Overview
- A bench of CJI B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued notices to the Centre, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the NDMA and the NDSA on an NGO petition seeking decommissioning of Mullaperiyar and construction of a new dam.
- The court indicated that some directions may be needed to strengthen the existing structure and suggested examination by an expert body to assess safety and feasibility of a replacement.
- Petitioner Save Kerala Brigade seeks a court‑supervised multidisciplinary safety audit, an immediate reduction in reservoir level as an interim measure, and a plan for decommissioning or reconstruction.
- The plea cites investigations showing disintegrated lime‑surkhi mortar, internal voids and unmonitored foundation seepage, and warns that about 10 million people living downstream face risk from seismic activity and extreme rainfall.
- Built in 1895 in Kerala’s Idukki district but operated by Tamil Nadu under a pre‑Independence lease, the dam’s reservoir level was fixed at 142 feet by the Supreme Court in 2014 amid a long‑running inter‑state dispute over safety and water supply.