Mullaperiyar international expert committee: Tamil Nadu opposes Kerala's demand

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court to reject Kerala's demand to conduct a security inspection in Mullaperiyar by involving international experts.

Kerala is standing in the way of dam-strengthening measures. Goods and machinery are not allowed to be taken there. The dam is safe. Kerala's need for repeated security checks will not last. Kerala should be instructed to cooperate with reinforcement measures after which meaningful security checks can be carried out. This is Tamil Nadu's stand. Tamil Nadu's reply said that it is only an imagination that the Idukki dam will be in trouble if Mullaperiyar collapsed.

Tamil Nadu said that there is no need to bring experts from abroad when there are experts in the country. A safety inspection once in five years is sufficient in Mullaperiyar. Accordingly, it is sufficient to complete the inspection by December 30, 2026.

Kerala has submitted an affidavit according to the report of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health that Mullaperiyar is one of the six oldest dams in the world. Four of the six dams are in the process of decommissioning. More than 11,000 people died when two dams collapsed in Libya in September. In a report in the New York Times on September 17, Mullaperiyar is one of the dams under such threat. Kerala informed that the news expressing the concern about the old dams had also appeared in Business Standard. However, Tamil Nadu argues that Kerala's attempt is to mislead the Supreme Court.