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Synopsis

While noting the failure of the Union Government to constitute a National Committee under the Dam Safety Act, the Supreme Court of India today issued a notice to the Central Government in a long-standing case pertaining to the Mullaperiyar Dam.

A bench of justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan, while issuing notice, observed: "...It appears that a Supervisory Committee was constituted by this Court, and the Union has also conceptualized the constitution of such a committee. However, under the Dam Safety Act, the provision for forming a National Committee has not been fulfilled. Let notice be issued to the Centre, and list the matter for 22 January..."

While noting the provisions of the Dam Safety Act, the bench reiterated that a National Committee on Dam Safety, consisting of members as prescribed in Section 5(1), was required to be constituted within 60 days from the date of the commencement of the Act. Furthermore, the committee is to be reconstituted every three years thereafter.

"We are informed by learned counsel for the parties that that no such National Committee has been constituted so far. It further appears that there is no provision in the Dam Safety Act 2021 prescribing the constitution of a Supervisory Committee. It further appears that a Supervisory Committee constituted by this Court in an earlier round of litigation with respect to the Mullaperiyar Dam and the Union of India has also conceptualized the constitution of the Supervisory Committee, maybe in terms of the judgment of this Court," the bench added.

Court made these observations in a plea filed by Advocate Mathews Nedumpara, seeking a review of the top court's 2006 order, which had held that the Mullaperiyar dam was structurally safe. 

It is noteworthy that Mullaperiyar Dam has been a contentious issue between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Dam is situated in Kerala's Periyar River and which supplies water to five districts of Tamil Nadu. Kerala has been maintaining for the past few decades that the Dam is unsafe, Tamil Nadu has all along vouched for its safety.

In 2014, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the State of Tamil Nadu, reiterating that the dam's structure was safe while permitting the water level to be maintained at 142 feet. The Court had also constituted a supervisory committee in order to assess the dam's safety periodically.

In April 2022, the Supreme Court had directed the State of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to extend whatever possible assistance is required by the Supervisory Committee while pronouncing its order over the issue of the Supervisory Committee in the matter concerning the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam.

Earlier, the bench after hearing the Kerala Government and Tamil Nadu objecting to the functioning of the Committee said that the Court intends to strengthen the Committee and the Committee will have all the powers under the 2021 Act, let there be some problems, then we'll look into it. "You are anticipating everything," Justice Khanwilkar added. Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta argued before the Supreme Court had submitted that in the long run, a process for the construction of a new dam has to start considering the issue surrounding the Mullaperiyar dam’s safety.

The state of Kerala in its written submission submitted before the Supreme Court that the state of Kerala is only concerned with protecting and keeping safe the life and properties of the people in the downstream reaches of the river basin of the river Periyar as it flows down the Western Ghats and meets the sea north of Cochin.

Case Title: Mathews Nedumpara v Union of India