National Dam Safety Authority Is Conducting A Two-Day Regional Workshop On Rapid Risk Screening Of Specified Dams At Bhopal

(MENAFN- ForPressRelease) 13 December 2024, Delhi: National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), DoWR, RD & GR, Govt. of India in collaboration with the government of Madhya Pradesh, is conducting a two-day Regional workshop on Rapid Risk Screening of specified dams at Bhopal on 13-14 December 2024, under the aegis of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (DRIP). The objective of the workshop is to sensitize the five states viz. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan about the requirement for timely completion of Risk screening of all the specified dams in their respective states. These states constitute more than seventy five percent of the total number of specified dams in the country. The workshop is focusing in providing the hands-on training to the representatives of these states for carrying out the risk screening. The workshop was inaugurated by Shri Tulsi Ram Silawat, Hon'ble Minister of Water Resources, Madhya Pradesh. He also launched the web-based Risk Screening Tool developed by NDSA under DRIP with the assistance of World Bank experts. This tool is going to facilitate the States in carrying out risk screening in a systematic and expeditious manner.

The event witnessed participation from key dignitaries, including Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti; Sh. Rajesh Rajoura, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Sh. Anil Jain, Chairman, NDSA; Shri Anand Mohan, Joint Secretary (RD & PP), DoWR, RD & GR and representatives from the World Bank.

Hon'ble Minister of Water Resources, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Tulsi Ram Silawat highlighted that safety of water impounding structures is inherent in our culture. He stressed that dam safety is paramount for the water security of the country and accordingly, sincere efforts are required to be made in ensuring safety of these modern temples of our country with due use of latest technology.

Addressing the gathering, Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR elucidated the efforts made by DoWR, RD & GR in development of the Risk Screening Tool over the last three-four years with active consultation with global experts and extensive validation of the tool for Indian conditions. She also stressed the critical role likely to be played by this tool for risk-informed decision making. Simultaneously, she cautioned that due-diligence is required to be exercised while carrying out assessment using this tool to ensure the quality of outcome. She exhorted that ensuring dam safety is not a one-time process, rather, it is a continuous process.

Sh. Rajesh Rajoura, Additional Chief Secretary, WRD, Govt. Of Madhya Pradesh highlighted the commitment of Madhya Pradesh Government for ensuring time bound action in carrying forward various activities leading to dam safety management.

Sh. Anil Jain, Chairman, NDSA, further elaborated on the Rapid Risk Screening Tool as a significant step towards Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation. He urged state governments to accelerate efforts and ensure the completion of risk assessments within the next six months, enabling informed prioritization of resources and interventions.

Shri Anand Mohan, Joint Secretary (RD & PP), DoWR, RD & GR, while presenting, emphasized that entering important dataset related to dams, an objective approach should be followed and efforts must be taken to minimise the biases at all levels. He pointed out that risk assessment and management provide a framework where all aspects related to dams are integrated to improve the decision making. He also expressed the committed support of Govt. of India to all the States for capacity building of their professionals in this area.

Mr. Przemyslaw Zielinski, a renowned dam safety expert, shared global experience in risk-informed decision-making for managing dams, highlighting how India can be benefitted by adopting this approach through tiered mechanism considering the large number of specified dams in India.

The participating states presented the strategy for completing the risk-screening of all their specified dams by May 2025.

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