Lok Sabha Question No. 2253 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-12
Subject: National Committee on Dam Safety
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2253

## ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026

## NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON DAM SAFETY

## 2253. SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO:

## SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

## SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the eleventh meeting of the National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) was held recently in New Delhi and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the key agenda discussed, major decisions taken and recommendations made in the said meeting;

(c) the details of experts from various States and institutions who participated in the said meeting;

(d)  whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  review  the  structural  health  monitoring  system, emergency action plans and ageing dams and if so, the details thereof;

(e)  the  steps  taken/likely  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  implement  the  recommendations  of  the Committee particularly for dams located in seismically vulnerable and flood-prone regions of the country; and

(f)  whether  the  Government  has  made  any  financial  provision  to  strengthen  dam  safety  mechanisms across the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Yes.  The  11th  Meeting  of  the  National  Committee  on  Dam  Safety  (NCDS)  was  convened  on  20 th January, 2026 in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by the official members of the Committee, with the  Heads  of  State  Dam  Safety  Organisations  participating  as  special  invitees.  The  proceedings  were conducted under the chairmanship of the Chairman, Central Water Commission, who also serves as the Chairman of the NCDS.

(b) Several policy-related issues critical for the implementation of various provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 were deliberated upon during the NCDS meeting. The agenda items included, inter alia:

-  Standard  Operating  Procedure  (SOP)  for  Comprehensive  Dam  Safety  Evaluation  (CDSE) [Sections 38-40] ;
-  SOP for Pre-Initial Filling Plan [Section 27] ;
-  Financial remuneration of national and international dam safety experts;
-  Framework finalisation for Level-2 (SQRA) Risk Assessment studies under Section 35(2) ;
-  Regulation for defining 'Under Construction' dams/barrages and their compliance requirements;

-  Approval  mechanism  for  new  dam  projects  and  rehabilitation  of  existing  projects  [Section 26], including references from MoEF&CC;
-  Mechanism for appraisal and approval of various non-structural documents.

The  committee  conducted  a  thorough  review  of  the  agenda  items,  engaging  in  detailed discussions to address key challenges and opportunities in implementation. They issued clear, actionable directions to all stakeholders, emphasizing timelines, resource allocation and accountability measures to ensure the timely rollout of critical activities and frameworks.

(c) List  of  participants/experts  from  various  States  and  institutions  who  participated  in  the  11th  NCDS meeting is given at Annexure.

(d) The responsibility for the safety of dams, including their operation, maintenance, monitoring, safety audit and surveillance, rests primarily with the dam owners. In accordance with the provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, every owner of a specified dam is mandated to conduct annual pre-monsoon and postmonsoon inspections in respect of each specified dam for monitoring the performance of such dam. As per this  compliance,  dam  owning  agencies  have  reported  the  pre-monsoon  &  post-monsoon  inspections  of about 6524 and 6553 dams respectively for the year 2025.

Further, in compliance of Section 32 of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, National Dam Safety Authority published in April, 2024, a regulation titled 'Inspection, Instrumentation, Seismic Data, Risk Assessment and  Evaluation  of  Specified  Dam  Regulation,  2024,  detailing  the  Minimum  number  of  sets  of instrumentation required at the dam for monitoring the performance of specified dams, and other details such as technical documentation, analysis, calibration, installation procedures etc.

The  Act  also  mandated  the  requirement  for  preparing  the  Emergency  Action  Plan  (EAP)/Disaster Management  in  respect  of  each  specified  dam.  As  of  now,  EAP  for  362  specified  dams  have  been completed by the dam owners.

(e) Recommendations of the National Committee are being implemented through well-defined institutional mechanisms, prioritized safety assessments, and dedicated funding programmes, such as the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase-II and Phase-III. Special emphasis is being placed  on  high-risk  dams  located  in  seismic  zones  and  flood-prone  regions,  where  risk  classification frameworks and enhanced monitoring protocols are being systematically applied.

(f) The Dam Safety Act, 2021 stipulates that 'Every owner of the specified dam shall earmark sufficient and specific funds for maintenance and repairs of the dam and for implementing the recommendations of the State Dam Safety Organisation.' Since dams in India are owned, operated, and maintained by State Government Departments/Boards, Central/State Public Sector Undertakings, or private agencies, the funds required  for  routine  operation,  maintenance  (O&M),  and  rehabilitation  are  allocated  by  the  respective agencies through their annual budgets.

Further, in order to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams across the country along with institutional strengthening for dam safety, Govt. of India is implementing the Dam Rehabilitation  and  Improvement  Project  (DRIP)  with  external  funding.  Under  the  World  Bank  funded DRIP Phase-I program, 223 dams located in seven States were audited and rehabilitated. After completion of  DRIP  Phase-I  programme  in  March  2021,  Government  of  India  has  taken  up  DRIP  Phase-II  &  III scheme. The Scheme envisages rehabilitation and safety improvement of 736 dams located in 19 States, with a budget outlay of Rs. 10,211 crore. The scheme is of 10 years duration. DRIP Phase-II has become operational  from  12th  October  2021,  and  is  being  co-financed  by  the  World  Bank  and  the  Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank.

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## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2253 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING 'NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON DAM SAFETY'.

## List of participants who attended the 11th NCDS meeting

|   S. No | Name (Sh./Smt./Dr./Ms.)   | Designation                      | Organisation      | Positionin NCDS   |
|---------|---------------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|       1 | Anupam Prasad             | Chairman                         | CWC               | Chairman          |
|       2 | Anil Jain                 | Chairman                         | NDSA              | Member            |
|       3 | Reading Shimray           | Member (D&R)                     | CWC               | Member            |
|       4 | MGGokhale                 | Member (Hydro)                   | CEA               | Member            |
|       5 | Pradeep Kumar Agrawal     | Joint Secretary (RD &PP)         | DoWRRD&GR         | Member            |
|       7 | Yogendra Pal Singh        | Scientist-'F'                    | MoEF&CC           | Member            |
|       8 | Rahul Saxena              | Scientist G                      | IMD               | Member            |
|       9 | Dr. P. K. Gajbhiye        | Director, EPE, DGCO              | GSI               | Member            |
|      10 | B. Simhadri Rao           | Scientist-G                      | NRSC              | Member            |
|      11 | M. S. Hanumanthappa       | Scientist 'D'                    | CWPRS             | Member            |
|      12 | K. G. Mahesh              | Director                         | Karnataka         | Member            |
|      13 | Sukhjeet Singh Bhullar    | Chief Engineer Vigilance & QA    | Punjab            | Member            |
|      15 | Zodinthari                | Engineer-in-chief                | Mizoram           | Member            |
|      16 | Niranjan Rout             | Chief Engineer                   | Odisha            | Member            |
|      17 | S. A. TATU                | Director General                 | Maharashtra       | Member            |
|      18 | Soran Singh               | Engineer-in-Chief (Project)      | Uttar Pradesh     | Member            |
|      19 | S. K. Sibal               | Ex-Member (D&R)                  | Expert member     | Member            |
|      20 | Yogendra Singh            | Professor                        | IIT Roorkee       | Member            |
|      21 | Chandan Singh             | Under Secretary                  | NDMA              | Member            |
|      22 | Pramod Narayan            | Member (P&R, NDSA)               | NDSA              | Member Secretary  |
|      23 | Manoj Kumar               | SJC(PR)                          | DoWRRD&GR         | Special Invitee   |
|      24 | Jayanta Kumar Das         | General Manager (Civil)          | APGCL             | Special Invitee   |
|      25 | Mahmood Alam              | Chief Engineer                   | SDSO Patna        | Special Invitee   |
|      26 | Mr. P.K.Pal               | Project Director                 | Chhattisgarh      | Special Invitee   |
|      27 | S.S. Pagar                | Head &Chief Engineer             | SDSO Maharashtra  | Special Invitee   |
|      28 | B.Wann                    | Head & Additional Chief Engineer | SDSO Meghalaya    | Special Invitee   |
|      29 | S. Karthikeyan            | Superintending Engineer          | SDSO Chennai      | Special Invitee   |
|      30 | Shankar Kumar Saha        | Chairman                         | SDSO, Uttarakhand | Special Invitee   |

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