A recent survey by the Indian government has found out that more than 600 large dams in the country are located in high-intensity seismic zones – areas which are considered to be most vulnerable and prone to earthquakes. India has more than 30 river basins, each with a catchment area exceeding several thousand square miles. Some 5,000 large dams have been built in 22 of its 29 states. At least 3,000 of these dams have been built in the last 50 years. In a country where more than half the population is engaged in agriculture, the majority of these dams provide irrigation to some 90 million hectares of farmland. A miniscule 3% of these dams are used as a source for generating hydro-electricity. Questions, however, have been raised over the safety of these dams after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant was devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. More than 1,000 people were killed in the region.

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