Cauvery Water Regulation Committee comes into being
A Cauvery Water Regulation Committee has been constituted by the Centre. Though the committee is designed to have representatives from four states of the Cauvery basin--Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry--it currently has no one from Karnataka as the state government refused to nominate anyone until its grievance was heard. The committee will assist the Cauvery Management Authority to implement the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award as modified by the Supreme Court.
Uttarakhand HC bans adventure sports in rivers until a policy is formulated to regulate it
Watersports including whitewater river rafting and paragliding have been banned by the Uttarakhand high court in the state’s rivers until the government comes with up with a policy on regulating such activities. The state government has been given two weeks to prepare a draft policy. At present, many private entities operate water and adventure sports facilities with illegal licences. The government has been asked to fix prices and also invite tenders for conducting any such sports activities.
Kerala to launch ‘Jala Saksharatha’ mission to sensitise public on conserving water bodies
The Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority has planned to launch a month-long drive called ‘Jala Saksharatha’ (translates to water literacy) to sensitise the public on conserving water and caring for waterbodies in the state. Students pursuing class 10 and higher secondary-equivalent programmes are expected to participate in this. Ahead of this, an activity-oriented handbook was released by the mission in Malayalam which discusses the various scientific conservation methods, existing laws on waterbodies and regulation of pollution, among others.
Gujarat readies new water policy; CM approval awaited
Nearly 18 state departments have come together to formulate the Draft Gujarat Water Policy 2018 which will be put up for cabinet approval very soon. For the first time, a Water Regulation Law has been proposed to ensure that decisions made on water supply and distribution be properly implemented. Reforms of various existing laws with respect to planning and management have also been proposed.
SC refuses PIL seeking direction to restore rivers passing through UP forests
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a PIL filed by a state forest department official seeking a direction for “restoration” of rivers passing through forests in Uttar Pradesh. The court, however, acknowledged that the failure on the part of the administration to restore rivers in the state have often resulted in massive floods and devastation.
This is a roundup of important policy matters published between June 19 and 25, 2018. Also, read the news this week.