Palaniswami seeks PM Modi's intervention regarding Dam Safety Bill, 2018

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his urgent personal intervention regarding the Dam Safety Bill, 2018.

Palaniswami wrote in the letter to Prime Minister, "I seek your urgent personal intervention regarding the Dam Safety Bill, 2018. You may kindly recall that on 15.6.2018, I wrote to you not to legislate an Act on Dam Safety till such time all the States are consulted and the consensus is evolved."

The Chief Minister also claimed in the letter that the Resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on June 26, expressing the concerns of the people of Tamil Nadu, on the proposed Dam Safety Bill was also sent to Government of India for taking immediate action.

"However the serious concerns of Tamil Nadu have not been addressed at all by the Government of India and a Bill has now been introduced in the Lok Sabha without considering the views/comments of the State Governments," the letter read.

On June 13, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for introduction of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in the Parliament to adopt uniform safety procedures to ensure the safety of reservoirs.

The draft Bill was finalised after wide consultation with leading Indian experts and international experts.

The Bill provides for the establishment of National Dam Safety Authority as a regulatory body which shall discharge functions to implement the policy, guidelines and standards for dam safety in the country. It provides for constitution of a State Committee on Dam Safety by State Government.

There are over 5,200 large dams in India and about 450 are under construction. In addition, there are thousands of medium and small dams. Due to the lack of legal and institutional architecture for dam safety in India, the matter is an issue of concern.

In certain cases, such as dams of one state falling under the territory of another, the authority shall also perform the role of State Dam Safety Organisation thereby eliminating potential causes for inter-state conflicts.