TN only custodian, not owner of Mullaperiyar dam: Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, May 8 (UNI) Countering the Centre's statement in Parliament regarding the ownership of the 110-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran today said Tamil Nadu was only a custodian with absolute rights and not the owner of the dam.

Union Minister of State for Water Resources Jai Prakash Narain Yadav, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, had stated that the Mullaperiyar dam was owned and managed by Tamil Nadu. In strict legal terms, the word ''owned'' was not correct as the dam had been constructed according to the Periyar lease deal for 999 years, he told mediapersons here.

Stating that this statement would not adversely affect Kerala's views on the Mullaperiyar case, now pending in the Supreme Court, the Minister said this should have to be corrected in the records.

''It is better that the MPs who had asked the question regarding the oldest dams, ask for correcting the statement,'' he added.

On the Dam Safety Authority finding cracks in some places in the dam, Mr Premachandran said video and photo clippings had been taken and would be produced in the apex court.

With the monsoon approaching, the Government had decided to popularise rain water harvesting, he said, adding that 2007-08 had been declared as Water Literacy year.

The Government had decided to construct rain water harvesting facilities in the buildings where Government offices were located.

Even people interested in constructing such facilities could approach the authorities, he added.

UNI