MK charges Kerala with contempt of court on Mullaperiyar

Chennai, Mar 20 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the Kerala Government's unilateral constitution of a committee to study environmental impact of the Mullaiperiyar dam amounted to contempt of the Supreme Court.

Taking exception to the constitution of the committee, the Chief Minsiter, answering a set of questions here, said the Centre had already filed a report before the apex court on the environment issue, based on which it had held that raising the water level would have no adverse impact on the environment.

The constitution of a fresh committee by the Kerala Government and the committee chairman expressing the view that raising the water level would affect the environment near the dam site amounted to contempt of the apex court, he said.

Mr Karunanidhi added that Kerala had set a wrong precedent by setting up the committee without the consent of the Centre, the Supreme Court or Tamil Nadu, which had a dispute with the state.

The Chief Minister also flayed Kerala for its alleged move to build a new dam near Mullaiperiyar. Reports suggested that the Kerala Water Resources Department engineers had selected a place in the forest area between Periyar Dam and Vallakadavu and prepared a project report, he said.

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