Citizens' Rights and Duties

Featured Articles
July 7, 2022 PMAY needs policy commitment to rehabilitate slums in small and medium cities of Gujarat
Need for legal framework for land rights in small and medium cities of Gujarat under PMAY (Image: Homes in the City)
December 6, 2019 A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 21, 2019 A report by NIUA brings to light the chinks in Jaipur's sewage system and suggests some solutions.
Routine check done by the sewage treatment plant staff in Delawas, Jaipur. The plant is part of the ADB best practices projects list. (Image: Asian Development Bank, Flickr Commons)
November 18, 2019 Bangalore's water utility is understaffed, under financed and unable to service the city's water needs.
Image credit: Citizen Matters
November 15, 2019 On World Toilet Day, we bring to light the labour of India’s sewer workers - those who do the unclean work that a Clean India relies on.
Photo credit: Sharada Prasad
NREGA poster boy in Chattisgarh struggling for late payment compensation - Audio update from CGNet Swara
Pitbasu Bhoi should be a poster boy for National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) for working all the 100 days under the program. Posted on 12 Apr, 2011 06:49 PM

 But as you may recall as it was reported before on this forum that his son died in need of attention when he was still struggling to get his wages.

Click here to read the entire article

Deep wells and prudence - Towards pragmatic action for addressing groundwater overexploitation in India - A World Bank document (2010)
India is the largest user of groundwater resources in the world. It is estimated that approximately 230 cubic kilometers per year is used annually, this is more than a quarter of the total world consumption from this resource.
It is in this context that this World Bank report looks at the reasons for this quantum of groundwater usage
Posted on 12 Apr, 2011 01:51 AM

India is the largest user of groundwater resources in the world. It is estimated that approximately 230 cubic kilometers per year is used annually, this is more than a quarter of the total world consumption from this resource.

It is in this context that this World Bank report looks at the reasons for this quantum of groundwater usage.

The report delves into socio-economic and political reasons and looks at policies which inadvertently promote so much extraction. The report also analyses various attempts to manage this resource. These attempts range from government and international agency efforts directed to grassroots mobilisations. Finally the report comes out with suggestions to deal with this crisis.

New policy framework for rural drinking water supply: Swajaldhara guidelines – An article by Philippe Cullet in Economic and Political Weekly
This article by Philippe Cullet in the Economic and Political Weekly discusses the central government policy for drinking water supply in rural areas Posted on 11 Apr, 2011 07:09 PM

It examines its evolution from the 1970s onwards and focuses, in particular, on the reforms of the past decade, looking more specifically at the Swajaldhara Guidelines. These reforms are of capital importance because they seek to completely change the rural drinking water supply policy framework.

Role of civil society in sanitation improvement - A case-study from the work of Parivartan in Uttar Pradesh (2010)
This presentation prepared by the founders of Parivartan, a Kanpur based NGO, deals with the organisation's efforts to improve the sanitation system of the town by involving local citizenry. Posted on 11 Apr, 2011 12:33 AM

This presentation prepared by the founders of Parivartan, a Kanpur based NGO, deals with the organisation's efforts to improve the sanitation system of the town by involving local citizenry.

Captain SC Tripathi, the founder of Parivartan explains that his organisation is based on a 'collective' model where in all aspects from ideation to implementation is a collective effort. This model seemed appropriate considering the different problems that Kanpur was facing ranging from sanitation issues to drainage, power outages etc. Added to this was political and official apathy, indifference and cynicism of citizenry.

Profile of GUARDIAN microfinance institution
GUARDIAN is the first MFI in the world engaged in micro lending to people lacking credit for the creation of individual toilet and water connection facilities Posted on 31 Mar, 2011 02:19 PM

Gramalaya Urban And Rural Development Initiatives And Network (GUARDIAN) is a micro finance institution (MFI) and a not for profit institution with no capital, registered under Sec.

Why we cannot keep silent : Women speak out for rivers
How do women feel when their rivers are dammed, their forests and villages submerged? Posted on 23 Mar, 2011 09:48 AM

Women have long taken action to protect rivers. These women would be affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam in India (Karen Robinson).

Estimating the investment requirements for urban infrastructure services – Report of the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC)
The report documents the nature of the urbanisation challenges facing India. Its central message is that urbanisation is not an option. Posted on 22 Mar, 2011 09:13 AM

Urban InfrastructureThis report on Indian urban infrastructure and services is an outcome of the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) chaired by Isher Judge Ahluwalia set up by the Ministry of Urban Development in May, 2008 for estimating the investment requirement for urban infrastructure services. It is an inevitable outcome of the faster rates of growth to which the economy has now transited. Indeed, urbanisation is itself a process that will support growth. The Committee has made recommendations on how to deal with these challenges of urbanisation.

The Committee has held several meetings with officials from the Government of India, state governments and local governments and also met with academicians and other stakeholders such as Asian Development Bank with interest and expertise in Indian urban issues.

The report argues that the challenge of managing urbanisation will have to be addressed through a combination of increased investment, strengthening the framework for governance and financing, and a comprehensive capacity building programme at all levels of government. The Committee has projected very large investment requirements for providing public services to specified norms and also supporting the growth process. The challenge of financing these investments is inextricably linked with the challenge of governing the cities and towns of India.

Water and culture vis-à-vis river diversions - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Ancient knowledge and tradition of linking rivers. A study of the Koyna dam to understand this further Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 04:48 AM

This paper discusses river linking, as a part of an ancient tradition, and suggests how NGOs can play a role in this attempt. The example of the Koyna dam is taken, and the effective handling of the technical and human angle of the dams construction is detailed through in-depth study and detailed field visits.

Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) in Andhra Pradesh - An overview - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Inadequate and unreliable water in the lower command area of Andhra, leaves the farmers with little hope Posted on 14 Feb, 2011 02:57 AM

This paper describes a PIM initiative undertaken by the Government of  Andhra Pradesh. The need for PIM in Andhra Pradesh, was felt because farmers, especially those in the lower reaches of the command area of the project, suffer from inadequate and unreliable supplies.

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