India’s Dams and decommissioning As per the Parliamentary Committee for Ministry of Jal Shakti, in its 20th report dated March 2023[i], the committee had asked the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti about the mechanism put in place in India to assess the viable lifespan and performance of dams and projects, which has a direct bearing upon the consideration for dam decommissioning. The Department had replied: “There is no mechanism to assess the viable lifespan and performance of dams… However, no information/recommendation from the dam owners has been submitted for de-commissioning of any of their dams.”
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Dams Decommissioning going up globally
All large dams have finite life. What happens to the dams once the useful life of a dam is over? It would need to be decommissioned. Decommissioning of a dam generally refers to[i] complete removal of the dam and its associated structures. This is a very relevant question for India as the third largest dam builder of the world. It becomes even more important as large dams are no longer required or are no longer viable and importance of a flowing river is increasingly appreciated. It needs to be kept in mind that a dam cannot be allowed to remain on the river, without proper maintenance, as such a dam would remain a huge safety hazard for society and economy downstream from the dam.
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SANDRP 