CHENNAI: Contesting Kerala’s charge that sudden release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam was responsible for the deluge, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday said it was “wholly misplaced and contrary to ground realities”. It contended that major dams in Kerala received heavy to very heavy rain in the current monsoon, resulting in heavy overflows. Idukki dam alone discharged 39.1tmcft in 12 days, beginning August 10. The Mullaperiyar dam is located in Kerala and operated by Tamil Nadu.In its counter to the affidavit filed by Kerala before the Supreme Court , Tamil Nadu submitted data of “sudden increase in release” from Idukki and Idamalaiyar dams of Periyar basin to prove its point. Idukki district in Mullaperiyar’s downstream received “very heavy rain” from July.The level in Idukki dam on August 14 was 2399ft against the full capacity of 2403ft, and the spillage was 1.6tmcft. The release rose to 13.79tmcft the next day, evident from data posted on Kerala government website. Similarly, release from Idamalaiyar dam into the lower part of Periyar was nil on August 14 and 15, but it soared to 4.1tmcft on August 16, and release was sudden.In all, the quantum released from Idukki and Idamalaiyar dams between August 14 and 19 was 36.28tmcft, while the release from Mullaperiyar dam to Idukki dam in the corresponding period was far less. “It is seen that the flood surplus from Idukki dam is mainly due to the flows generated from its own catchment due to unprecedented heavy rainfall while the contribution from Mullaperiyar dam is significantly less,” TN said. When the level reached 140ft (on August 15) in Mullaperiyar dam, water was released through the spillway after giving sufficient flood warning for every foot of rise and in the presence of Kerala engineers.At a meeting convened by sub-committee for disaster management on August 17, following an SC order, Tamil Nadu said the level could be retained at 142ft and “pointed out that any reduction in permitted storage level would mean extra release of water, which could aggravate the flood situation in Kerala”. After detailed deliberation, it was decided that the reservoir be regulated in a way that level in dam remained 2ft-3ft below the permitted level of 142ft during the current spell. Accordingly, the level is up to 140ft.In Trichy, CM Edappadi K Palaniswami said Kerala had given wrong information (to the SC) to prevent Tamil Nadu from raising the storage of the dam to 152ft. The very heavy rainfall saw all the dams in Kerala (in surplus) and flooded the state, he said, denying that releases from Mullaperiyar had anything to do with it. Deputy CM O Panneerselvam said, “The collectors were taking precautionary steps to evacuate people. But the situation changed and now they are blaming us.”