SC won’t tell PM to intervene in Mullaperiyar dam issue
A day before a proposed meeting between officials of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to resolve the Mullaiperiyar dispute, the central water ministry officially informed both states on Thursday that the meeting had been cancelled following objections by TN.
The ministry said the meeting, called on a special direction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will be held after the Supreme Court-appointed committee on Mullaiperiyar submits its final report. The TN government had sent two letters to the ministry expressing inability to attend the meeting.
Meanwhile, SC refused to appeal to the Prime Minister for intervention in the matter following objections from TN. A five-judge constitution bench, however, observed the Centre could take a leading role in resolving the dispute.
The bench, headed by justice D.K. Jain, also dismissed the TN plea to direct the central government to deploy Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the dam site. TN had sought CISF at Mullaiperiyar apprehending damage to the dam by political parties from Kerala.
The court also refused to entertain a PIL filed by villagers of Mullaiperiyar seeking direction to TN to immediately reduce the water level in the dam’s reservoir to 120 feet.
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