IIT-M & IISc to Give Dams a Facelift, MoU Signed with Central Water Commission

The Central Water Commission (CWC) on Friday, 27th January 2017 signed two separate MoUs with IIT Madras and IISc Bengaluru to improve and safeguard dams located in different parts of the country.

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In a press release, the ministry stated that the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development as well as Ganga Rejuvenation has included on board leading academic and research institutes of the country for capacity building and the safety of the dams. These projects are coming from World Bank-assisted Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).

The efforts will help in receiving certain equipment and software for increasing the capability of CWC's dam rehabilitation efforts, the press release stated further.

Under the MoUs, IISc and IIT Madras will look into different aspects like -

• Strengthening of the test facilities
• Analytical capabilities
• Exposure to best global institutions
• Get technological exposure

It was in April 2012 that DRIP was launched. The project is aimed to cost around INR 2,100 crore in a period of six years. Right now, India has as many as 4,900 big and small size dams. Previously, four states Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha were included under the DRIP for the rehabilitation and improvement of about 223 dams. Later on, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Jharkhand were included in the project and the number of the dams increased to 250. CWC's Central Dam Safety Organisation is responsible for the execution of the project.

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CWC will offer funds to the tune of INR 5.92 crores for setting up of dam-related research labs at IIT Madras. 20 faculty members from different departments of IIT-M will lead the team from the institute.