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SC fixes date for disposing of plea on Almatti dam

The Supreme Court today fixed December 3 for the final disposal of an interlocutory application regarding the construction of 27 crest gates at the Almatti dam by Karnataka.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A S Anand, Justice V N Khare and Justice M Srinivasan thus varied its order passed yesterday by directing Karnataka not to erect the crest gates at the dam till 'further orders'.

The same bench had yesterday asked Karnataka not to commence work on the erection of the gates till the end of January 1999 and fixed the hearing of the interlocutory application January 1999.

The variation came in view of the forceful submission of senior counsel F S Nariman appearing for Karnataka that if the work on the erection of the gates was started by the end of January 1999 it would not be completed before the onset the 1999 monsoon and the state would be deprived of the opportunity to provide the much needed irrigation facility to about 1.50 lakh acres of land.

The interlocutory application by Andhra Pradesh is an offshoot of an original suit filed by it seeking directions to Karnataka not to raise the height of the Almatti dam beyond 515.2 m.

Karnataka had filed an affidavit on September 30 this year undertaking that it would not erect the gates till October this year for taking the height of the dam up to 524 m.

The programme for the erection of the gates was further rescheduled by Karnataka itself to the middle of November this year.

UNI

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