An Overview of the Dam Safety Act, 2021

Dams are critical infrastructure assets constructed with huge investments for multiple uses such as supply of water for drinking and industrial purposes, irrigation, power generation and flood moderation. India ranks third in the world, after USA and China, in terms of number of large dams. As per the National Register of Large Dams (2019) compiled by the Central Water Commission, India has 5334 operational large dams and 411 are under construction. Around 98% of these dams are owned by the State Governments while the remaining are owned by Central and State public sector utilities and private agencies. About 80% of these dams are more than 25 years of age and 227 dams are more than 100 years of age. Ensuring the safety of these dams is paramount responsibility of the dam owners as unsafe dam constitute a major public safety concern. The Parliament of India has enacted the Dam Safety Act, 2021, to provide for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of the specified dam for prevention of dam failure related disasters and to provide for institutional mechanism to ensure their safe functioning and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. This paper provides an insight into the salient provisions of the Act and highlights the responsibilities of the Central and State Governments and the dam owners in implementation of the various provisions of the Act.