The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Dam Safety Bill 2018 on Wednesday, June 13th, 2018 which will help to safeguard human life, livestock, and property.
Giving details of the Dam Safety Bill, Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Railways and Coal who also holds additional charge of Finance and Corporate Affairs, said it will help States and Union Territories to make “uniform dam safety procedures” to ensure safety of dams, and help safeguard human life, livestock and property and will be introduced to the House soon.
Further, the Bill provides the following:
- Proper surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of all specified damn in the country to ensure their safe functioning.
- Constitution of a National Committee on Dam Safety which shall evolve dam safety policies.
- Establishment of National Dam Safety Authority as a regulatory body.
- Constitution of a State Committee on Dam Safety by State Government.
There are over 5,200 large dams in India, and about 450 are under construction. Besides, there are thousands of medium and small dams. Lack of legal and institutional architecture for dam safety in India has been an issue of concern.
The government said in the statement that the bill “lays onus of dam safety on the dam owner and provides for penal provisions for commission and omission of certain acts.”
