Compliance report sought on tunnel in Mullaiperiyar

MADURAI:  Ruling on a PIL, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered the State government to file a report within two weeks on implementing a Supreme Court order over construction of a new tunnel in Mullaiperiyar Dam to cater to the needs of the people in districts of southern Tamil Nadu. 

The litigant, M Sundararaj of Madurai, submitted that the Supreme Court, in a judgment dated May 7, 2014, passed in a suit filed by the Tamil Nadu government in 2006, directed the government to construct a new tunnel in the dam at 50 feet in addition to the old tunnel which is situated at 103 feet. The apex court had also ordered the government to conduct surveys and ascertain the feasibility of constructing the new tunnel within a year.

Sundararaj in his petition said while 2,300 cubic feet of water is being received from the dam at present, the new tunnel would help get more water for fulfilling the drinking water and irrigation needs of districts like Theni, Madurai, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga. Though eight years have passed, the State government has not taken any steps to implement the apex court order, he said. 

The petitioner requested the court to direct the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to conduct surveys and techno-economic feasibility studies to ascertain the safety of the dam for constructing the new tunnel as per the Supreme Court verdict. The bench of Justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad sought a report and adjourned the case for two weeks.

The petitioner requested the court to direct the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to conduct surveys and techno-economic feasibility studies to ascertain the safety of the dam for constructing the new tunnel as per the Supreme Court verdict. The bench of Justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad sought a report and adjourned the case for two weeks.