Monitoring dam safety

Decommissioning should be a policy option

Even after the enactment of the Dam Safety Act in 2021, the threat to the life, property, and livelihood of millions of people from dam-related perils remains unabated. This is clear from the latest report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water, which points out though 234 large dams are 100-300 years old, none has been decommissioned. In fact, retiring a dam has seldom been deemed an option in India even if the structure turns highly hazardous — as is the case with the nearly 130-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, which is not being replaced with a new one despite having been