Kerala vs Tamil Nadu: Who caused the floods?

Dam management has come under intense scrutiny after the Kerala floods, and both Kerala and Tamil Nadu are pointing fingers at each other.

WrittenBy:T S Sudhir
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Who caused the floods in Kerala that left over 350 dead and forced nearly 8 lakh people to move into relief camps—the Kerala government or its counterpart in Tamil Nadu? The neighbours are pointing fingers at each other, and the war of words is playing out in the Supreme Court.

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Kerala’s argument is that Tamil Nadu ignored pleas for gradual release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam (which is located in Kerala, but is operated by Tamil Nadu) till it reached the maximum permissible limit of 142 feet. Kerala points out that it had been beseeching Tamil Nadu to start releasing water once it crossed 136 feet on August 14, but the neighbour did not pay heed. Its suspicion is that Tamil Nadu wanted to use this opportunity to prove that the Mullaperiyar structure is strong enough to store water up to 142 feet. Kerala has all along been demanding the construction of a new dam, arguing it is structurally weak.

In his affidavit, Kerala chief secretary Tom Jose says Tamil Nadu released 9,000 cusecs of water in 10 hours by opening all 13 shutters of Mullaperiyar on the midnight of August 15. Kerala holds this responsible for submergence of areas downstream.

Nonsense, says Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami, asking if excess water was discharged from Mullaperiyar, how did it reach all parts of Kerala. According to the Kerala government’s affidavit, 774 of the 1,564 villages in Kerala were inundated.

Tamil Nadu admits the water level at 8 am on August 14 was 136 feet, up from 115 feet on June 1. It then points out that when the level rose to 140 feet on August 15, the spilling of water downstream to Idukki dam began. But while the spill from Mullaperiyar to Idukki dam was 1.24 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), the outflow from Idukki dam, that is operated by Kerala, on the same day was 13.7 TMC. The following day, the spill from Mullaperiyar was 2.0 TMC while the outflow from Idukki was 4.4 TMC.

The Tamil Nadu argument is that the outflow from Idukki and Idamalayar dams (the latter in Ernakulam district) between August 14 and 19 was 36 TMC, significantly more than the quantum that Mullaperiyar gave out. It seeks to point out that the water released from the two dams under Kerala’s control is due to “unprecedented heavy rainfall” in the state’s catchment area, and the contribution of Mullaperiyar is “significantly less”’.

Tamil Nadu seeks to turn the tables on Kerala by pointing out that even this quantum of water could have been prevented from being released into Idukki from Mullaperiyar, if only it had been permitted to store water up to 152 feet by completing balance strengthening works at the dam.

Tamil Nadu in fact in its affidavit accuses Kerala of indiscriminate release of water on August 15 and 16 from Idukki and Idamalayar, flooding the areas downstream. It points out that when the water level at Idukki was 2,399 feet on August 14—just short of 2,403 feet which is the full reservoir level—Kerala released only 1.6 TMC. But when the water level rose by 2 feet the following day, it released 13.7 TMC.

While Kerala was justified in asking Tamil Nadu to maintain the water level at Mullaperiyar dam at 139 feet and release water gradually, to blame it for the resultant devastation is to pass on the buck and escape accountability. It seems a ploy to take Mullaperiyar out of Tamil Nadu’s control and have the Centre monitor the release of water from the dam. What this could mean is that the apex court will be once again seized of the contentious issue.

The Kerala affidavit seems the result of the aggressive criticism by the Congress in Kerala. The opposition party has alleged mismanagement by the government in opening the shutters of the dams, calling the floods a “manmade disaster’”. The leader of the Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala, has also demanded a judicial probe and prosecution of those responsible.

“They did not have proper protocol, warning system, flood management system in place,” said Chennithala. “Had they heeded warnings, we could have reduced the impact of the floods.”

Interestingly, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu spar over who caused the flooding, the flooding in Wayanad has pitted Kerala against Kerala. The manner in which Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad district in north Kerala—the largest earthen dam in India—was opened, bringing nine panchayats in the districts under water, has become a controversy between officials of the Kerala government. Both the district collector and the chief secretary admitted to a lapse in warning the people, saying the four shutters were opened without the former’s permission. According to local reports, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) that operates the reservoir had issued the alert on a WhatsApp group of the Disaster Management Authority.

Dam management has come under intense scrutiny after the Kerala floods. While Kerala wants to focus on who operates Mullaperiyar, questions need to be asked about whether dams in India, not just Kerala, are more geared towards power generation and irrigation with little or no focus on helping in flood control.  

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