Parliament Question: Vacancy in National Dam Safety Authority

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 264 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026 VACANCY IN NATIONAL DAM SAFETY AUTHORITY 264. SHRI DEREK O' BRIEN: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) details of the number of posts sanctioned and filled in the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA); (b) details of the number of permanent employees and positions filled on deputation; (c) whether there is a shortfall in staffing, if so, the reason for shortfall; (d) whether it is a fact that there is an inadequate inter-State collaboration impeding comprehensive flood management; and (e) if so, the reasons thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b) National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has a total of 85 sanctioned posts in Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’, of which 6 belong to the Chairman and Members (5). The positions of Chairman and five Members have already been filled. Further, there are 65 technical posts across various grades (Director and below level), to be manned by officers of the Central Water Engineering Service (CWES), against which 10 CWES officers have joined on deputation, and 4 more have been selected for appointment. As on date, 19 posts have been filled on deputation basis and out of 14 encadred posts of CSS Cadre, 11 posts have been filled on regular basis. (c) NDSA is a newly created organization established under the provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021. To fill the remaining technical posts across various grades, the NDSA issued a vacancy circular on 04.11.2025. (d) & (e) Flood management falls within the purview of the States. Flood management and erosion control projects are formulated and implemented by concerned State Governments from own resources as per their priority. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical guidance and also promotional financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas. Integrated flood management approach aims at adopting judicious mix of structural and non-structural measures to provide a reasonable degree of protection against flood damages at economic cost. 1Further, as part of non-structural measures for flood management, the Central Water Commission (CWC) issues short-range flood forecasts with a lead time of up to 24 hours to the concerned State Governments at identified locations. In addition, CWC provides inflow forecasts to designated reservoirs to facilitate effective reservoir regulation. The forecasting network, developed in consultation with States and Project Authorities, ensures timely alerts once threshold limits are reached. To maximize outreach, CWC employs multiple dissemination mechanisms so that warnings effectively reach State Governments, State Disaster Management Authorities, the National Disaster Management Authority, and the general public for prompt mitigation action. Ministry of Jal Shakti has continuously impressed upon the States the need to adopt flood plain zoning approach as a non-structural measure of flood management in the country. A technical guideline on Flood Plain Zoning has been prepared and circulated to the States/UTs in August, 2025 by the Ministry. ***** 2