700 dams in DRIP 2nd phase

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Arjun Ram Meghwal said the Centre has decided to cover at least 13 per cent of dams in the country in the second phase of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).

Speaking at the International Dam Safety Conference-2019 here on Thursday, Meghwal said the World Bank has accepted India’s proposal for funding `11,000 crore to rehabilitate 700 dams in the country.

“The DRIP, implemented in seven States, covered four per cent dams of the country in the first phase. The achievement encouraged us to adopt dams in 18 States. Besides, more technical institutes are being encouraged to offer post graduate programmes in dam safety so that more professionals in the area can be available,” he said.

The Union Minister informed that dam safety capacity of nine premier academic and research institutes and two Central institutes is being augmented under DRIP. Later the technical expertise and infrastructure available with the institutes will be utilised for providing expert services to tackle safety issues, he added.  
During the two-day conference, recommendations were made to adopt comprehensive modern system for dam safety management during operational phase and technologies including optical fibre for surveillance and monitoring.Country Director-India of World Bank Junaid Kamal Ahmad also spoke.