Despite Critical Safety Warnings at Medigadda, Telangana records Zero Expenditure from Rs. 100 Crore Central Allocations for Dam Rehabilitation

metro india news  I hyderabad

In a significant disclosure regarding Dam Safety in India, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has classified the Lakshmi (Medigadda) Barrage in Telangana as a Category-I structure, indicating "serious deficiencies" that could lead to failure if left unattended. Based on the post-monsoon inspection reports of 2025, the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has directed the Telangana government to urgently implement recommended preventive and mitigating measures to safeguard the barrage’s integrity.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti  Raj Bhushan Choudhary gave this information about Status and Safety of Old Dams replying to an unstarred question from MPs G Lakshminarayana and Byreddy Shabari on Thursday. The classification comes amidst a nationwide safety audit mandated by the Dam Safety Act, 2021. For the year 2025, dam-owning agencies conducted over 6,500 pre-monsoon and post-monsoon inspections. Apart from Medigadda, two other dams—Lower Khajuri Dam (Uttar Pradesh) and Bokaro Barrage (Jharkhand)—were also categorized as Category-I, reflecting critical safety vulnerabilities. Additionally, 216 dams have been placed in Category-II, indicating major deficiencies requiring prompt remedial action; notably, 69 of these are over 50 years old.

The Ministry highlighted that India currently has 1,681 specified dams that are over 50 years old, according to the National Register of Specified Dams (NRSD) 2025. The safety of these aging structures remains a priority, with owners mandated to conduct bi-annual inspections.

To address these challenges, the Government of India is aggressively implementing the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), co-financed by the World Bank and AIIB. The ongoing Phase II and Phase III (2021-2031) have a total outlay of Rs. 10,211 crores to rehabilitate 736 dams. Under DRIP-II (outlay Rs. 5,107 crores), rehabilitation proposals for 173 dams worth Rs. 4,744 crores have been approved. While the Lower Khajuri and Bokaro dams have been included under DRIP-II for rehabilitation, Medigadda’s safety remains currently under state-directed rectification.

As of December 31, 2025, a total expenditure of Rs. 2,029 crores has been incurred under DRIP-II. While states like Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have shown robust utilization of funds, the data reveals that Telangana has not yet utilized its allocated Rs. 100 crores under the scheme, despite the pressing safety concerns highlighted at Medigadda.