Tamil Nadu Timeline

AgricultureRise of Dravidian rule

Mullaperiyar lease agreement renewed with Kerala

· Mullaperiyar Dam

Mullaperiyar lease agreement renewed with Kerala
Rameshng at Malayalam Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The 1886 Periyar lease was renewed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 1970, with a higher rent and a new charge on power produced from the water.

Since an 1886 lease, the Mullaperiyar Dam has diverted Periyar water into the Vaigai basin of southern Tamil Nadu. Efforts to renew that agreement failed in 1958, 1960 and 1969 before succeeding in 1970, during C. Achutha Menon's term as Kerala's Chief Minister. The new terms increased the per-acre tax and set a fee for electricity produced at Lower Camp with Mullaperiyar water. In later decades the arrangement turned into a protracted dispute between the two states over the dam's safety.

Related events

  1. 1886

    1. 29 Oct 1886Mullaperiyar DamAgriculture

      Periyar lease agreement with Travancore

      A 999-year lease for the Periyar irrigation works, signed by Travancore and the Secretary of State for India, later underpinned the Mullaperiyar dispute.

  2. 1895

    1. 1895Mullaperiyar DamAgriculture

      Mullaperiyar Dam completed

      The Periyar dam, built under John Pennycuick between 1887 and 1895, began diverting water east to the Madurai region of the Madras Presidency.

  3. 1962

    1. 2 Oct 1962Aliyar ReservoirAgriculture

      Aliyar Dam of the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project inaugurated

      Prime Minister Nehru inaugurated the Aliyar Dam, part of the inter-state Parambikulam-Aliyar irrigation project.

  4. 1979

    1. 1979Mullaperiyar DamInfrastructure

      Mullaperiyar dam safety dispute begins

      Kerala's safety fears about Mullaperiyar dam after the 1979 Morvi disaster led Tamil Nadu to cut its storage level to 136 feet and reinforce the structure.

  5. 2006

    1. 27 Feb 2006Mullaperiyar DamLaw Justice

      Supreme Court allows higher Mullaperiyar level; Kerala passes dam law

      The Supreme Court allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the Mullaperiyar dam's level to 142 feet; Kerala responded with a law capping it at 136 feet.

  6. 2014

    1. 7 May 2014Mullaperiyar DamLaw Justice

      Supreme Court verdict on Mullaperiyar dam

      The Supreme Court allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the Mullaperiyar reservoir level to 142 feet and struck down Kerala's law restricting it.

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