Mullaperiyar Dam is on the Periyar River in Idukki District of Kerala, India. It was constructed in 1895 by the British Government. The dam and the river are fully owned by and located in Kerala but is controlled and operated on a period lease for 999 years by Tamil Nadu. The safety of the dam has been a matter of concern and a point of dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu States. It is a gravity dam made with limestone and surkhi, a mixture of sugar and calcium oxide at a cost of Rs 104 lakhs. Through man made tunnels and deep cuttings, the water is taken across the watershed to Vaigai river and it nourishes Theni, Madurai District, Sivaganga District and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu
On 29 October 1886, a lease indenture for 999 years was made between Maharaja of Travancore and Madras State. The agreement was to give 8000 acres of land for the reservoir and another 100 acres to construct the dam. And the tax for each acre was Rs 5 per year. The agreement was renewed in 1970 by C Achutha Menon, then Kerala Chief Minister with a tax of Rs 30 per acre and for the electricity generated a chargeof Rs 12 per kiloWatt. T The Tamil Nadu government has been paying to the Kerala government for the past 50 years Rs 2.5 lakhs as tax per year for the land and Rs 7.5 lakhs per year as surcharge for the electricity produced.
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