NDSA panel inspects Mullaiperiyar dam
The Supreme Court directed the committee to file a report after overseeing the safety of the dam and to examine issues of repair and maintenance raised by the Tamil Nadu government.
MADURAI: A committee led by Chairman of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) Anil Jain inspected the Mullaiperiyar dam in Thekkady on Monday. The seven-member committee, which is constituted as per the directive of the Supreme Court, comprises officials from Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring state of Kerala.
The Supreme Court directed the committee to file a report after overseeing the safety of the dam and to examine issues of repair and maintenance raised by the Tamil Nadu government.
The officials inspected the main dam, baby dam, earthen dam, gallery area and water seepage level. During the inspection, when the water level in the dam stood at 134.80 feet, the officials analysed its structural stability.
They also checked the inflow of water, conducted a random check on the fourth shutter and operated a few other shutters to check the functionality. The committee members also checked the seepage level. The dam was brought under the control of NSDA in October 2024. Later, a review meeting involving higher officials from Tamil Nadu and Kerala was convened in Madurai on Monday evening.
Rakesh Toteja, Member, (Disaster and Resilience), NDSA, Delhi, Anand Ramasamy, Nodal Officer, ICED, IISc, Bangalore, J Jayakanthan, Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu and Member of Supervisory Committee, Bishwanath Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary, Kerala and Member of the Committee, R Subramanian, Chairman, CTC Tech Expert and R Priesh, Chief Engineer, ISW, GoK, attended the meeting, sources said.
The NSDA Chairman said instruments, hydro-mechanical components of the dam and the condition of the dam after the onset of monsoon in 2025 were inspected. As of now, we have not observed anything concerning nature. The dam is in good shape and there is no detrimental issue, the chairman told reporters.
During the supervisory subcommittee meeting, representatives of Tamil Nadu and Kerala resolved on various issues after taking the right decisions on sharing instruments and other necessary things. The Kerala government had agreed to allow its counterpart to have proper road access to the dam site through the forest area. It is also agreed that remotely operated vehicles report on the underwater dam condition and take quick decisions to allow grouting of the dam. Moreover, a decision was also taken on the scope of the work for comprehensive dam safety evaluations. During the schedule, the subcommittee concurred with the decisions, and both states would submit their desired lists of experts to be empanelled. As per the revelation, the NDSA would form an independent panel of experts, finally, he said.
