Major Dams in India: Key Facts with Rivers, States & PDF Map

India is home to numerous important dams that play a crucial role in water management, irrigation, domestic use, hydroelectric power generation, and flood control. These major dams are essential for supporting the country’s agricultural and energy needs.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of some of the major dams in India, including the rivers on which they are built, their state-wise locations, and some key facts related to these dams.

It also provides a free downloadable PDF map highlighting these dams and their rivers.

List of Major Dams in India

Here is a table showing the state-wise list of major dams in India, along with their rivers.

Important Facts About Some Major Dams in India

Tehri Dam

• With a height of 260.5 meter, Tehri Dam is the tallest (highest) dam in India.
• It is a 575-meter-long, multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam.
• It lies in the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, on the Bhagirathi River (a headstream of the Ganga River).

Hirakud Dam

• The Hirakud Dam is the longest dam in India and the longest earthen dam in the world.
• The length of the entire dam is 25.8 km, while the main section is 4.8 km. Its height is 61 meters.
• It is built across the Mahanadi River in the state of Odisha.

Kallanai Dam

• The Kallanai Dam is the fourth oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structure in the world and the oldest in India, which is still in use.
• It is also known as the Grand Anicut.
• The dam was originally built by King Karikala of the Chola Dynasty in the 2nd century AD.
• It was re-modeled by the British during the 19th century.
• The dam lies in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu across the Kaveri River.

Indira Sagar Dam

• The Indira Sagar Dam is the largest dam in India, in terms of the volume of water stored in the reservoir.
• It lies in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh across the Narmada River.

Sardar Sarovar Dam

• Sardar Sarovar Dam is the largest concrete dam in India in terms of the volume of concrete used in its construction (second largest in the world, after the Grand Coulee Dam across the Columbia River, US).
• It lies in the Narmada District of Gujarat across the Narmada River.
• It was built under the Narmada Valley Project and it started operating in 2017.
• The tallest statue in the world at 182 meters – The Statue of Unity, faces this dam.

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

• The Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is the largest masonry dam in the World. (Masonry dams are constructed mainly of stone, brick, or concrete blocks jointed with mortar. For more details check this article about different types of dams)
• The dam is located in Andhra Pradesh (Palnadu district) and Telangana (Nalgonda district) across the Krishna River.
• The construction of the dam submerged an ancient Buddhist settlement, Nagarjunakonda, which was the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

Rihand Dam

• The reservoir of Rihand Dam, called Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar, is India’s largest artificial lake.
• The dam lies in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh across the Rihand River, a tributary of the Son River.

Salal Dam

• The Salal Dam is a run-of-the-river hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It was the first hydropower project built by India in Jammu and Kashmir under the Indus Water Treaty regime.