E-Paper
Safety audit of large dams to avert disasters under way
India is assessing risks for all 6,545 dams as part of the National Dam Safety Act, prompted by climate change and recent flooding disasters.
New Delhi: India is carrying out a risk assessment of all dams as per a comprehensive database prepared for the first time since the enactment of the National Dam Safety Act -- an exercise critical to public safety in a country that is home to the world’s largest number of dams after the US and China.
Climate risks have heightened the need for scrutiny of large engineering projects and a spate of dam-linked flooding disasters, especially two big ones in 2023, has served as a wake-up call .
The Dam Safety Act mandates that every specified structure undergo periodic risk assessments. The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has developed a digital tool to “scientifically index dams based on fragility, vulnerability, and downstream impacts”, known as Rapid Risk Screening of Specified Dams, an official said.
According to the new database, a latest enumeration showed India had 6,545 dams and 83 under-construction ones. “As on November 25, 2025, 1,853 dams had been screened and verified, marking the first nationwide risk prioritisation exercise for dam safety,” the official said.
The national audit will directly aid states in prioritising rehabilitation and risk-mitigation investments to ensure public safety. Mandatory protocols are being put in place, a second official said.
In October last year, the South Lhonak lake, a glacial water body, overflowed in Sikkim and burst through the Teesta III hydropower project, killing at least 100. Heavy monsoon rainfall across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have killed over 400 people in the past two years.
“Such incidents underscore risks from climate change-induced glacial melt that can cause major dam breaches,” said Amit Mrig, a former faculty at the Indian Institution of Technology at Roorkee in Uttarakhand.
To comply with Section 38(1) of the Act, the NDSA issued a detailed template for states and dam owners to ensure that safety evaluations by independent panels of experts follow a “uniform, high-quality technical approach” across the country, according to a note seen by HT.
Standardisation has been a key measure to ensure compliance with the Act, authorities said. To ensure safe reservoir filling of newly constructed dams, NDSA has issued a pre-filling standard operating procedure.
“This ensures that hydrological performance, structural behaviour, and safety systems are thoroughly assessed before first impoundment, thereby preventing avoidable incidents,” the note further states. Impoundment refers to storage of water in a dam’s reservoir, typical of large hydropower projects.
The NDSA has also issued model terms of reference for recasting of drawings to help “dam owners update missing or outdated engineering documentation”, an essential requirement under Section 22(1) of the Act.
“Emergency action plans are being uploaded steadily, and states have been requested to fast-track the remaining ones,” one of the officials said.
