Progress slow on Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation in Kerala as deadline closes in

With just five months left for the deadline to expire, progress on the Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) has been slow in Kerala owing to a combination of factors, including delays caused by the southwest monsoon and problems related to the timely availability of expert panel members.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), which has 38 dams, has completed the CDSE on eight (as indicated by a June 25, 2026 order), while the Water Resources department, which has 22 dams, including the Aruvikkara dam managed by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), has completed the exercise on four.

Action plan sought

On its part, the KSEB has now sought a “detailed action plan” from its Chief Engineer (Civil-Dam Safety) within 15 days for completing the CDSE on all its dams by November 2026. The power utility is also exploring the possibility of deploying additional expert panels. In order to speed up the work, the KSEB has added two more members—an expert on hydraulic and hydrological safety and an expert on structural engineering and earthquake safety, monitoring and instrumentation—to its existing panel.

States, including Kerala, are engaged in a race against time as owners of dams are required to complete the first CDSE by an independent panel of experts within five years of the commencement of the Dam Safety Act, 2021. As per this requirement, the deadline expires on December 31, 2026.

Apart from the southwest monsoon, which has made inspections difficult, the KSEB and the Water Resources department are also faced with the fact that some experts on their respective panels are also on the CDSE panels of other States.

The KSEB has drawn attention to this issue in a June 25 order. “While the CDSE of eight dams has been completed, the availability of experts in the existing (KSEB) panel has become a constraint in scheduling and conducting the inspections, as they are also engaged in similar assignments by other States,” it said. In the case of the Water Resources department’s panel, three of its experts also are members of similar panels of other States.

Sluggish at national level

Officials linked to the CDSE say progress on the exercise has been sluggish even at the national level. Delay by the Centre in issuing the CDSE template had caused the initial delay. Even now, there are States that have not yet started work on the evaluation, they said.

Meanwhile, the Union government is likely to review the progress of work across the States later this month. In January this year, the National Dam safety Authority (NDSA) had enhanced the remuneration/sitting fee of the chairperson to ₹7,500 a day, subject to a maximum of ₹75,000 a month, and that of the members to ₹6,500 a day subject to a monthly maximum of ₹65,000.

The CDSE seeks review and structural analysis of “design, construction, operation, maintenance and performance” of dams, an assessment of hydrologic and hydraulic conditions, flood control aspects and seismic safety plus an evaluation of other conditions that may threaten their structural integrity.