. Justice Santosh N. Hegde and Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, that the Centre was keen on sorting out the matter between the two States, provided they cooperated with the Centre.

When the Solicitor General told the court that till recently Kerala had not nominated its member to the committee, counsel for the Kerala Government informed the court that the State had now nominated its member and that he would attend the future meetings.

The Bench then made it clear to the Solicitor General that the Centre must ensure that the meeting of the committee was convened and its members from Tamil Nadu and Kerala attended it. The Bench directed that the committee submit its report to the court within three weeks after the meeting took place.

In April this year, the court had observed that it might be more fruitful if both the States engaged in talks in the presence of a third party, viz., the Centre. In response to this, the Centre submitted to the court that it would persuade the two Governments to hold further talks in the presence of the Union Minister for Water Resources with a view to reaching an amicable solution to the Mullaperiyar dam issue. Thereafter a committee was set up to see the repairs to the dam.

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Section  : Southern States
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