The Supreme Court-appointed empowered committee submitted its final report Wednesday addressing concerns of both Tamil Nadu and Kerala locked in an intense legal battle over 'safety' of the century-old Mullaperiyar dam.
The five-man panel headed by former chief justice of India A.S. Anand, filed the report in a 'sealed cover' before the SC registry.
Sources said the committee, which also includes two experts on dam technology — former secretary to the ministry of water resources C.D. Thatte and retired Central Water Commission chief engineer D.K. Mehta — had taken a 'balanced' view.
TN has objected to the Kerala proposal to replace the 'unsafe' dam with a new structure saying earlier expert reports had given it safety clearance.
It also wants the water level to be increased from 136 to 142 feet, whereas Kerala wants status quo.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by D.K. Jain had set up the SC committee in February 2010 with a mandate to submit a report in six months. But it could not start work immediately as TN raised legal issues.
The constitution bench is likely to assemble on May 4 to consider the report, which, sources said, had more than 250 pages and eight chapters.
Members justice K.T. Thomas, representing Kerala, and justice A.R. Lakshmanan, representing Tamil Nadu, said contents of the report could not be disclosed. Justice Thomas, however, said statesmanship of justice Anand was crucial in finalising it.