Centre giving in to dam subterfuge: CM

CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday charged the Central government of succumbing to subterfuge of the Kerala government which is trying to circumvent the legal process involved in the Mullaiperiyar dam issue.Expressing shock at the constitution of an experts team on December 12 by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) headed by the Prime Minister to formulate a Contingency Response Plan (CRP) for Mullaiperiyar dam and downstream areas to cope with eventualities like earthquakes, floods etc., Jayalalithaa said that since the matter was pending before the Supreme Court and the Empowered Committee was looking into the safety aspects of the dam, the above plan was not warranted at this stage and that the PM should withdraw this move forthwith.“Formation of the experts committee by the NDMA is nothing but succumbing to the subterfuge of the Kerala government and to present a fait accompli to the Supreme Court of India and the Empowered Committee constituted by it,” the CM said in her letter to PM Manmohan Singh.Jayalalithaa recalled that the SC had already decided in February 2006 that the Mullaiperiyar dam was safe after looking into reports of various experts and permitted the Tamil Nadu government to raise the water level to 142 feet initially. Besides, the Empowered Committee was expected to submit its report to the SC in February 2012.“That being the case, the Kerala government, in order to circumvent the legal process, had approached the NDMA to formulate a Contingency Response Plan in case of a disaster which is a figment of imagination. The objective of the Kerala government appears to be a calculated attempt to pressure the Empowered Committee to declare the dam unsafe”, she charged.The CM pointed out that Prof D K Paul, Earthquake Engineering Department, IIT, Roorkee (EEDR), was proposed as a witness by Kerala in the pending suit. SC had not taken cognizance of Kerala’s plea to include him as a witness. Now, NDMA has included him to represent EEDR in the experts team. “There is every possibility that his untested views will influence the team of experts of NDMA”, she added.