<p>The five-judge Bench comprising Justices D K Jain, B Sudarshan Reddy, Mukundkam Sharma, R M Lodha and Deepak Verma said the five-member committee would be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.<br /><br />Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been authorised by the court to nominate one member each who could be a retired high court judge or a technical expert.<br /><br />The Centre has also been authorised to nominate two renowned technical experts not connected with the dispute.<br /><br />The apex court said it will pass appropriate orders tomorrow for formally constituting the committee which in turn would, within a time frame, submit its report to the Bench.<br />Both Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locked in a bitter tussle over more than the century old Mullaperiyar dam located in Idduki district.<br /><br />Though located in Kerala, the dam caters to the irrigation and drinking water needs of Tamil Nadu.<br /><br />Kerala, citing safety of the dam, wants to demolish the existing structure and construct a new one at an alternative location to which Tamil Nadu is opposed to.In 2006, the Supreme Court by a judgement upheld Tamil Nadu's right to maintain water level at the dam at 142 feet.<br /><br />However, the neighbouring state brought in the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act 2006 which restricted the water level at 136 feet.<br />Aggrieved by the move, Tamil Nadu filed a petition challenging the impugned Act as a deliberate attempt to override the apex court's judgement permitting it to sustain the water level up to 142 feet.<br /><br />In view of the magnitude of the problem which involved the Constitutional validity of state government's power to make an enactment with a perceived intention to override the judgement of the apex court, a Constitution Bench was set up to examine the matter.<br /><br />The Bench after hearing arguments of the two states has now decided to constitute the empowered committee to review the safety aspects of the dam.</p>
<p>The five-judge Bench comprising Justices D K Jain, B Sudarshan Reddy, Mukundkam Sharma, R M Lodha and Deepak Verma said the five-member committee would be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.<br /><br />Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been authorised by the court to nominate one member each who could be a retired high court judge or a technical expert.<br /><br />The Centre has also been authorised to nominate two renowned technical experts not connected with the dispute.<br /><br />The apex court said it will pass appropriate orders tomorrow for formally constituting the committee which in turn would, within a time frame, submit its report to the Bench.<br />Both Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locked in a bitter tussle over more than the century old Mullaperiyar dam located in Idduki district.<br /><br />Though located in Kerala, the dam caters to the irrigation and drinking water needs of Tamil Nadu.<br /><br />Kerala, citing safety of the dam, wants to demolish the existing structure and construct a new one at an alternative location to which Tamil Nadu is opposed to.In 2006, the Supreme Court by a judgement upheld Tamil Nadu's right to maintain water level at the dam at 142 feet.<br /><br />However, the neighbouring state brought in the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act 2006 which restricted the water level at 136 feet.<br />Aggrieved by the move, Tamil Nadu filed a petition challenging the impugned Act as a deliberate attempt to override the apex court's judgement permitting it to sustain the water level up to 142 feet.<br /><br />In view of the magnitude of the problem which involved the Constitutional validity of state government's power to make an enactment with a perceived intention to override the judgement of the apex court, a Constitution Bench was set up to examine the matter.<br /><br />The Bench after hearing arguments of the two states has now decided to constitute the empowered committee to review the safety aspects of the dam.</p>