Central Water Commission

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Context

• In a recent meeting with the Central Water Commission, the state government of Kerala urged the Centre to expedite the process of constructing a new dam at Mullaperiyar in the Idukki district.

About

• It is one of India's leading technical institutions for water resources.
• At the moment, it operates as an affiliated office of the Indian government's Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• Functions: The Commission is tasked with the general duties of initiating, coordinating, and advancing schemes for the control, conservation, and utilisation of water resources across the nation for the purposes of navigation, drinking water supply, flood control, irrigation, and water power development.
• It does this in consultation with the State Governments involved.
• It also does the necessary research, builds the necessary plans, and carries them out.
• It is headed by a Chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
• The work of the Commission is divided among three wings namely, the Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, the River Management (RM) Wing and the Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.
• Each wing is placed under the charge of a full-time member with the status of Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
• Headquarters: New Delhi

About Mullaperiyar Dam

• It is a masonry gravity dam located in Kerala's Thekkady, Idukki district, on the Periyar River.
• It is situated on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats, 881 metres above sea level.
• At the meeting point of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers is where the dam is situated.
• Its building was finished in 1895, having started in 1887.
• Under Pennycuick's direction, the British Corps of Royal Engineers completed the building.
• Limestone and "Surkhi" (burnt brick powder and a concoction of sugar and calcium oxide) were used to build the dam.
• The dam was built to redirect the waters of the west-flowing River Periyar eastward, into the dry areas that receive rain shadows in the Tamil Nadu districts of Theni, Madurai, Sivaganga, and Ramanathapuram.
• The reservoir of the dam is surrounded by the Periyar National Park.
• The nearby state of Tamil Nadu is in charge of running and maintaining the dam, despite its location in Kerala.
• The operating rights were given to Tamil Nadu in accordance with a 999-year lease arrangement negotiated during British control.