"This appears to be part of a strategy to establish Tamil Nadu's stand that the dam is not unsafe and mislead the committee, slated to visit the dam next month," Kerala Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran told reporters here. The state's special cell on Mullaperiyar, headed by former chief engineer M K P Nair, had been asked to visit the spot and submit a report on the repair being done on the dam by Tamil Nadu, he said. After receiving the report, Kerala would officially communicate the matter to the the empowered panel, headed by former Chief Justice of India Justice A S Anand, he said. Premachandran,however,said the repairs at least vindicated Kerala's stand that the dam was quite unsafe. This also weakened Tanil Nadu's contention that it is not so and there is no need to replace it with a new dam, he said. The minister said the state irrigation department and police had already given a preliminary report on the works being done on the dam by Tamil Nadu. The Mullaperiyar dam on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border has been a bone of contention between the states for a long time. Kerala holds that the dam, built during British rule, is in a precarious condition and if it breaks, millions of people in downstream areas would be in danger. The state conducted a survey for construction of a new dam, which was opposed by Tamil Nadu, which benefits mostly from the waters from the reservouir. The issue has also been pending for long in the apex court, which about a year back set up a high-powered panel headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice A S Anand to study the matter and seek to eveolve an amicable settlement.
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