12th Meeting of the National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) held in New Delhi
12th meeting of the National Committee on Dam Safety reviewed implementation of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 and pending compliance by dam owners and States
- The committee reviewed implementation of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 and focused on compliance gaps in emergency planning, safety evaluation, and risk assessment.
- The committee agreed to work on a new regulation on surveillance and security of specified dams and on amendments to safety inspection checklists.
- The committee discussed reservoir sedimentation and recent dam failures reported by dam-owning agencies in Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
The 12th meeting of the National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) was held on 17 July 2026 in New Delhi. The meeting reviewed implementation of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 and asked States and dam owners to speed up mandatory compliance work, especially Emergency Action Plans, Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluations, and risk assessment studies.
The meeting is important for UPSC because dam safety links governance, disaster preparedness, and critical infrastructure protection. The committee also discussed surveillance and security of specified dams, reservoir sedimentation, and the need to strengthen State Dam Safety Organisations.
What happened at the meeting
UPSC can ask about the institutional design under the Dam Safety Act, 2021, the role of the National Committee on Dam Safety, and compliance gaps such as Emergency Action Plans, Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluations, reservoir sedimentation, surveillance, and security of specified dams.
