New Delhi: The exclusive Supreme Court-appointed monitoring panel for the Mullaperiyar Dam will be a thing of the past going by the ongoing proceedings at the apex court. The National Dam Safety Authority is set to replace the monitoring panel that has been in existence since 2014.
The Kerala Government's apprehension is that with the formation of the Authority, the existing monitoring committee may be disbanded.
The Central Government had informed the Supreme Court its desire to dissolve the monitoring committee. Only if the Kerala Government impresses upon the Supreme Court the need for continuing the monitoring panel, there is a chance of retaining the panel.
The Kerala Government faces the prospects of losing all its control over Mullaperiyar dam with the establishmemt of the Authority.
Why monitoring panel is so important?
There is no doubt that the proposed Dam Safety Authority has wide powers to deal with the affairs of the Mullaperiyar dam. But for the Authority, the Mullaperiyar dam will be just one among many dams which it controls where as the existing monitoring panel is exclusively meant for the Mullaperiyar dam.
The existing monitoring panel consistently monitors water level in the dam and takes necessary precautionary steps. It makes routine on-the-spot assessment about the water level and strength of the dam.
Supreme Court Judge AM Khanwilkar is set to retire in July and hence the Bench is likely to pronounce the verdict which is going to the seal the fate of the monitoring committe.
The court has sought the submission of the status repot on the issue by May 11.
Meanwhile, the petitioner in the case, Joe Joseph, of Kothamangalam, said that his contention was about the ineffectiveness of the monitoring panel.
