The dam crisis

Enactment of the safety Bill must not be delayed

The government’s decision to allocate an additional Rs 34.66 billion to strengthen select dams is a good step towards mitigating the potential danger of devastation due to dam failures. The funds are meant to cover the revised cost of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) for its extended period till 2020 to work on 198 dams in seven states. The country has as many as 5,254 large dams, besides many more medium and small barrages, and the present scheme is grossly inadequate for the task. Going by indications, about 700 more dams might be taken up for fortifying during the proposed phase-II of the DRIP project, but even that would leave out a large number of aged and unsafe dams. Nothing short of all-embracing coverage of the water-impounding structures would serve the purpose.

The dam safety issue merits urgent attention because over 75 per cent of the country’s dams are over 25 years old with the majority of them exceeding their rated lifespan of 50 to 60 years. More importantly, over 200 large dams are over 100 years of age. Since most of the old dams are made of mud, clay or other locally available materials, they are far more vulnerable to collapsing compared to the new generation concrete dams. There have already been as many as 36 dam failures, nine of which have taken place after 2001. The Kadam dam in Andhra Pradesh broke down twice, in 1958 and 1995.

No doubt the overall rate of dam failures in India is not worse than in other countries, but the devastation potential of such mishaps is far higher here owing to the denser habitation of their floodplains. Disquietingly, the menace has increased as a result of the increased frequency of freakish weather events due to climate change. The multi-state ownership and inter-state disputes over the upkeep and benefit-sharing of dams are also contributing to this hazard. The Mullaperiyar dam, located in Kerala but owned by Tamil Nadu, is a typical case in point. While Kerala, which faces the direct threat of destruction due to its breakdown, is worried about its poor physical condition and wants it to be replaced with a new structure, Tamil Nadu is unwilling to do so. Recently when exceptionally heavy downpours filled up this dam to the brim, threatening its survival, the Supreme Court had to intervene to get some water released even though Kerala was, at that time, reeling from an unprecedented deluge.

Though the fresh funding of the DRIP provides for consolidating the standing mechanisms for monitoring and maintaining the dams under its coverage, the need is to have permanent institutions to carry out these routine chores in all the dams of the country. Such a provision has indeed been made in the Dam Safety Bill, 2018, the draft of which was cleared by the Cabinet in June last. It provides for regular inspection, emergency action plans, adequate funding for repair and maintenance, instrumentation and safety manuals for all dams. It also explicitly puts the onus of dam safety on dam owners and goes a step further to lay down the penal action for lapses on this count. Enacting and enforcing this statute brook no delay.