ABC of RCC DAM construction: ghatghar dam – a case study

The RCC (Roller Compacted Concrete) technology of dam construction being widely used in the world at present is the technology of construction with cement, sand, gravel and additives similar to the CVC (Conventionally Vibrated Concrete) technology but with improved qualities of concrete with strength, with not only faster placement, but it is also economical. The technology is about four decades old but it is now widely accepted the world over since 1980, after exhaustive testing and trials by some countries. Now with the continued improvement in technology by testing and research, the technology has matured. The population of RCC dams is on an increase every four to five years as it is observed since 1990. Various analysis of cost and time aspects of the RCC dams already constructed, shows saving of up to 20%. Though India is one of the leading countries in population of dams already constructed and many more dams still to be constructed, the RCC technology has not been deployed to a large extent. In fact, Ghatghar dam recently (2006) constructed in Maharashtra is the first RCC dam of India. How the beneficial technology has been deployed for Ghatghar has been explained in the paper.