PremiumNEW DELHI: In what will help dam safety in India, a $250 million project has been inked by the Union government, Central Water Commission, the World Bank and 10 participating states for 120 dams.
This assumes significance given India’s efforts to strengthen its dams following incidents of glacier bursts and flash floods. The country has around 5000 large dams that play an important role in India’s water security and mitigating floods.
“The Government of India, the Central Water Commission, government representatives from 10 participating states and the World Bank have signed a $250 million project, to support the Government of India’s long-term dam safety program and improve the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India," said a joint statement.
The $250 million loan has a maturity of 13 years. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recently approved the second and third phases of Rs10,211 crore Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) to improve the safety and operational performance of 736 dams across the country.
“The project will be implemented in approximately 120 dams across the states of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, and at the national level through the Central Water Commission (CWC). Other states or agencies may be added to the project during project implementation," the statement said.
“World Bank support to dam safety in India includes the recently closed DRIP-1 ($279 million + $62 million Additional Financing) that improved the safety and sustainable performance of 223 dams in six states of India and one central agency," the statement added.
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