A major setback for Kerala as the Union government confirmed that the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), established under the Dam Safety Act of 2021, does not have the authority to conduct safety audits of dams. Instead, the responsibility for comprehensive safety audits rests solely with dam owners.
This clarification by the Union government is expected to have far-reaching consequences, particularly regarding the contentious issues between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the 125-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam.
Notably, while the dam is situated in Kerala, it is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu.
Constructed in 1895, the Mullaperiyar Dam has been a point of contention for decades. Tamil Nadu asserts that the dam is "absolutely safe," while Kerala has consistently demanded the construction of a new dam, citing safety concerns arising from its age and structural integrity.
The dam is vital for Tamil Nadu's irrigation and water supply but poses significant risks to approximately 3 million people living downstream in Kerala, particularly given its susceptibility to earthquakes and heavy rainfall.
In June, Kerala demanded a safety review of the Mullaperiyar Dam before a Supreme Court-appointed supervisory committee and it granted permission for repairs. However, Tamil Nadu argued that the safety review should be conducted only after the baby dam is strengthened.
The Union government established the NDSA as a watchdog to safeguard the country’s critical dam infrastructure. However, a response to a parliamentary question by Congress MP Dean Kuriakose casts doubt on the authority’s scope.
According to the government’s reply, the Dam Safety Act, 2021, does not “encroach upon the power of the States and does not contain any provision to alter dam ownership, water-sharing agreements, or the operation and maintenance of the dams by the State governments.”
The reply also clarified that, under Section 38 of the Act, the responsibility for comprehensive safety audits lies with dam owners. In the case of Mullaperiyar, this means Tamil Nadu, as the dam owner, has the upper hand in determining whether the more-than-a-century-old structure is safe.
James Wilson, Chief Engineer (Investigation and Construction Central) in charge of KSEB, told THE WEEK that after the Supreme Court judgment in 2014—in which the court ruled in favour of Tamil Nadu and declared the Mullaperiyar Dam structurally safe—a dedicated mechanism was established to ensure the dam’s safety. “And Kerala put forward an argument that dam safety is not a static issue,” he said.
Wilson further explained that the supervisory committee formed after the 2014 verdict included members from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Central Water Commission.
“Safety became a domain vested with the supervisory committee, and Tamil Nadu had only the operational role in the Mullaperiyar Dam,” he said. However, he pointed out that when the Dam Safety Act came into effect, there was no provision to integrate the supervisory committee into its framework. “It is an auditory mechanism. They are only looking at whether dam owners are doing safety evaluation,” he added.
Experts note that these developments are creating a situation where Kerala is losing its role in mechanisms to oversee the safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam.