MULLAPERIYAR DAM: KERALA APPROVES TN’S REQUEST TO FELL TREES; SUPREME COURT DIRECTS CENTRE TO VERIFY AND GRANT ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE:

In the ongoing Mullaperiyar dam safety dispute between the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that the Kerala government has granted its no-objection (NOC) to Tamil Nadu for tree-felling activities related to the dam’s maintenance. Taking note of this development, the Court directed the Union of India to verify Kerala’s permission and subsequently take the necessary steps to grant environmental clearance to Tamil Nadu within four weeks.

The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and N Kotiswar Singh. Senior Advocate Shekhar Naphade appeared for Tamil Nadu, Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta represented Kerala, and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the Union of India.

During the hearing, the bench was informed that while the Kerala government had already granted permission for tree-felling, the required environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) was still pending. The Court noted that the Union should now verify whether Kerala has indeed accorded the necessary permission and, upon confirmation, ensure that the environmental clearance process is completed. The bench expressed its hope that this entire process would be completed within four weeks.

Further, relying on the report submitted by the Supervisory Committee overseeing the dam’s safety, the Court directed that the State of Tamil Nadu should proceed to conduct the proposed study as outlined in the report. Once the study is completed, Kerala is expected to grant permission for the grouting work to be undertaken as part of the dam's maintenance.

As for the third issue concerning repair work, the Court accepted Kerala’s submission that it would be more suitable for such work to commence only after the conclusion of the ongoing monsoon season. Accordingly, the bench ordered that construction and repair works should be carried out during the September–October period, ensuring they are completed before the onset of the next monsoon season.

The issue of tree-felling had earlier been complicated due to procedural delays. Tamil Nadu had initially submitted an application for permission to Kerala and received approval. However, Kerala later revoked this approval within a week, citing its own concerns. Despite this reversal, Tamil Nadu reiterated its intention to apply directly to the MoEFCC for the necessary environmental clearance.

During the present hearing, Naphade pointed out that no action had yet been taken by the MoEFCC regarding the environmental clearance. In response, Gupta informed the bench that the newly appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Committee had already issued directions to initiate the repair work process and requested an extension of the four-week timeline earlier fixed by the Court.

It may be recalled that in May this year, the Supreme Court had instructed both states to act upon the recommendations made by the Supervisory Committee concerning dam safety. On Wednesday, both Kerala and Tamil Nadu submitted that they were taking positive steps to comply with these directions, thereby signaling progress in resolving the long-standing dispute surrounding the Mullaperiyar dam.