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Dam Safety Bill, 2021: Opposition MPs want Bill to be sent to Select Committee
The Dam Safety Bill, 2021 proposes constitution of National Committee on Dam Safety and National Dam Safety Authority. It also will lead to formation of State Committee on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Authority.
Opposition MPs on Thursday demanded that the government send the Dam Safety Bill, 2021 to a Select Committee. The MPs said that dams are a state government subject and the Centre cannot make rules for the state. Several MPs from parties like Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress said that the state government takes care of the safety of the dams and maintains them.
“Tamil Nadu faced many problems regarding the sharing of water. We have to seek the refuge of the Court. We have certain problems and the Centre did not come to our support. You should not be bothered about dams but water, we are the owners of the dam and it is our concern. Do not follow Article 252 but also the consent of all states,” DMK’s TKS Elangovan said in the Rajya Sabha.
Elangovan was referring to the water sharing woes faced by Tamil Nadu, Speaking of Article 252, which allows the Parliament to bring legislation on subjects in State List if two or more states pass a resolution requiring a law, he said power of states also should be taken into consideration, since state governments are also elected . He also pointed out that the Article 17 allows states to make laws on issues of water supply, irrigation and canals, drainage, water storage and water power.
TMC’s Nadimul Haque, Congress’ Shaktisinh Gohil and Biju Janata Dal’s Acharya Prasanna also echoed similar concerns. Prasanna also said that Odisha has several committees to do safety checks on dams. He said that state governments should be allowed to function independently.
YSR Congress' Vjiaysai Reddy supported the bill and said that Andhra Pradesh does not get fair share of water the state is entitled to. “This adjudicating mechanism is necessary for giving justice to states,” Reddy said.
Union minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said 90% of India’s dams are built on inter-state rivers. He explained that when water is released by states then states downstream are affected due to this. “There have been several efforts undertaken to ensure a national body on dams has been constituted since the last 40 years. The Centre is trying to ensure that the body is constituted to ensure dam safety,” Shekhawat said. The ruling party also highlighted that the bill was first introduced by the Congress in 2010.
The Dam Safety Bill, 2021 proposes constitution of National Committee on Dam Safety and National Dam Safety Authority. The National Committee on Dam Safety will form policies and recommend regulations to the National Dam Safety Authority.
The National Dam Safety Authority implements the policies advised to it. It will also constitute two state bodies -- State Committee on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Authority -- if the legislation is passed. The state committees’ functions are restricted at state level and are akin to those of national committees. The Centre, can however, amend the functions of these state committees through a notification, if and when it deems necessary.
