Mullaperiyar: SC to pronounce verdict on pleas on Friday, Centre tells court that chairman of Oversight Committee need not be replaced

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on pleas related to Mullaperiyar Dam on Friday. Though Kerala had demanded that the Central Water Commission chairman be made the oversight committee chairman, the Centre opposed it. The Centre is of the view that the present Chairman of the Oversight Committee need not be replaced.

The Supreme Court had yesterday ruled that the legal powers of the National Dam Safety Authority in the Mullaperiyar case would be temporarily transferred to the oversight committee. The Central Government had informed the court that it needed one more year to make the authority fully operational. In this case, the powers are temporarily transferred to the oversight committee. The court ruled that the oversight committee would be strengthened to include each member from both states. The Central Government has also agreed to reorganize the committee. Each committee will include representatives from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.