Lok Sabha Question No. 133 (STARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: Constitution of National Dam Safety Authority
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Adv Dean Kuriakose

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *133

ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025

## CONSTITUTION OF NATIONAL DAM SAFETY AUTHORITY

| *133.                                                                                                              | ADV DEAN KURIAKOSE                                                                                                 |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:                                                               | Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:                                                               |
| (a) whether the Supreme Court has mandated the Union Government to constitute the National Dam Safety              | (a) whether the Supreme Court has mandated the Union Government to constitute the National Dam Safety              |
| Authority and conduct a safety audit of the dams in the country;                                                   | Authority and conduct a safety audit of the dams in the country;                                                   |
| (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the States where such safety audit has been conducted;                   | (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the States where such safety audit has been conducted;                   |
| (c) whether the safety audit of Mullaperiyar dam is in the list and if so, the details thereof; and                | (c) whether the safety audit of Mullaperiyar dam is in the list and if so, the details thereof; and                |
| (d) if not, whether the Government proposes to conduct an audit at Mullaperiyar dam at the earliest and if so, the | (d) if not, whether the Government proposes to conduct an audit at Mullaperiyar dam at the earliest and if so, the |
| details thereof?                                                                                                   | details thereof?                                                                                                   |
| ANSWER                                                                                                             | ANSWER                                                                                                             |
| THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI                                                                                         | THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI                                                                                         |
| (SHRI C R PAATIL)                                                                                                  | (SHRI C R PAATIL)                                                                                                  |
| (a) to (d) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.                                                        | (a) to (d) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.                                                        |

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. *133 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025 IN LOK SABHA REGARDING 'CONSTITUTION OF NATIONAL DAM SAFETY AUTHORITY'

(a)  to  (d) No.  Pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  Dam  Safety  Act  2021,  the  Central  Government,  after  the passage of the Dam Safety Act 2021 by the Parliament in December 2021, established the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) in February 2022 for overseeing dam safety activities across the country and to implement the  policy,  guidelines  and  standards  evolved  by  the  National  Committee  on  Dam  Safety  (NCDS)  for  proper surveillance, inspection and maintenance of specified dams.

Responsibility to ensure the safety of dams, including their operation and maintenance, rests primarily with dam owners, which are mostly the State Governments and Central/State Public Sector Units.

Further,  as  per  section  31  of  the  Dam  Safety  Act  2021,  every  owner  of  a  specified  dam  has  been mandated to undertake annually, through their Dam Safety Units, a pre-monsoon and post- monsoon inspection in  respect  of  each  specified  dam  and  to  forward  the  inspection  report  to  the  concerned  State  Dam  Safety Organization,  which  further  analyses  the  report  and  provide  comments  on  safety,  deficiency  and  remedial measures, if any, to the owner of the specified dam.

Accordingly, the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon inspections of all the specified dams including the Mullaperiyar dam are being carried out by their Dam Safety Unit, constituted for that purpose.

Dam Safety Act, 2021 also mandates the comprehensive dam safety evaluation of each of the specified dam by an independent panel of experts.  As per Section 38 of the Act, the responsibility for carrying out the comprehensive safety audit of dams rests with the dam owners and States only. Responsibility of conducting the comprehensive dam safety evaluation of the Mullaperiyardam rests with the Water Resources Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, being the owner of this dam.

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