Kerala mulls legal move against technical committee
Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said the state will decide on moving court against the alleged unilateral approach by members of the Supreme Court-appointed empowered panel on the Mullaperiyar issue during their recent visit to the dam site.
"We are discussing with our counsel in Delhi and will take an appropriate decision at the right time," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
He said the state's Mullaperiyar cell chairman M.K. Parameswaran Nair had personally appeared before the Cabinet on Wednesday and briefed about the recent developments. A decision on legal action would be taken only after consultations with the state's advocate, he said.
Earlier in the day, revenue minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan had indicated that the "unilateral way in which the members conducted their proceedings would be brought to the notice of the apex court, where the long-drawn dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu is pending.
"It is difficult for Kerala to accept certain unilateral views expressed by technical member C D Thatte. We will decide what to do on this after consultations with the legal experts," he said.
Kerala officials had stayed away from the visit of the technical members last week alleging they did not hear the state's views on the dam's safety aspects.
Two technical members on the panel — Thatte and D.K. Mehta — had a two-day inspection tour of dams in Idukki district including the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar reservoir which Kerala wants to be replaced with a new one citing safety concerns.
Thatte had allegedly declined to heed views of the Kerala officials during the inspection conducted on December 23.
Meanwhile, Kerala police, in charge of the dam's security, objected to certain maintenance works sought to be carried out by Tamil Nadu on the 'Baby dam' close to the main reservoir. State officials held that undertaking maintenance work unilaterally would amount to violation of the apex court orders in the dispute.
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