Kerala cites quakes, elections for delaying reply

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 12. The Supreme Court today granted six weeks time to the Kerala Government to file its response to the report of the expert committee set up to study the safety aspect of the Mullaiperiyar dam and raising the water level in the Mullaiperiyar reservoir.

A bench comprising the Chief Justice Dr. A.S. Anand and Mr. Justice R.C. Lahoti, while granting time to Kerala, recorded the statement of the Solicitor General, Mr. Harish Salve, that the next meeting of the expert committee was scheduled to take place on January 22.

During the last hearing on November 17, the court had directed the Centre and Tamil Nadu and Kerala to file their responses to the interim report of the expert committee set up by the Centre on the directions of the Apex Court on petitions filed by the Janata Party president, Dr. Subramanian Swamy and the Tamil Nadu Government seeking the raising of the water level of the dam from 136 ft to 152 ft.

Today, the court was informed that while the Centre and Tamil Nadu had filed their replies, Kerala had not. The senior counsel for Kerala, Mr. Rajeev Dhawan, told the court that two earthquakes had rocked Kerala, one in December last and another this month. The State Government had to technically examine the implications of these earthquakes on the safety of the dam.

Also, elections were due in Kerala in May and the Chief Minister would not be able to take a view on this issue in the next three or four months, he said and sought time to file the State's response. The bench, while adjourning the case by six weeks, said in the meantime Kerala should file its response.

In its response, Tamil Nadu said the expert committee had recommended strengthening measures for the Baby dam and Kerala should give permission to execute them in the interest of the safety of the Mullaiperiyar dam. The Committee which also considered the dissenting note of Kerala opined that the points raised by Kerala ``are neither feasible nor well founded''.

The Tamil Nadu Government said that the Committee also went through the stress calculation for Baby dam submitted by Kerala and observed that ``the value for earthquake co-efficient assumed is more than that recommended by the National Committee on seismic design parameters on Periyar dam''.

The committee had stated that the water level in the reservoir could be raised once the remedial measures suggested were completed. The Tamil Nadu Government was of the view that all these exercises would be futile if Kerala persisted with the attitude of non-cooperation and attempted to delay the entire proceedings one way or the other.

Tamil Nadu prayed for directions to the Centre and Kerala to allow it to raise the storage upto 145 ft in the first stage and allow the Tamil Nadu Government to complete the remaining strengthening works of Baby dam.

Swamy's charge

Our Special Correspondent reports from Chennai:

The Janata Party president, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, condemned the Tamil Nadu Government's decision to get the hearing in the case adjourned by six weeks, that too when it had two months since the last hearing.

In a statement, Dr. Swamy said ``it clearly confirms my charge made earlier that the DMK Government, for some unholy reason, is colluding with the Kerala Government on the issue.''

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