Chennai: Tamil Nadu govt has engaged Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, to conduct a site-specific seismic study of the century-old Mullaperiyar dam.A govt order said the agencies had been engaged under Section 16 of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998. “The seismic study is being conducted in accordance with directions of the supervisory committee constituted by Supreme Court for monitoring the safety of the dam. Soon, the state will sign an MoU with the agencies,” a senior state govt official said. In 2010, an empowered committee led by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand engaged Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station to conduct a study on Mullaperiyar.Under the Dam Safety Act, 2021, the first comprehensive safety evaluation of every existing specified dam must be completed within five years of the Act coming into force. Subsequent evaluations are to be conducted at intervals prescribed under the regulations. The evaluation includes a general assessment of seismic safety and, in specified cases, a mandatory study of site-specific seismic parameters.“As Mullaperiyar is an inter-state dam, the report will be submitted to the central comprehensive dam safety evaluation committee before Dec,” the official said. The state govt has maintained that the dam is safe from hydrological, seismic and structural perspectives, citing a 2014 Supreme Court. Keralam govt, however, has continued to demand the construction of a new dam, citing concerns over the safety of people living downstream.In July, Tamil Nadu constituted an independent panel of experts to undertake a comprehensive safety evaluation of 86 dams under the water resources department. The panel of experts from a list empanelled by National Dam Safety Authority, along with serving and retired officials from central and state organisations, will examine aspects such as hydro-mechanical systems, dam design, seismic safety, geology, hydrology and instrumentation. “Further studies will be undertaken based on the evaluation,” an official said.
