Context: Recently, Dam Safety Bill, 2019 introduced in Rajya Sabha. The bill aims to inspect, survey, maintain and operate dams in the country. Because most of the dams are more than 100 years old.
Need

• The country has over 5,200 large dams. While some dams are located in a state but are owned by some other state without any fixed responsibility for their maintenance.
• In addition to these dams, there are thousands of other small and medium dams in the country. Of the total large dams, 293 dams are more than 100 years old and 1,041 dams are more than 50 years old.

Dam Safety Bill, 2021

• The Bill provides for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of dams to prevent disasters, and institutional mechanisms to ensure safety.
• It applies to over 5,000 dams across the country, many of which are currently in poor conditions.
• It has been met with significant opposition, particularly from several states that claim the bill oversteps the Centre’s mandate.

Which dams are covered?

• All dams in India with a height above 15 metres come under the purview of the bill.
• Dams between 10 to 15 metres of height are also covered but only if they meet certain other specifications in terms of design and structural conditions.

Key Features

• The bill constitutes two national bodies. They are National Committee on Dam Safety and National Dam Safety Authority.
• The National Committee on Dam Safety will evolve policies and recommend regulations related to dam safety.
• The National Dam Safety Authority implements the policies framed by the National committee. Also, it will provide technical assistance to the State Dam Safety Organisations.
• The bill will also constitute two state bodies. They are State Committee on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Authority. The functions of these committees and authorities are restricted at state level and are similar to that of the national committees and authorities.

Constitutional validity

• According to Entry 17 of State List, the states are eligible to make laws on irrigation, water supply, canals, embankments, drainage, water power and water storage.
• According to Entry 56 of the Union List, the Parliament is allowed to make laws on regulation of river valleys and inter state rivers.
• Article 252 allows the Parliament to make laws on subjects in State list if two or more states pass resolution requiring a law. In this issue, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have passed resolution asking for a law on dam safety.

Functions of the bodies in the bill
The functions of National Dam Safety Authority and National Committee on Dam Safety are as follows;

• To resolve issues between State Dam Safety Organisations
• To assess the potential impact of dam failure
• To supervise dam rehabilitation programmes

National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA)

• The bill provides for the formation of a NDSA which will be responsible for implementing the policies of the NCDS, and will resolve issues between State Dam Safety Organisations (or SDSOs) and dam owners.
• The NDSA will also specify regulations for the inspection of dams and will provide accreditation to the various agencies working on the structure of dams and their alteration.

State Dam Safety Organisations (SDSOs)

• The bill will also result in the establishment of SDSOs, and State Committees on Dam Safety (SCDSs).
• The jurisdiction of the SDSOs will extend to all dams in that specific state.

Cross jurisdictions

• The NDSA will, in some cases, possess this jurisdiction, for example, if a dam owned by one state is situated in another or crosses multiple states, or if a dam is owned by a central public sector undertaking.
• SDSOs will be in charge of scrutinizing dams under their jurisdiction and maintaining a database of the same.
• The SCDS will review the work of the SDSO, and will also have to assess the impact of dam-related projects on upstream and downstream states.
• The bill gives the Central government the power to amend the functions of any of the above bodies through a notification, whenever it is deemed necessary to do so.

How does Bill change the functioning of dams?

• If the bill is made into a law, then dam owners will have to provide a dam safety unit in each dam.
• The dam safety unit will be required to inspect the dam before and after the monsoon session, and also during and after natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.
• The bill requires dam owners to prepare emergency action plans. Risk-assessment studies will also have to be undertaken by owners, regularly.
• At specified, regular intervals, and in the event of either a modification to the dam’s structure or a natural event that may impact the structure, dam owners will have to produce a comprehensive safety evaluation by experts.

Issues in the Bill
Jurisdiction of the bill

• The Bill applies to all specified dams in the country.  
• This includes dams built on both inter and intra state rivers.  
• As per the Constitution, states can make laws on water including water storage and water power. 
• However, Parliament may regulate and develop inter-state river valleys if it deems it necessary in public interest.  
• The question is whether Parliament has the jurisdiction to regulate dams on rivers flowing entirely within a state. 

Power to amend

• The functions of the National Committee on Dam Safety, the National Dam Safety Authority, and the State Committee on Dam Safety are listed in Schedules to the Bill.  
• These Schedules can be amended by the government through a notification.  
• The question is whether core functions of authorities should be amended through a notification or whether such amendments should be passed by Parliament.

State list subject

• The primary objection to the bill is that water is one of the items on the State List. 
• Oppositions claimed that  the Bill is an attempt by the Centre to appropriate the powers of the states. 

Chair of NCDS

• The Bill states that the NCDS will be chaired by the Central Water Commissioner.
• But the Supreme Court has ruled in the past that such a scenario is prohibited, as it involves the CWC, an advisor, functioning both as a regulator and the head of the NCDS.

Road Ahead

• Since the dam safety is dependent on many external factors, the environmentalists and the environmental angle in this, needs to be taken. There is a need to strengthen the state irrigation department and the Central Water Commission.
• A preventive mechanism to avoid dam failures is necessary because if a dam fails, no amount of punishment can compensate for the loss of lives. It should be ensured that the inspection of dams is done by the respective state governments.
• With the changing climate, it has become absolutely essential to really think about the issue of water carefully and proactively. Apart from that while considering uniformity across dams, local factors such as climate and catchment areas, need to be taken into consideration.