Centre Constitutes National Dam Safety Authority for dam-related safety, disasters, resolve inter-state issues.

Why in news?

• National Dam Safety Authority, has been constituted that seeks to maintain standards related to dam safety, prevent dam-related disasters and resolve inter-state issues related to dams.
• The Centre also constituted a 22-member National Committee on Dam Safety which is headed by the Chairman of the Central Water Commission (CWC)(Present Chairman – R.K. Sinha) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• According to the National Register of Large Dams, there are 5,264 completed large dams in the country, while 437 were under construction.

About National Dam Safety Authority

• The Dam Safety Act has been passed by the Parliament in December 2021 which states that National Dam Safety Authority will work closely with state-level dam safety organisations and owners of dams for standardising safety-related data and practices.
• Under the Act, the National Dam Safety Authority has been constituted on 18th February, 2022 which will be headed by a chairman and assisted by 5 members to lead its 5 wings -policy and research, technical, regulation, disaster & resilience and administration & finance.
• The Authority will be headquartered in the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi and will be supported by 4 regional offices.
• Functions:
• The authority resolves any issue between the State Dam Safety Organisations of states or between a State Dam Safety Organisation and any owner of a specified dam in that state.
• The Dam Safety Act also provides an institutional architecture for dam safety in India.