196 dams in India are over 100-years old -Governance Now

196 dams in India are over 100-years old

The purpose of Dam Safety Bill is to ensure safety of dams and the life & property of people downstream

GN Bureau | March 30, 2017

#safety #old dams #Dam Safety Bill #Central Water Commission

Mullapperiyar dam

As many as 196 dams in India are over 100-years old, union minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan informed the Lok Sabha.

The minister said that National Water Resource Council adopted National Water Policy 2012 on December 28, 2012. The policy mentions that “Legally Empowered Dam Safety Services needs to be ensured in the States as well as at the Centre. Appropriate safety measures, including downstream flood management, for each dam should be undertaken on top priority’’.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) maintains the National Register of Large Dams (NRLD) as per information received from state governments. As per latest information, total numbers of dams more than 100-years-old are 196.

The minister said that the safety of dams rests primarily with dam owners which are generally state governments/central agencies such as NHPC, BBMB. In order to supplement the efforts of the state governments, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation provides technical and financial assistance to encourage sustainable development and efficient management of water resources through various schemes and programmes such as Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Programme (DRIP).

DRIP was started in April 2012 and is scheduled to be completed in June 2018 with the financial assistance of World Bank for the rehabilitation of about 225 dam projects from the point of view of safety in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand (DVC) and Uttarakhand (UJVNL). The total project cost is Rs. 2,100 crore.

The government of India on October 19, 1987 constituted National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) under chairmanship of chairman, CWC with representatives from state governments with the objective to oversee dam safety activities in the country and suggest improvements to bring dams safety practices in line with the latest state-of-art consistent with Indian conditions. 37 meetings of this committee have been conducted so far.

The Draft Cabinet Note on the proposal for the enactment of Dam Safety Bill was circulated to Central Ministries, along with NITI Aayog, on May 18,2016. NITI Aayog suggested fresh consultations with the states as the present Bill has national level applicability. Accordingly, the draft Dam Safety Bill was circulated to all the States and Union Territories.

The purpose of Dam Safety Bill is to ensure safety of dams and the life and property of people downstream. The Bill will be applicable to all large dams in India.

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