Thiruvananthapuram, Friday, September 30, 2011: Kerala has today submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) before the Supreme Court appointed Empowered Committee on its proposal to build a new dam at Mullaperiyar to replace the existing 115-year-old structure over which it is locked in a row with Tamil Nadu.

While Kerala has been pressing for construction of a new dam holding that the existing structure was extremely weak and posed a serious threat to millions living in the downstream areas in the state, Tamil Nadu is opposed to it.

The Empowered Committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice A S Anand, was constituted in 2010 to look into various aspects of the issue including safety of the present dam, feasibility of raising the reservoir’s water level above 136 ft as demanded by Tamil Nadu and Kerala’s demand for a new dam.

When a new dam was constructed, the existing one would be dismantled at an appropriate time based on a detailed technical study. However, certain suggestions on this, such as whether the old one should be fully or partially dismantled, had been included in the DPR.

(news agency)