India’s dam pipeline shifts toward 736 rehabilitation projects

India’s dam pipeline is increasingly centred on rehabilitation because the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II and III covers 736 dams, compared with 216 specified dams under construction as of May 2026. The two DRIP phases have an approved outlay of Rs 10,211 crore for safety and improvement work through 2031.

Why is India’s dam pipeline shifting toward rehabilitation projects?

India’s dam pipeline is shifting toward rehabilitation projects because its operational dam base is much larger than its construction pipeline. The National Register for Specified Dams recorded 6,598 completed operational dams and 216 dams under construction in May 2026, for a total of 6,814 specified dams. A specified dam is a dam included in the National Register for Specified Dams and covered by the Dam Safety Act, 2021 framework.

The difference is material in both count and storage terms. Operational dams account for 96.8% of the 6,814 specified dams, while dams under construction account for 3.2%. Completed dams provide 316.8 billion cubic metres (BCM) of the 336.6 BCM gross storage reported nationally, while projects under construction account for 19.8 BCM, or 5.9% of gross storage. Maintaining the existing base therefore addresses more currently available storage than the reported construction pipeline.

How large is the rehabilitation programme relative to new dam construction?

India’s rehabilitation programme is larger than its reported construction pipeline by dam count, with 736 dams identified under DRIP Phase II and III against 216 dams under construction. The rehabilitation programme therefore covers 3.4 times the number of dams in the construction pipeline. This comparison measures project counts, not the relative size, capacity or cost of individual dams.

DRIP Phase II covers 597 dams and Phase III covers 139 dams across 19 states and three central agencies. The Union Cabinet-approved combined programme runs from 2021 to 2031 with an approved outlay of Rs 10,211 crore. The programme description assigns Rs 5,107 crore to Phase II and Rs 5,104 crore to Phase III, although a later progress update describes Rs 5,107 crore for each phase; the combined approved outlay remains Rs 10,211 crore in both disclosures.

The earlier DRIP Phase I was smaller but established the rehabilitation model. Implemented from 2012 to 2021 with World Bank support, Phase I covered 223 dams across seven states at a cost of Rs 2,567 crore. It also introduced Emergency Action Plans, which are dam-specific procedures for disaster preparedness. Phase II and III expand the dam count from 223 in Phase I to 736 while extending work to more participating jurisdictions.

What work does dam rehabilitation funding support?

India’s DRIP funding supports structural rehabilitation, safety upgrades and institutional strengthening rather than new dam construction. As of 15 November 2025, implementing agencies under DRIP Phase II had incurred Rs 1,931.22 crore against the Rs 5,107 crore allocation. That equals about 38% of the stated Phase II allocation, so continued expenditure and project execution are required for the programme to reach its 2031 scope.

The Dam Safety Act, 2021 provides the institutional mechanism behind this work through a four-tier system. At the central level, the National Committee on Dam Safety develops policies and recommends regulations for inspection, surveillance and maintenance, while the National Dam Safety Authority oversees implementation. State-level Dam Safety Committees and State Dam Safety Organisations perform corresponding functions, placing all of India’s large dams within the Act’s ambit.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation supervises DRIP Phase II and III through the Central Water Commission. The stated objective is to improve safety at selected dams in participating states and strengthen dam-safety management nationally. Rehabilitation demand depends on participating agencies carrying out inspection, surveillance, maintenance and upgrades under this institutional structure, rather than on a general capital allocation alone.

Which states concentrate India’s existing dams and construction projects?

India’s existing dam base and construction pipeline are concentrated in Maharashtra. Maharashtra had 2,713 operational dams and 149 dams under construction, or 2,862 specified dams in total, as of May 2026. Its 149 construction projects represented about 69% of India’s 216 reported dams under construction, while its total dam count represented about 42% of the national total.

Madhya Pradesh had the second-largest total with 1,370 operational dams and four under construction, totalling 1,374. Gujarat followed with 524 operational dams and one under construction, totalling 525. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh together contained 4,236 specified dams, or about 62% of the 6,814-dam national register, making state-level implementation capacity consequential for operations and rehabilitation activity.

Storage concentration is not identical to dam-count concentration. Maharashtra had 53.4 BCM of total gross storage, including 50.7 BCM from operational dams and 2.7 BCM from dams under construction. Madhya Pradesh had 47.4 BCM, including 47.3 BCM operational, while Andhra Pradesh had 31.5 BCM, of which 10.9 BCM was tied to projects under construction. The comparison shows that a small number of projects can carry meaningful storage even where their count is limited.

What does the current pipeline mean for dam-related infrastructure activity?

India’s dam-related infrastructure activity remains divided between maintaining operational assets and completing a limited construction pipeline. The 6,598 operating dams serve domestic and industrial water supply, irrigation, energy production and flood control, while the 216 projects under construction add potential capacity. DRIP’s 736-dam scope identifies a separate workstream focused on the safety and condition of selected existing assets.

New capacity remains present in the data, particularly in hydropower-related development. India’s assessed conventional hydropower potential for projects above 25 megawatts was 133.4 gigawatts, while pumped-storage potential was 176.3 gigawatts as of 18 August 2025. Separately, 11 pumped-storage projects above 25 megawatts, totalling 15,870 megawatts, were under implementation in June 2026. These energy projects do not change the register’s 216-dam construction count, but they show that water infrastructure development also extends beyond conventional dam construction.

Conclusion

India’s reported dam pipeline is weighted toward rehabilitation because the 736 dams selected under DRIP Phase II and III exceed the 216 specified dams under construction by more than three times. The distinction matters because operational dams hold 316.8 BCM of India’s 336.6 BCM reported gross storage, and the maintenance, inspection and safety-upgrade requirement applies to a much larger installed asset base than the set of new projects.

The next measure to watch is execution through the 2031 DRIP timeline. Phase II agencies had spent Rs 1,931.22 crore by 15 November 2025 against a stated Rs 5,107 crore allocation, while the programme relies on the Dam Safety Act, 2021 institutions and participating state agencies to complete structural rehabilitation, safety upgrades and management strengthening.