Tag: Teesta 3 Dam

2025: Corruption in Dams and Hydro Projects in India
Dam Safety · Dams, Rivers & People · Hydro Power Projects

2025: Corruption in Dams and Hydro Projects in India

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(Feature Image: Washed out Teesta III dam in Sikkim. Credit: Save the Hills)

In May 2025, Sikkim Vigilance Police conducted raid in several cities to probe allegations of financial corruption and fraud in 1200 Mw Teesta III HEP dam project claiming that the material gathered could unearth massive scandal that compromised the dam’s safety and led to its structural failure in Oct. 2023. The Assam GST department in Sept. 2025 has uncovered ₹8.2 cr irregularities in tax filings and transactions by the company involved in constructing the dam of 2000 Mw Subansiri Lower HEP.

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2024: Has NDSA made our dams any safer?
Dam Safety

2024: Has NDSA made our dams any safer?

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(Feature Image: Srisailam dam in Telangana. Source: Telangana Today)

This annual overview focusses on the functioning of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and related institutions in 2024 to understand if the functioning of these institutions have made Indian Dams any safer? Here functioning of Central Water Commission (CWC) is also important as CWC people head all the dam safety panels. The dam safety related institutions were formed following the passage of Dam Safety Act 2021 and hence there were promises and hopes that these institutions will make our dams safer.

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Why India needs Dam Decommissioning policy and program
Dams · decommissioning

Why India needs Dam Decommissioning policy and program

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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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Glacial Lake FLood destroys Teesta-3 Dam in Sikkim, brings wide-spread destruction
Dam Disaster

Glacial Lake FLood destroys Teesta-3 Dam in Sikkim, brings wide-spread destruction

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A Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) that originated at South Lhonak Glacial Lake at around 00.40 hours on Oct 4, 2023, washed away the 60 m high dam of Sikkim’s biggest hydropower project, the 1200 MW Teesta 3 HEP. The flood has brought unprecedented disaster all along the river in Sikkim and further downstream in W Bengal and then Bangladesh. Central Water Commission (CWC) reported early in the morning of Oct 4 that there was cloud burst at the site of the lake burst, the cloud burst could have played the role in triggering the lake burst. (Feature image above: A combination of before after photos of Teesta 3 dam put together by Siddharth Agarwal.)

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