Books and Book Reviews

The latest book by Mr.Kumar Alok talks about the story of the successes and challenges faced in building the fast expanding rural sanitation network in India

Back in the 1920s, the peasants of Mulshi Peta, near Pune, India, had protested against the construction of a dam being built with government support by the industrial house of the Tatas. As a marker of the transition from an agrarian to an industrialised society, the Mulshi satyagraha anticipated many of the modern protest movements.

The Big Necessity - The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters By Rose George

Water is a complex subject that gives rise to many issues, and several of them have legal aspects. The book proceeds from various water-related problems and issues to the legal questions that arise in those contexts, examines the adequacy and appropriateness of the relevant existing laws, if any, and considers the changes and reforms that are needed. It seeks to cover the ground extensively. The book also briefly raises and explores the case for a constitutional declaration on water and an over-arching national water law. This compendious volume thus straddles two domains, viz.,

(i) water-resource policy, management, conservation, conflict-resolution, etc (in itself a multiple domain encompassing many concerns and disciplines); and

(ii) water law

In Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein, Shri Anupam Mishra documents the myriad, well-organised ways in which the people of western Rajasthan have harvested and managed water over centuries, through work of the utmost dedication, painstaking detail and community-led action. These systems have survived the test of time, and are present in most villages and towns of the desert state even today.

This path-breaking work in the harsh water-scarce conditions of the desert, was completely managed by the local communities, and serves as a guide to the rest of us, in organising to face and tackle the water crisis, that we face across the world today.

Shri Anupam Mishra has worked in the field of environment and water conservation for many decades, and is currently with the Gandhi Peace Foundation New Delhi. His books on the work of people/society organising themselves, to harvest and manage water - Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab and Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein, are considered landmark works in the field, and continue to inspire several individuals even today, to take up work on setting up and reviving such time-tested water harvesting systems.

Water And The Laws In India, edited by Edited by Ramaswamy R Iyer, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Published by SAGE Publications.

Laws relating to water in India have diverse origins, including ancient local customs and the British Common Law. The in-depth chapters in this compendium, written by luminaries from various fields, pertain to issues on water and proceed to a discussion of the legal questions that arise. This volume thus straddles two domains, viz., (i) water-resource policy, management, conservation, conflict-resolution, etc., and (ii) water law. The book also briefly raises and explores the case for a constitutional declaration on water and an overarching national water law.

The book is an invaluable resource for policy-makers, planners and administrators concerned with water at the Central, State and local levels; students, academics and practitioners in the domains of water as well as law; and social scientists, NGOs and activists concerned with the various issues discussed in the book. It should be useful as a main or supplementary textbook in universities and research or management institutions where any aspect of water (engineering, ecological, legal, social, economic, management or other) is a subject of study.

A list of contributors to the book is as follows:

A book by Communication for Development and Learning, Bangalore about the traditional rainwater harvesting structures that have been in use in Karnataka.

Image and Content Courtesy: Water Alternatives (WaA)

Water supply is one of the five urban basic services being addressed by the Government of India under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) with support from Asian Development Bank (ADB) embarked on a Benchmarking and Water Utilities Data Book Project for 20 selected water utilities in India.

This book was commissioned by the Asian Development Bank as part of its support to the Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF), an independent, non-partisan, non-political network of institution