New Delhi: The Supreme Court today
appointed former Chief Justice of India A S Anand as the head
of a five-member committee constituted to examine the safety
aspects of Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala over which the state is
embroiled in a dispute with Tamil Nadu.
The five-judge Bench comprising Justices D K Jain, B
Sudarshan Reddy, Mukundkam Sharma, R M Lodha and Deepak Verma,
which announced the appointment of Justice (retd) Anand,
said the empowered committee would submit its report to the
apex court within six months.
The bench also directed the union government to issue
an appropriate notification within four weeks to constitute
the remaining four members of the committee.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been authorised by the court
to nominate one member each who could be a retired high court
judge or a technical expert.
The Centre has also been authorised to nominate two
renowned technical experts not connected with the dispute.
Both Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locked in a bitter tussle
over more than the century-old Mullaperiyar dam located in
Idduki district of Kerala.
Though located in Kerala, the dam caters to irrigation
and drinking water needs of Tamil Nadu.
Kerala, citing safety of the dam, wants to demolish the
existing structure and construct a new one at an alternative
location, to which Tamil Nadu is opposed to.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 20:58