When was the Mullaperiyar Dam constructed? On October 29, 1886, a lease indenture for 999 years was made between the Maharaja of Travancore and the secretary of state for India for construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam over the headwaters of the Periyar River in Kerala. The dam was constructed during 1887-1895 across the river in the then Travancore state. When did the dispute start? The sparks of the dispute became visible in 1979 when newspapers in Kerala published reports concerning the safety of the dam. On November 25, 1979, the chairman of the central water commission held a meeting with officials from the Kerala irrigation department and the Tamil Nadu PWD. The meeting agreed on various measures to ensure safety of the dam, including repairs and restricting the water level to 136 ft as an emergency measure. In 1986, the CWC instructed the government of Tamil Nadu to examine the possibility of further strengthening measures so that the dam would be competent to hold water upto 152 ft. At this point the matter became subjudice as both state governments filled several petitions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala high courts. What happened in the courts? After several years in the state high courts, in 2000 all these cases were transferred to the Supreme Court and under an order dated April 28, 2000 the court asked the Union water resources minister to convene a meeting of the CMS so that the dispute is amicably resolved. In 2001, the committee submitted its report in which it advised that the water level could be raised to 142 ft after implementation of the strengthening measures and any further increase could be studied subsequently. In a judgment dated February 27, 2006, the SCallowed the Tamil Nadu government to raise the height of the dam from 136 ft to 142 ft after implementing the strengthening measures. Why was the height not increased? Immediately after the SC order, the Kerala government passed the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006. The dam was placed under the schedule of ‘Endangered Dams’ and the Act also prohibited the raising of the water level beyond 136 ft. Tamil Nadu filed a suit in the SC asking for the Act to be declared unconstitutional. It also requested that the court should pass a decree of permanent injunction so that Kerala could not pass any legislation that obstructs Tamil Nadu from increasing the height of the dam. In reply to this, the Kerala government filed a review petition, which was dismissed by the SC. The court observed that “the two states independently or with the intervention of the union of India may sort out the dispute, if possible.” What happened after that? The Union water resources minister convened an inter-state meeting. Even after two meetings in 2006, the matter could not be resolved. In 2007, the PM suggested that the then CM of Tamil Nadu meet the Kerala CM to discuss the issue. They met on December 19, 2007 and in a letter which was released the next day the Tamil Nadu CM suggested bringing engineers not belonging to either state to oversee the seepage measurement of the dam and the Kerala CM agreed to consider the suggestion. Subsequently, the Kerala CM asked for a joint mechanism which was refused by Tamil Nadu citing fears of complications in involving parties with a stake in the dam. In 2009, representatives from Kerala announced that the government visualizes the construction of a new dam as the only suggestion. They offered to construct the new dam at their own expense.The Tamil Nadu government initially agreed to examine the possibility of a new dam and later declared that it was not needed. The matter is still disputed and it is under the examination of the central water commission.