- History and Cause of Dispute– A lease agreement was signed between the Maharaja of Travancore and the Secretary of State for India for Periyar irrigation works in 1886. – Apart from 8000 acres of land, 155ft above the Periyar water level, was given on lease of 999 years to the then Madras government.- It allowed the complete diversion of water from about 648 sq. km of the Periyar basin above the dam.- Since 1979, the structural stability of the dam has been questioned and multiple litigations in the court by Kerala to decommission the dam- Whereas Tamil Nadu wants to increase the height of the water level for power and irrigation dependency. Tamil Nadu has accused Kerala in the Supreme Court of wilfully obstructing work essential to maintaining the 125-year-old Mullaperiyar dam.
- Tamil Nadu argued the reconstituted supervisory committee even with powers under the Dam Safety Act, 2021, had miserably failed to facilitate strengthening works.
- The dam is located after the confluence of the Mullaiyar and Periyar rivers, the west-flowing perennial river originates from the Sivagiri group of hills in the Western Ghats.
- The dam has a height of 53.66 metres and 365.85 metres in length. The dam is owned, operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu.
- The Mullaperiyar Dam is a gravity dam made with concrete prepared from limestone and burnt brick powder and faced with rubble.
- The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam’s reservoir and the lake created by the dam is also known as Periyar Thekkady Lake.
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Western Ghats, Gadgil committee and Kasturirangan committee
