As deadline looms, Keralam’s Water Resources department forms additional panel for Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation on its dams

Image for representation | Photo Credit: HANDOUT_E_MAIL With the December deadline for completing the first Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) looming, Keralam’s Water Resources department has constituted an additional panel of experts to speed up the exercise on the dams managed by it. The panel has five members headed by Joshy K.A., a former Chief Engineer of Keralam’s Irrigation department whose expertise is in dam safety and hydrological safety, the department said in a September 14 order on the panel’s creation. Other members include Akshaya Kumar Das, a former Chief Engineer and Special Secretary of the Odisha government’s Department of Water Resources.This additional panel has been entrusted the task of conducting CDSE on ten of the 22 dams managed by the Water Resources department -- Malampuzha dam, Mangalam dam, Pothundi dam, Kanjirappuzha dam, Siruvani dam, Meenkara dam, Valayar dam, Moolathara regulator, Chulliyar dam and the Chimmini dam. “The requirement to complete the first CDSE of all specified dams before December 2026 makes the matter time-bound and warrants expeditious action,” the September 14 order said.A senior official said the second panel was formed to speed up the evaluation which needs to be completed by December-end. Section 38(1) of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 requires owners of dams across India to undertake the CDSE through an independent panel of experts. The first CDSE has to be completed within five years of the commencement of the Act. As per this requirement, the deadline is December 31, 2026.In March, the Water Resources department had issued orders forming a seven-member panel -- the first one -- headed by dam safety expert and Advisor on Inter-State Waters to the Kerala government, James Wilson. The CDSE demands review and structural analysis of “design, construction, operation, maintenance and performance” of dams. The independent panel of experts are required to assess aspects related to hydrologic and hydraulic conditions, seismic safety, flood control as well as other elements that could threaten structural integrity.In Keralam, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) with 38 dams is the other agency racing to meet the December deadline. But work on CDSE has been slow. One of the major problems encountered by dam management agencies across India is that several of the experts on their panels are also on the CDSE panels of other States, leading to delays in site inspections.As an administrative measure to speed up CDSE, the State Dam Safety Organisation has been tasked with the overall co-ordination of activities undertaken by the CDSE panels and field officials for all the specified dams under the Water Resources department. Published - September 25, 2026 07:34 pm IST