Taking exception to the Union Environment Ministry entertaining Kerala’s proposal for carrying out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to construct a new Mullaiperiyar dam in Idukki district, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday said it is violative of the Supreme Court’s May 7, 2014 verdict. She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct the Environment Ministry to return the proposal to the neighbouring State. Though the Environment Ministry had clarified that no approval had been granted to carry out EIA for construction of a new Mullaiperiyar dam, the Chief Minister, in her letter to the Prime Minister, pointed out that the very fact of entertaining Kerala’s request and considering the same was itself a gross violation of the Decree and Order of the SC. “In fact, the Centre should have desisted from entertaining and considering the proposal and ought to have remitted the proposal back to Kerala government”, she added. Jayalalithaa observed that the SC had already held that the existing Mullaiperiyar dam was structurally, hydrologically and seismically safe and had, in unequivocal terms, turned down the offer of Kerala to construct a new dam. Also, the review petition filed by Kerala against the Decree had been dismissed on December 2, 2014. “Therefore, when a finality has been reached in the Mullaiperiyar dam issue, the Kerala government is seeking to subvert the Order of the SC by stealth, seeking approval of the terms of reference to conduct an EIA study for construction of a new dam,” she added. She also recalled that the Tamil Nadu government had already filed an Interlocutory Application in the SC, seeking to restrain Kerala from conducting an EIA study and also reserved its right to file a contempt plea and this matter had been adjourned to July.