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Draft National Water Policy (2012) fails to take into account the multiple, complex problems and issues relating to water in India says M S Vani

The Draft National Water Policy 2012 seems to be an improvement over earlier versions due to a fundamental shift from the ‘project oriented’ approach espoused so far by the bureaucracy and political establishment to a ‘resource’ oriented approach. Water, considered state property due to eminent domain principle, was hitherto seen only in terms of projects- irrigation or multipurpose. Now at least it is defined as a ‘natural resource’.
But what does it really mean, to call water as a ‘natural resource’? What is the relationship we as humans are seeking to establish with this part of nature? What are the relative roles of citizen and state in India towards this resource?

M S Vani

Posted on 18 Mar, 2012 05:49 PM

Guest post by: M S Vani

Perusing the draft, one comes across all the ‘right’ concepts, words liberally sprinkled throughout the document, describing the resource:-

Natural resource
Hydrological cycle
Ecological needs of rivers
Climate change
Sources pollution

and our intended response to it :-

Peace by peace cotton project' is bucking the trend in chemical farming to revive cotton fields in Odisha

An apt quote by the celebrated English author underlines the importance of agriculture to a nation. But it is a tragedy that the very occupation that feeds a nation should come to a predicament in an agricultural country such as India.

Madhusmita Hazarika

Posted on 17 Mar, 2012 11:02 PM

Article and Image Courtesy : One World South Asia

Author : Madhusmita Hazarika

Status of water supply in in class-I cities and class-II towns of Uttar Pradesh (UP)

spectromech

Posted on 17 Mar, 2012 10:15 PM

Source: Central Pollution Control Board’s 2009-10 Report

Class of cities/towns

Integrated water management for rural/urban India: Common effluent treatment plant can conserve fresh water in industrial estates

Contamination of surface and groundwater resources is rampant in rural/urban India with wastewater entering fresh water bodies or seeping into groundwater. An integrated approach is needed to manage the water and wastewater treatment so that water supply is kept clean and wastewater is recycled for beneficial use in agriculture and industry. This paper will present a study that was completed for the Hammond Sanitary District in Indiana where 38 million gallons per day (MGD) will be recycled after secondary treatment for beneficial use by land owners in Northwest Indiana.

Vasudevan Rajaram and John R Sheaffer

Posted on 17 Mar, 2012 11:02 AM

Authors : Vasudevan Rajaram and John R. Sheaffer

Improving farmers’ access to agricultural insurance in India - A World Bank working paper

This working paper by the World Bank provides a detailed overview of The National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the entire policy process involved in the change over from the NAIS to the modified NAIS and beyond. India’s crop insurance program is the world’s largest with 25 million farmers insured. However, issues in design, particularly related to delays in claims settlement, have led to 95 million farmer households not being covered, despite significant government subsidy.

Niraj Verma

Olivier Mahul

Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 11:08 PM

To address this and other problems, the Government of India is piloting a modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, a market-based scheme with involvement from the private sector.

Bore well recharging through "V" wire technology in Belavadi village, Chikmagalur district in Karnataka

FLRWHS

Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 07:02 PM

Video Courtesy : FLRWHS

Our water woes: Ecological imbalance is the culprit!

When we were solely dependent on hunting and/or gathering as tribes, we used to draw only as much natural resources as could be easily replenished by “Mother Nature” - which is the case even today with the most pristine environs of all the tribal societies, across the globe.

Madhuranthakam Prabhakar Rao

Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 12:01 PM

Author : Madhuranthakam Prabhakar Rao

Implementation of the interlinking of rivers project (ILRP): Bangladesh raises concerns

The Indian Supreme Court’s (SC) recent verdict to implement the Interlinking of Rivers Project (ILRP) has added an additional element to the list of unresolved issues between India and Bangladesh with regard to water resources management in shared rivers. The people of Bangladesh have expressed their disappointment in various news media over the proposed Tipaimukh dam, lack of Teesta water sharing treaty, and the failure to implement the Ganges Treaty over the last 15 years. This new development (or re-surfacing of the old concept from 2002) on Inter-linking of River Project (ILRP) in India is a matter of concern.

Md Khalequzzaman

Posted on 12 Mar, 2012 11:50 AM

Author : Md. Khalequzzaman, P.D.

Climate change - Perspectives from India - A document published by UNDP, India

This document published by the UNDP includes a collection of articles and captures and disseminates some perspectives on climate change from the Indian context. Starting from an argument on a new climate deal to highlighting the importance of the small-scale industrial sector within climate change debates, some of India’s best known environmentalists, economists and policy makers have put forward their concerns and convictions in this collection.

Posted on 10 Mar, 2012 06:08 PM

The document argues that climate change is no more an environmental concern. It has emerged as the biggest developmental challenge for the planet. Its economic impacts, particularly on the poor, make it a major governance issue as well. The debates and discussions building up for the next conference of parties (CoP) in Copenhagen and beyond are an indicator of this.

Lessons for rural water supply - Assessing progress towards sustainable service delivery - India - IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, The Hague

This report by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre describes the findings of a study that was conducted in India as a part of a 13 country study that aimed at reviewing and better understanding the trends within rural water supply and identifying factors that appeared to contribute to or constrain the delivery of sustainable services at scale. The study also aimed at identifying organisational incentives and barriers that shaped the way in which sector institutions approached rural water services.

James A J

Posted on 10 Mar, 2012 04:24 PM

The study looked beyond a simple description of the situation towards broader processes of decentralisation and political leadership, in an attempt to unpack what has gone right or, as in many cases, what has gone wrong, within the rural water sub-sector.

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