The Supreme Court today quashed the law passed by Kerala Assembly on the Mullaperiyar dam and ruled that the water level of the dam can be raised to 142 feet.

The apex court appointed a three-member Committee to supervise its safety aspects. The verdict comes in a suit filed by Tamil Nadu questioning the law enacted by Kerala in 2006 to restrict the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam at 136 feet though the Supreme Court had permitted Tamil Nadu to raise the water level up to 142 feet.

The much-awaited verdict in the case comes eight months after the hearing was completed by a five member Constitutional Bench.

While Tamil Nadu had been demanding an increase in the water level to support its agricultural needs, Kerala had opposed the same pointing out concerns about the safety of the more-than-a-century-old lime-surkhi structure and demanded building a new dam at Mullaperiyar.

The Bench in 2010 had appointed an empowered committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand to go into the safety aspects and the report was submitted in April 2012.

The panel had said, the dam is structurally and hydrologically safe, and Tamil Nadu can raise the water level from 136 to 142 feet after carrying out certain repairs.