Congress MP Dean Kuriakose flays removal of Kerala representative from Mullaperiyar panel
Dean Kuriakose, the Congress MP representing Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, has demanded urgent steps to reinstate Kerala’s representative on the Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation Committee
Dean Kuriakose, the Congress MP representing Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, has demanded urgent steps to reinstate Kerala’s representative on the Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation Committee for the Mullaperiyar dam. Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday (June 22, 2026), Mr. Kuriakose called it a matter of great concern for Kerala that the “unilateral decision” of the Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to remove the Kerala representative, T.K. Sivarajan, has come ahead of a safety evaluation of the dam by an independent panel of experts.
Kuriakose said he has written to the Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil conveying the State’s concerns. The development, read together with the Tamil Nadu government’s policy address which announced that State’s plan to firmly oppose Kerala’s attempt to build a new Mullaperiyar dam, causes deep anxiety to Kerala, Mr. Kuriakose said, registering his strong protest against the NDSA stand. “The first inspection of the dam was completed under NDSA chairman Anil Jain. The next step is a comprehensive safety evaluation by the independent panel of experts.
The Kerala representative has been unilaterally replaced with another individual by NDSA ahead of this critical inspection. This indicates discrimination against Kerala,” he said. Since the dispute is between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, now a situation has arisen where there is no one to explain Kerala’s position. With respect to Mullaperiyar dam, which is over 130 years old, safety is of paramount importance to Kerala. At the same time, the State has never said it would deny water to Tamil Nadu Kerala Water Resources Minister Mons Joseph, speaking to presspersons on Sunday (June 21, 2026), had said that Kerala was not consulted before Mr. Sivarajan was removed from the panel and that Kerala would not accept the decision.
The expert committee was constituted under the provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, in accordance with a Supreme Court directive to conduct a comprehensive safety evaluation of the Mullaperiyar dam.
The BriefWire