Date:24/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/24/stories/2008022459620600.htm

New Delhi

Kerala for political settlement of Mullaperiyar issue

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Kerala Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran said on Saturday that the Mullaperiyar dam issue should be resolved through a dialogue with Tamil Nadu rather than in court.

The matter has been listed for hearing on February 26 and the Kerala government has submitted a set of 34 documents in court. “The Tamil Nadu government should settle the matter out of court by accepting the demand for construction of a new dam. We are all for a political settlement of the issue,” he told journalists here on Saturday.

Tamil Nadu has proposed an increase in the dam height, which is being opposed by Kerala citing safety concerns over the 111-year-old dam and the population downstream.

Mr. Premachandran said the Tamil Nadu government had suggested that seepage from the dam could be measured by a third agency such as the Central Water Commission. Kerala’s response was that the measurement would not help in ascertaining the dam safety.

He said a report of an expert committee set up by Kerala had said that “actual seepage cannot be measured.” It is either from beneath the structure, or the joints, and cannot be measured.