Dam Safety Act and Mullaperiyar dam

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CategoryPolity

Last Updated05/04/2022

The Supreme Court recently observed that the 2021 Dam Safety Act provided for everything, other than how to “settle political scores”, to resolve inter-State disputes over dams.
The observation was made while hearing a case on the Mullaperiyar dam.
A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar wanted to know whether the dam would be the first to be handled under the law.

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It is aimed at addressing the long-felt need for addressing issues concerning the safety of major dams all over the country.
It provides for surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of certain dams for prevention of disasters related to dam failure, apart from institutional mechanisms to ensure their safe functioning.
The Act covers those dams having a height of over 15m and between 10m and 15m with certain stipulations.
It seeks to create two national institutions-National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) to evolve dam safety policies and recommend necessary regulations, and the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to implement policies and address unresolved issues between the two States.
The NDSA will be the regulatory body.
The legislation also envisages the formation of State Dam Safety Organisations and State Committees on Dam Safety.
Dam owners will be held responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance, and supervision of dams.

The dispute over the 126-year-old dam centers around the subject of its safety.
Located in the Idukki district of Kerala, the dam diverts the west-flowing rivers to the east through a tunnel in order to irrigate about 58,650 hectares in the dry southern districts of Tamil Nadu, which owns, operates, and maintains the dam.
As the Act provides that the NDSA will perform the role of the State Dam Safety Organisation for a dam located in one State and used by another, the Mullaperiyar dam, comes under the purview of the NDSA.

The Dam Safety Act, 2021 and its provisions may be a way for resolution of the “impasse” in the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam issue between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The committees at the national and state level should also work cordially giving primacy to the safety of people living in the effective area of the dam.

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