Strengthening and Safeguarding Dams in India

Troubled Waters: Safeguarding India’s Dams Amidst Aging Infrastructure

On 12 October 2025, the Supreme Court of India issued fresh notices to stakeholders regarding the precarious condition of the 130-year-old Mullaperiyar dam. Its aging structure, combined with heightened climate risks and population growth, places over 3.5 million residents downstream at risk. Mullaperiyar isn’t an anomaly; it is symptomatic of a broader national crisis. Nearly 80% of India's dams are over 25 years old, and over 230 have already crossed the century mark. Despite the enactment of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, the gap between policy ambition and ground realities poses critical questions about India’s preparedness for dam safety in the 21st century.

Who Governs India's Dams?

The institutional framework governing dams in India reflects a mix of central and state collaborations. The Dam Safety Act, 2021 provided a much-needed legal framework, mandating periodic inspections, hazard classifications, and the preparation of emergency action plans. It also created two key bodies: the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to enforce uniform safety standards across states, and state-level Dam Safety Committees to operationalize these mandates locally. Further, the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), funded by the World Bank, has been pivotal in rehabilitating over 700 dams in 19 states, focusing on structural safety, capacity building, and institutional modernization.

However, even these regulatory mechanisms face logistical hurdles, including insufficient budgets, bureaucratic inertia, and political tensions between states. The 130-year lease governing Mullaperiyar dam, signed in 1886 between Travancore’s Maharaja and colonial authorities, exemplifies such tensions, as Kerala (where the dam is located) and Tamil Nadu (which operates it) remain locked in perpetual disputes over its safety and management.

Ground Realities and Policy Gaps

India’s dependence on its 6,000+ dams is undeniable, given their role in irrigating nearly 30 million hectares, generating hydroelectricity, and controlling floods. But age converges with obsolescence: most of these dams were built using 19th- and early 20th-century engineering methods, making them vulnerable to sedimentation, structural fatigue, and seismic activity.

The 2021 Dam Safety Act, laudable as it is, suffers from poor implementation. Although it mandates independent safety reviews, few states have technically equipped panels to conduct rigorous assessments. Equally concerning is the lack of uniformity in inspection protocols. A survey by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2023 revealed that nearly 68% of state inspections failed to comply with prescribed standards. Political factors exacerbate these lapses: between Kerala’s demand to decommission Mullaperiyar and Tamil Nadu’s insistence on its continued operation, safety is often subordinated to interstate water disputes.

Furthermore, the Dam Safety Authority, intended as a central coordinating body, has limited enforcement powers. It can draft guidelines but struggles to ensure state-level compliance, leaving critical issues like emergency preparedness plans (EAPs) and real-time monitoring systems largely under-implemented.

The Cost of Inaction: Learning from Oroville

India cannot afford to ignore global lessons. The 2017 near-collapse of the Oroville Dam in California underscores the catastrophic risks of aging infrastructure. Oroville, the tallest dam in the United States, was almost breached due to flawed spillway design and sediment build-up. Despite massive investments in post-event rehabilitation ($1.1 billion), the incident prompted stricter inspections and the use of real-time analytics for hydrological forecasting and stress testing. India should take a leaf from this, leveraging technology like AI-powered sensors and predictive analytics for continuous health monitoring of dams such as Bhakra or Hirakud.

Unlike the fragmented regulatory environment in India, the United States updated its federal dam safety laws post-Oroville, enforcing clear accountability across agencies. A comparable push for modernization—and enforcement—must gain urgency in India if another Mullaperiyar-like crisis is to be averted.

Structural Tensions and Policy Stalemates

Several systemic issues undermine India’s dam safety ambitions:

• Centre-State Frictions: Disputes over inter-state water-sharing prevent coordinated action on aging dams. For instance, while the NDSA claims to have conducted risk assessments for 100 dams, implementation depends on state collaboration, which is not always forthcoming.
• Fiscal Constraints: DRIP Phases II & III, with their combined outlay of ₹13,000 crore, are ambitious on paper but progress is hindered by fund disbursal delays and overstretched state budgets.
• Climate Volatility: With erratic monsoons and extreme weather events becoming the norm, hydrological designs will need seismic and resilience upgrades that current funds do not account for adequately. A study by the CWC warns that spillway designs of 70% of Indian dams are outdated in the face of changing rainfall patterns.

Worryingly, public communication remains abysmal. Neither emergency action plans nor post-monsoon inspection findings are accessible publicly, perpetuating a governance environment that isolates citizens from key safety knowledge.

The Metrics for Success

To judge the impact of India’s dam safety overhaul, three benchmarks must be prioritized:

• Retrofitting Completion Rates: How many at-risk dams undergo structural strengthening within DRIP’s second and third phases?
• Digital Monitoring: Are sensors and AI-driven tools like FloodWatch India being scaled up uniformly across high-risk states?
• Emergency Action Readiness: Are EAPs implemented for at least 90% of India’s large dams by 2028?

Yet, such metrics must contend with India’s federal structure and varied governance capacities. Political buy-in at the state level will ultimately determine whether technocratic fixes succeed or are buried under the weight of fiscal and procedural inertia.

How Far Are We Willing to Go?

India’s dam safety regime has certainly progressed, but the gap between enacted laws and their lived reality remains stark. Much depends on securing interstate cooperation, addressing funding bottlenecks, and leveraging global lessons to tackle aging infrastructure in a climate-volatile world. Without such recalibration, India runs the grave risk of its strength—its vast reservoir network—turning into a liability.

Practice Questions for UPSC

Prelims Practice Questions

Frequently Asked Questions