India has experienced multiple flash floods that have significantly impacted critical water infrastructure, such as dams and barrages. Dam breaches have a long history, with the worst disaster occurring in 1979
when the Machchhu dam in Gujarat collapsed, leading to thousands of deaths.
Recent years, particularly the 2020s, have seen a sharp increase in dam-related disasters. In 2021, the Chamoli-Rishiganga disaster breached two dams, while floods breached the Annamayya dam in Andhra Pradesh. In October 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood destroyed the Teesta-III dam, killing dozens downstream. Around the same time, structural issues arose with the new Medigadda barrage in Telangana. Most recently, in July 2026, a tunnel near the Teesta-IV project in Sikkim collapsed, causing numerous casualties.
These events highlight a pressing need for government agencies to improve regulation, management, and record-keeping of critical water infrastructure, which is vital for India's economic growth and affects
millions, especially amidst a looming water scarcity crisis.
A major question confronts the scientific community: are sites for dam construction being adequately studied from a critical investigation and survey standpoint? Dam safety concerns are intensifying in the current climate scenario. India has 6,628 large dams, according to data available on the DHARMA Portal (Central Water Commission, Ministry of Jal Shakti) standing as the third-highest number in the world after China and the United States. The major concern, however, is the age of many of these structures: more than a thousand are over fifty years old, and some have stood for over a century, all while continuing to contribute directly to India’s economy. They store the millions of litres of water that irrigate farms, supply drinking water to cities and villages, generate electricity and act as protective walls holding back floodwaters during the monsoon.
Like any ageing infrastructure, dams wear out over time; walls weaken, gates rust, and cracks develop. But unlike a failing building, a failing dam does not simply harm itself: a massive wall of water rushes downstream within minutes, and the towns and villages below often receive little or no warning.
The Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) is currently being implemented, funded by the World Bank and other international lenders. This large-scale programme aims to repair and modernize hundreds of old dams across India by upgrading gates and installing early-warning systems, with a completion target set for 2031.
However, its major drawback is that it addresses only a small portion of the nation's dams, leaving thousands without repair funding. A 2021 United Nations University report highlighted India's ageing water infrastructure, notably the over 125-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, a symbol of how old structures and state politics can complicate safety issues. Additionally, audit reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General have consistently revealed broken monitoring equipment, absent emergency plans, and poorly maintained facilities. Expert committees formed after disasters like those in Chamoli (2021) and Sikkim (2023) have provided critical insights into failures. Current research efforts focus on mapping hazardous glacial lakes in the Himalayas, using satellite imagery to monitor dams for early warning signs, and developing strategies for effective water release ahead of major storms.
The Government of India’s Dam Safety Act, 2021, raised the bar for mandatory compliance, but implementation has struggled to keep pace. Dam owners are now being pushed to complete Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluations within a short window ending in December 2026 — without adequate mass-awareness or capacity-building programmes to reach every dam operator.
A Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) is a critical exercise that requires a minimum of three to five months, involving multiple field visits and rigorous scientific investigation. This last-minute rush to complete CDSEs raises serious questions about the validation and authenticity of reports generated within just weeks or months — without adequately studying structural vulnerability, gate operations, spillway capacity, sedimentation, geological and seismic risk, climate and disaster risk, and other hydro-mechanical aspects of dam operation.
This is a wake-up call for the government. The compliance timeline needs to be realistic rather than symbolic, funding must reach the thousands of dams left outside DRIP’s coverage, and no CDSE report should be treated as credible unless it has had the time and resources a genuine scientific evaluation demands. The issue deserves urgent discussion among policy makers and the bodies concerned, at the highest level, before the next disaster forces the conversation instead.
(Dr Brijendra Kumar Mishra is an Empanelled Expert with National Dam Safety Authority and Co- Founder of Disaster and Climate Action Federation)