Inter-State Tensions Mount as Tamil Nadu Presses Hydropower Project, Kerala Objects

Tamil Nadu has pressed ahead with a 2,400-MW pumped storage hydropower project at Aliyar dam, completely sidelining Kerala's urgent protests. Valued at Rs 11,721 crore and planned under a public-private partnership model, the initiative seeks to exploit the elevation difference between upper and lower Aliyar reservoirs in the Bharathapuzha basin to deliver six hours of daily peak power. Kerala warns that pumping water back upstream will choke its mandated 7.25 TMC annual release into the Chittoor river via Mankadavu weir, jeopardizing irrigation and drinking water for thousands.

Kerala's Additional Chief Secretary Biswanath Sinha issued a scathing letter on October 18 to Tamil Nadu's Water Resources Secretary, branding the move a "clear violation" of the 1970s Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement, which requires mutual consent for any river works. Just eight days later, Tamil Nadu's Infrastructure Development Board invited bids for a transaction advisor, signaling full steam ahead. Insiders report a pre-feasibility study is complete, tender documents are in preparation, and Adani Green Energy has expressed investment interest—turning a bilateral dispute into a corporate showdown.

The PAP pact binds Tamil Nadu to release 21 TMC across three Kerala entitlements, including 12.3 TMC from Upper Sholayar and 1.43 TMC from Upper Nirar weir. Yet, no discussions occurred in the Joint Water Regulation Board, exposing a trust deficit already strained by the endless Mullaperiyar dam saga. Kerala's Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine has promised aggressive action post-Tamil Nadu's response, with experts advising approaches to central bodies or the Supreme Court under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act.

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Environmental red flags are rising in the fragile Western Ghats ecosystem. Reduced downstream flows threaten farmland in Palakkad and Thrissur, endanger biodiversity, and heighten drought vulnerability. Tamil Nadu defends the project as vital green energy infrastructure to stabilize its grid amid renewable surges, but critics argue sustainable power cannot come at the cost of neighborly betrayal.

As legal clouds gather and bids flood in, the Aliyar crisis risks exploding into South India's next major river war. With farmers, ecologists, and energy giants on edge, only central intervention or Supreme Court mediation may prevent a catastrophic breakdown in Dravidian water diplomacy.

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