GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Infrastructure/disaster management
Source: DTE
Context: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water red-flagged dam safety issues, but there was a poor response from people.
Background:
- Of the 5,745 large dams in the country, 5,334 are operational.
- Dams (especially large ones) are highly controversial in India. They –
- Have Destroyed vast swathes of natural forests,
- Displaced millions of people,
- Led to disasters – dams floods,
- Fuelled inter-state conflicts,
- Emit methane,
- Fragmenting freshwater species’ habitats, alter rivers’ hydrology and affect freshwater ecosystems by inundation.
- But they have also changed the Indian civilisations by evolving new ways of farming, urbanisation and industrialisation → power generation → emerged as important human-made wetlands → making it challenging to decommission the aged/unsafe ones.
Concerns raised by the Parliamentary Committee over the safety of ageing dams:
- Of the operational dams, 234 have outlived their lifespan of 100 years (some even older than 300 years).
- Panel flagged 36 dam disasters. The worst was the 1979 Machhu dam disaster in Morbi, Gujarat.
- Dams have already altered the local ecology, societies, economies and even micro-climatic conditions.
- Though decommissioning might create new conflict zones, the Committee has asked for charting paths for decommissioning of ageing and unsafe dams.
Statutory and institutional arrangements of dam safety in India:
- Under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India, water and water storage is a state subject.
- However, the Central Government can enact legislation in 3 scenarios –
- If a project affects multiple states or international treaties.
- If two or more states pass a resolution requiring such a law. This is what led to the Dam Safety Bill 2019.
- On matters related to the protection of the environment under the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986. The existing dam safety regulations are part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under the EPA.
- At the national level, the Central Water Commission (CWC) issued guidelines for:
- Dam Safety Procedures;
- Safety Inspection of Dams;
- Development and Implementation of Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for Dams; etc.
- Dams under the World Bank Dams Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) are governed by the aforementioned guidelines.
Conclusion:
- We have developed the character and capabilities to respond to disasters rather than prevent them.
- It is time to have extensive dialogues with communities, experts and other stakeholders who can contribute to charting pathways for decommissioning old/unsafe dams.
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