Tamil Nadu

'Restrain Kerala govt from seeking study on new Mullai Periyar dam': Text of Jayalalithaa's letter to Modi

Written by : TNM

  “I write this letter seeking your intervention to restrain the Government of Kerala, which, in utter violation of the Constitution Bench Order of the Supreme Court, is seeking Government of India’s approval for an Environmental Impact Assessment study for construction of a new Mullai Periyar Dam. This act of Kerala is in utter contempt of the Order of the Supreme Court which, on 7.5.2014, held that the existing Mullai Periyar Dam is structurally, hydrologically and seismically safe and had negatived in unequivocal terms, the offer of Kerala for the construction of a new Mullai Periyar Dam.  Subsequently, the Review Petition filed by the Government of Kerala against the Decree of the Supreme Court dated 7.5.2014, had been dismissed on 2.12.2014.  Therefore, when a finality has been reached in the Mullai Periyar Dam issue, the Government of Kerala is seeking to subvert the Order of the Supreme Court by stealth, seeking approval of the Terms of Reference to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment study for construction of a new Mullai Periyar Dam.  In this context, I wish to point out that the Government of Tamil Nadu had already filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) in the Supreme Court, seeking to restrain Kerala from conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment study and also reserved its right to file a contempt plea in the Supreme Court and this matter has been adjourned to July, 2015, by the Supreme Court. At this juncture, it is understood that the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Government of India, had, in a meeting, examined the Terms of Reference suggested by the Government of Kerala for conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment study for construction of a new Mullai Periyar Dam in Idukki District of Kerala. Though the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, has informed vide the Press Information Bureau’s Press Release dated 4.6.2015, that no approval has been granted for carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment study for construction of a new  Mullai Periyar Dam in Idukki District of Kerala, I would like to point out that the very fact of entertaining the Government of Kerala’s request and considering the same by the Government of India for approving the Terms of Reference to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the construction of a new Dam is itself a gross violation of the Decree and Order of the Supreme Court dated 7.5.2014.  In fact, the Government of India should have desisted from entertaining and considering the proposal and ought to have remitted the proposal back to the Government of Kerala. Under the circumstances, I seek your personal intervention and request you to instruct the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change and its Agencies, to desist from entertaining and considering the proposal of the Government of Kerala in future and also to negative the proposal and return it to the Government of Kerala. I look forward to your immediate positive response in this matter.”

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