Noisy Scenes: Kerala House erupts on dam issue again

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala assembly on Wednesday witnessed noisy scenes over the alleged silence maintained by the state government official regarding the claim of Tamil Nadu officials on the Mullaiperiyar dam at a meeting of the national committee on dam safety.

The Opposition trooped to the well of the House after the government failed to give a convincing reply to the allegation. chief minister Oommen Chandy later assured the House that he would give a clarification on Thursday.

Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Ms Jameela Prakasam  raised the matter during question hour. Citing the minutes of the meeting held on December 27, 2013, she said that though the Tamil Nadu government officials maintained that the ownership and right to manage the Mullaiperiyar, Thunakadavu and Parambikulam dams were with the Tamil Nadu government, the Kerala irrigation department chief engineer, who represented the state at the meeting, did not object to this claim.

As water resources minister P.J. Joseph denied the charges, the MLA showed a copy of the minutes of the meeting.  Though the minister said that he would look into the matter, the Opposition MLAs trooped to the well of the House insisting on an immediate reply. The House was disrupted for some time.

Later, the chief minister urged Ms Prakasam to table the copy of the minutes in the House and said  the government would initiate stern action if any officials had acted against the state’s interest.

“This new matter did not come to the government’s notice so far. After examining the matter, I will give a reply in the House tomorrow,” he said.