Parambikulam Dam is an embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

 on the Parambikulam River

Parambikulam River

Parambikulam River, one of four tributaries of the Chalakkudi River, originates in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India.The Parambikulam Dam has been constructed across the river at Anamalai, located in the Western Ghats of Kerala. This dam ranks number one in India as well as in the top...

,

Parambikulam

Parambikulam

Parambikulam is located in the Palakkad district of Kerala state, south India. Established in 1973, the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is in the Sungam range of hills, sprawling over 285 km². It is at a distance of 135 km from Palakkad town and is situated adjacent to the Indira Gandhi...

 located in the Palakkad district

Palakkad district

Palakkad District is one of the 14 districts of the Indian state of Kerala. The city of Palakkad is the district headquarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram District, on the southwest by the Thrissur District and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The...

 in the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

 of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, ranks number one in India as well as in the top ten embankment dams in the world in volume capacity in the year 2000.

Per the agreement with Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 was supposed to receive 7.25 TMC feet of water per year from the Parambikulam Aliyar Project of which the Parambikulam Dam is a part. In 2004, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 did not receive any water after February 10, resulting in the drying up of paddy

Paddy field

A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...

 in thousands of acres in Chittur

Chittur

Chittur is a small town in Palakkad district of Kerala, South India.-Politics:Chittur assembly constituency is part of Alathur .It contains 16 panchayats.-Demographics:...

taluk. Since this agreement has still not been met as of July 2006, Kerala Water Resources Minister has called for a review of the project agreement.