About

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation initiated the World Bank assisted Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) in April 2012.
• The objective is to improve safety and operational performance of selected dams, institutional strengthening and adopting a systems management approach. 
• It is a State Sector Scheme with central component with a provision of rehabilitation for 223 dams located in seven States i.e. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. 
• The budget outlay of the Scheme is Rs.3466 Crore with scheduled closure on March 31, 2021.

Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II and Phase III

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
• The aim of the project is to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the country, along with institutional strengthening with a system wide management approach.
• The Project will be implemented over a period of 10 years duration in two Phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April, 2021 to March, 2031. 
• The Scheme envisages comprehensive rehabilitation of 736 existing dams across the country.  
• DRIP Phase II & Phase III envisages the following objectives:-
  • To improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner.
  • To strengthen the dam safety institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level, and
  • To explore the alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams

• To achieve the above objectives, DRIP Phase II & Phase III has following components
• Rehabilitation and improvement of dams and associated appurtenances,
• Dam safety institutional strengthening in participating States and Central agencies,
• Exploration of alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams, and
• Project management.

Why in the news?

• Government of Andhra Pradesh has expressed willingness to be a part of DRIP Phase -II & III and submitted an estimate for 667 crore to rehabilitate 31 dams. 

References:

1. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1736896 
2. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1697386