Even as Kerala has been demanding in the Supreme Court to decommission the Mullaperiyar dam, the State has been busy preparing a detailed project report for a new dam, besides probing possibilities for scrapping the existing structure.

The former chairman of the Mullaperiyar special cell, M K Parameswaran, had submitted a report to the State government in 2011 on the decommissioning of the structure. The report recommended demolishing the baby dam to flow water to the new structure and to construct a spillway channel to the new dam.

The high-power committee had in 2011 said the existing structure should be demolished completely or partially while constructing the new dam. Though Kerala had then suggested against demolishing the dam, it later changed its stand. Officials said if the baby dam was to be taken down, the main structure could be demolished in blocks after diverting the water to the new dam. They also pointed out that the debris from the demolished dam could be taken out of the Periyar wildlife sanctuary by road.

Another section of officials, however, suggested channelling water to the new dam through the spillway.

It has been estimated that the debris from the demolished dam would come to around 70,000 truckloads. Kerala should find a location to discard the debris. The existing dam is within the wildlife sanctuary.

Kerala has identified a site 366 metres downhill of the sanctuary for the new dam.

A report Kerala had submitted in 2011 recommended demolishing the structure after bringing down the reservoir water level to 110 feet. It also recommended demolishing the structure during the summer months since the water level would be low.

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