Madhav Gadgil Committee on Western Ghats has classified Mullaiperiyar in zone 1 of ecologically sensitive zones (ESZs) where dams more than 50 years old should be decommissioned.
While a Supreme Court-appointed empowered committee recently said the controversial Mullaiperiyar was safe, Gadgil Committee said the dam could not be safe for the ecology of the area where it was located. The ministry of environment and forests has put the committee report in the public domain with a disclaimer that it had not formally accepted it.
Gadgil panel, also known as Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, has recommended phased decommissioning of all dams in zone 1 of ESZs whose life span has ended.
It has identified zones 1, 2 and 3 of ESZs in the Western Ghats in accordance with the ecological importance of the area. Peermede in Kerala’s Idukki district, where the Mullaiperiyar dam is situated, has been slotted in the extremely fragile zone 1.
The report, which lists dos and don’ts of human activity in these zones, states that dams and thermal projects in zone 1 whose life span is over should be decommissioned in a phased manner.
The committee also rejected clearance to two major hydroelectric projects at Athirapally and Gundia in Kerala and Karnataka.