 "Sunanda Pushkar")
Only 349 of 4,862 India's large dams have emergency disaster action plans in place, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India's performance report on flood control and management schemes of the Water Resources Ministry has revealed.
"Out of 4,862 large dams, emergency action plans or disaster management plans of only 349 dams, which is seven per cent, were prepared (March 2016). Mock drill in respect of only one dam was conducted as of March 2016," a CAG report, tabled in parliament on Friday, said.
The country's top auditor also revealed that out of 17 states or union territories selected for audit, only Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu had carried out the pre and post monsoon inspection of dams while three states carried out partial inspections.
On the safety of dams, the CAG said that Dam Safety Legislation initiated in 2010 had not been enacted till August 2016.
Programmes for maintenance of dams were not prepared and adequate funds were not provided to carry out structural/repair works, the report said.
"We found that in five large dams (two in Bihar, two in Uttar Pradesh and one in West Bengal) certain defects and deficiencies were pointed out during the safety review by expert committee but no remedial measures were taken due to non-availability of funds," it said.
India has high vulnerability for floods as out of total geographical area of 329 million hectares, about 45.64 million hectare is flood-prone, said the CAG, adding that every year an average of 7.55 million hectares of land is affected, 1,560 lives are lost, and the damage caused to crops, houses, and public utilities due to floods is estimated at Rs 1,805 crore.
