BHUBANESWAR: The state government has intensified efforts to meet the deadline set by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to complete the comprehensive safety evaluation (CDSE) of all dams by December 2026.
The action has come following several reminders by the ministry to complete the safety evaluation of the dams. Official sources said December 2026 is the final nationwide target set under the Dam Safety Act of 2021 for completion of the CDSE milestones.
The state Water Resources department manages 218 dams out of which CDSE has been completed for 56. The CDSE for rest 162 dams are yet to be completed. Besides, CDSE milestones for major dams like Hirakud and Rengali have also not been carried out.
Sources said expert panel inspections and special committee meetings for Hirakud are actively underway for completion of final report.
The issue was raised by Water Resources department in a letter to the chief engineer, dam safety on Monday. The chief engineer has been asked to institute a monthly monitoring mechanism to review the progress of CDSE and submit a report to the department. He has also been advised to designate one responsible officer for each dam to coordinate with the department in this regard. The chief engineer has also been advised to immediately organise a capacity-building workshop for all dam safety officers managing the 56 dams where the CDSE has been completed.
“This workshop must explicitly focus on executing immediate follow-up actions to comply with the technical recommendations made in their evaluation reports,” the letter added.
Meanwhile, the 20 independent panels of experts have been constituted by the department to study the evaluation reports. The state government manages dam safety through the State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO) by conducting periodic inspections, expert panel reviews and rehabilitation projects like the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).