The Idamalayar Dam is a multipurpose concrete gravity dam located at Ennakal, nearBhoothathankettu, on the Idamalayar River, a tributary of the Periyar River in Kerala,South India. Completed in 1985, with a length of 373 metres (1,224 ft), the dam created a multipurpose reservoir covering 28.3 km2 (10.9 sq mi) in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats.[1][2]
The reservoir storage is utilized by a hydroelectric power station which has a installed capacity of 75 MW with two units of 37.5 MW capacity, producing an annual energy output of 380 GW·h.
Controversy:
Allegations that Mr. Pillai, who was the Electricity Minister in the UDF government during 1980-87, caused a pecuniary loss of about Rs. 2 crore to the KSEB by awarding contracts for the construction of a power tunnel and surge shaft of the Idamalayar project to K.P. Poulose (now deceased) at “extraordinarily high rates.”
The Supreme Court in Feb 2011 convicted and sentenced the former Kerala Minister, R. Balakrishna Pillai; the former Chairman of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Ramabhadran Nair; and P.K. Sajeev, a close friend of Mr. Pillai, to one-year rigorous imprisonment in the Idamalayar Hydroelectric Power Project case.
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