Mullai Periyar Dam : A to Z about it's dispute and discontent

Location

Mullai Periyar Dam is located 2,890 ft above mean sea level on the western slope of western ghats in Idukki district of kerala. The dam was constructed across the Mullai Periyar river (i.e confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers ).

Periyar river originates at Sivagiri hills in TN and joins Mullayar river while flowing westwards. Although the Periyar river has a total catchment area of 5,398 km  with 114 km in TN, The catchment area of the Mullaiperiyar dam lies entirely in kerala

History 

By the end of 17th century huge famine hit India, one of the worst famine hit parts of India was the arid rain shadow region of south India which includes districts of Madurai, Dindugul, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, etc.....

So in the year 1778, Ramnathapuram Kings's minister Muthirulappa Pillai setup an expert committee to look in to the feasibility of harnessing the water from west flowing periyar river and diverting it to TN . Even though committee said it is feasible, due to economic consideration the project was dropped.


Then in the year 1884, British Indian government sanctioned 62 lakhs for Periyar irrigation project. For implementing ( i.e constructing dam and other related works ) Periyar irrigation project, in the year 1886 , A lease indenture agreement for 999 years was signed between Maharaja of Travancore( as it is belived to be the territory under his kingdom) and Secretary of state for India.


999 Agreement :
1. The agreement gave 8,000 acres for reservoir and 100 acres for dam construction at 5 RS per acre annually
2. Right to carry irrigation works
3. Right to maintain the dam after completing the construction of dam and to carry out renovation work in future if needed
4. Right to fishing in catchment area 


In the year 1887, Construction work of the dam began
In the year 1890, There was a devastating flood, in which partly constructed dam was damaged and has to be rebuilt again. Rebuilding work needs extra money so British Indian government decided to drop the project.

But the British engineer John Pennycuick was determined to complete the construction of the dam. Pennycuick went back to England, sold his properties and with that money he continued the construction work. In the end dam was completed in the year 1895 .


After the Independence of India, The state of Kerala was formed by state reorganization act 1956 in which Mullai Periyar dam became part of Kerala territory. The Kerala state government announced that earlier agreement which was signed between British and Travancore was invalid and need to be renewed.

After a little bit of hesitation, The agreement was renewed in 1970. As per the new agreement

1. Annual lease rent was increased from 5 RS per acre to 30 RS per acre
2. Permitted TN government to generate hydro electric power ( following this in 1956 TN built Forebay dam near kumily & Periyar Power Station to produce electricity ).  For the electricity generated by TN in lower camp using Mullaiperiyar water 12 RS per kilo watt per hour was charged.
3. All fishing rights to Kerala


Structure of Mullaiperiya Dam

Mullaiperiya dam is a stone masonry dam and a gravity dam

What is masonry dam ?
              A dam built by the skill of masons without any machinery. Mullaiperiyar is a masonry dam built by limestome and surkhi concrete ( burnt brick powder and a mixture of sugar and caltium oxide ) and faced with Rubble.

What is gravity dam ?
              A dam that uses their weight and force of gravity to support the reservoir and remain stable (See the pic below)

Mullaiperiyar dam is the highest among the oldest gravity dam in the world



How water is taken from Mullaiperiyar to TN?

Water stored from Mullaiperiyar dam is diverted to periyar (Thekkady) lake via canal for about 2km east, from Thekkady lake water is diverted through the water shed cutting and a subterranean tunnel to Forebay dam near kumily, from Forebay dam, hydel pipe lines carry the water to lower camp( Periyar power station) where electricity is produced, then from there water is let into Suruliyar river a tributary of Vaigai river and then water is used for irrigation purpose from Vaigai dam.

Capacity of Mullaiperiyar dam

Height of MP Dam - 176 ft
Storage capacity of the MP Dam - 152 ft
Dead storage - up to 104 ft
Live storage   - above 104 ft 

Other dam's in relation to Mullaiperiya dam

Baby dam
It is a spill way dam of Mullaiperiyar dam, water will flow to this dam only when the water level of Mullaiperiyar is more than 112 ft 

Idukki dam
Idukki dam was constructed by Kerala government in 1976 with 800 MW HEP capacity, 50 km down the stream of Mullaiperiyar. Height of Idukki dam is 555 ft( Mullaiperiyar is only 152 ft)

Mullaiperiyar catchment area receives rainfall from both South - West monsoon and North - East monsoon. But whereas Idduki dam's catchment area receives rainfall only from South - West monsoon. So the water flow to Idukki dam is not sufficient to generate proposed 800 MW electricity .



On the year 1979, safety concerns of aging Mullaiperiyar dam and alleged leaks and cracks in the structure were raised by Kerala government. CESS ( Centre for Earth Science Studies) of Thiruvananthapuram had reported  that dam cannot withstand an earthquake above magnitude of 6 on ricter scale .

On the Kerala government's demand Central Water Commission( chairman K C Thomas) inspected the dam and recommended

1. Dam should be strengthened
2. Till the strengthening work is completed water storage level should be at 136 ft only
3. After strengthening the dam , water storage level can be raised to 152 ft

On the recommendation of CWC, TN government carried out strengthening works as

For Short term purpose - RCC Capping structure that is 21 feet wide and 3 feet thick was built on top of the dam for entire length  

For Medium term purpose - Cable anchoring was carried out on the basis of pre stressing technology. A total of 95 pre stressed cables have been inserted holding the dam strongly with foundation rock

For Long term purpose  - 32 feet wide RCC backing concrete with 10 feet deep foundation up to a height of 145 feet above the ground abducting the cap structure has been constructed on the back of the dam. The existing dam and the backing concrete were designed and joined together to behave as a single dam structure using state of are technology.

2 drainage galleries were also built at level 10 feet and 45 feet in new structure. Trough these things water seepage from dam is measured daily

In addition to already existing spill way with 10 vents, 3 more vents were constructed trough which excess water can be discharged. Dam now has the spilling capacity of approximately 1,22,000 cu ft / sec

The above said strengthening work started at 1981 and was completed at 1994 at the cost of 18 Cr RS

Yet Kerala government did not allow TN to raise the water level to 152 ft .... why ? lets see the arguments of both the sides

Kerala    :    The dam is 118 year old and has become obsolete & weak
TN         :    The age of the dam cannot be the reason for its decommissioning. The famous Kallani dam built by king Karikala on Kaveri river is strong even after 2,000 years

Kerala    :    As Mullaiperiyar is a masonry dam it can not be strengthened and relied more
TN         :    There are many examples across the world where masonry dams have been strengthened. Eg : Roosevelt dam ( USA) , Upper Glendevol dam (UK) , Joux dam ( France)

Kerala    :    Dam poses danger to life and property of nearly 4 million people downstream
TN         :    We have done adequate work to strengthen the dam structure. Moreover the human settlements in the adjacent areas of the dam are located at a higher altitude beyond the reach of the flood water of the Mullaiperiyar dam.

Kerala    :    If Mullaiperiyar dam gets destroyed, it will also damage Idukki dam down the course
TN         :    The total capacity of Mullaiperiyar dam is only 1/7th of Idukki dam, moreover when flood water reach Idukki dam the water speed will only be 3 ft per second. Idukki dam is designed to moderate flood up to about 4,00,000 cubic ft of water per second

Kerala    :    Mullaiperiyar dam is located at seismically active zone
TN         :    Most of the tremors that have been reported recently have happened in sites nearer to Idukki dam than to the Mullaiperiyar dam

Kerala    :    The broken Mullaiperiyar dam can also damage Periyar National Park and Periyar Tiger Reserve
TN         :    With out raising the water level, the agricultural economy of southern districts (like Madurai, Dindukkal, Sivagangi, Ramanathapuram ) will be adversely affected. It could potentially turn these land baran

Kerala    :    Kerala is offering a new and strong dam, and is even ready to pay the entire expense
TN         :    Proposed new dam is just outside the area leased to TN for 999 years. Along with that , The height of the proposed new dam is less than the tunnel level trough which water is take to TN, so no need of new dam            

So , when an irresistible force meets an immovable object, the result is stalemate


Because of this stalemate, farmers depending on Mullaiperiyar water were deeply affected. So farmers of TN ( southern district) approached Chennai High Court. In support of downstream people of Kerala, some associations approached Kerala High Court. Therefore the case got transferred to Supreme Court, after that both the government attached them self to this case.

S.C advised both the gov to hold talks but talks failed, So in 2000 S.C appointed an expert committee to look into the safety of the dam. On the basis of the reports of that committee S.C gave its verdict saying

1. TN can rise the water level from136 ft to 142 ft
2. Kerala government has to cooperate with TN government to strengthen baby dam
3. Once the baby dam is strengthened, TN can raise the water level to 152 ft

Kerala government responded to this S.C's order by passing The Kerala Irrigation & Water conservation amendment act 2006. This act says " No civil court shall have jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with any question of fact or to determine any matter which is by or under this act required to be settled, decided or dealt with or to be determined by the authority under this act " So this act nullified S.C 's order

This act also ensured that the maximum water storage limit at Mullaiperiyar dam as 136 ft


Now TN government again went to S.C asking, Kerala's Irrigation & water conservation amendment act 2006 to be declared as unconstitutional and void

S.C again advised both government to hold talks. But again as usual no break trough in the talks, So in 2010 S.C empowered a committee headed by A.S.Anand to look into the safety of the dam again. In 2013 Anand committee submitted its report to S.C saying the dam is structurally, Hydrologically, & seismically safe and TN can rise the water level to 142 ft

In 2014 On the reports of Anand committee S.C gave its verdict saying

1. Kerala irrigation & water conservation amendment act 2006 is unconstitutional and void ( Mullaiperiyar is a dispute between 2 states, In such disputes one state cannot unilaterally enact law in its own favor)
2. TN can rise water level up to 142 ft

In June 2014 Union Government decided to setup a committee to supervise this water rising

Kerala planning to file a review petition in S.C
Kerala assembly requested President of India to refer this matter to S.C under article 143 of Indian Constitution

Why no Tribunal has been set up for this Mullaiperiyar dispute ?

As per Article 262 of Indian constitution and Inter - State water dispute act 1956 - neither the S.C nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of inter state water dispute. Only central government is empowered to set up an Ad hoc Tribunal for adjudication of such dispute .

But here in this dispute Justice Lodha told the counsel that " this court has already adjudicated that it is not a water dispute, which concerns only about the safety of the dam and has decided that the water level could be increased to 142 ft , TN only want the implementation of this order. How can it be a water dispute "