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
Coastal Regulation Zone (2011) Notification, Island Protection Zone (2011) Notification and Traditional Coastal and Marine Fisherfolk (Protection of Rights) Act (2009) by the Ministry of Environment and Forests
For the first time an Island Protection Zone Notification (2011) is being notified and published covering Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Posted on 11 Feb, 2011 09:22 PM

The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification of 1991 has been replaced recently in January 2011 by the latest CRZ notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010 - Welcome, but a lost opportunity - Press release by SANDRP
Firstly, the definition of the Wetlands in the rules does not include Rivers and floodplains which are included under wetlands under the Ramsar convention on Wetlands that India is signatory to. Posted on 04 Feb, 2011 10:33 AM

SANDRPOn the occasion of the World Wetlands Day 2011, while we welcome the notification of Wetland (Conservation and Management) rules 2010 by the Union Ministry of Env

Right to water and sanitation - A handbook for activists by Freshwater Action Network (FAN) Global
The purpose of this handbook is to help civil society and those working on water and sanitation issues to adopt a human rights-based approach to advocacy Posted on 31 Jan, 2011 10:11 PM

With tihs, they can improve water and sanitation service regulation and provision at international, national and local levels. Directed primarily at community groups, human rights NGOs, rights-based development practitioners and aid workers, this handbook aims to strengthen human rights-based advocacy by providing innovative and practical suggestions that activists and organisations can use in their work. It also acts as a resource guide for finding further information.

Water and sanitation are essential for living a healthy life with dignity. However, around a billion people across the world lack access to a safe and sufficient water supply to cover their basic needs. Over 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation and nearly 1.2 billion face the indignity of open defecation every day.

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 is seriously off track, with sanitation severely lagging behind. For example, estimates suggest that at current rates of progress, sub-Saharan Africa will miss the MDG water target by about 25 years, while the sanitation target may not be reached until well into the 22nd century.

Irrigation tanks and their traditional local management - A remarakable ancient history of India - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Irrigation and traditional managements systems were community led. The recent past has seen sharp decline of both. A road back to the future leads us to the revival of these: discusses this paper Posted on 31 Jan, 2011 03:20 AM

Tanks are rainwater harvesting techniques which capture water during monsoons for later use. Mention of tanks in colonial texts is made and the authors infer from ancient texts like Tamil Purananuru on the importance of tanks and the locations for their construction, as well detailing their geographical spread.

Applicability of traditional wisdom in water management in Konkan region of Maharashtra - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
This paper describes some traditional water management techniques of the Konkan region of Maharashtra, with the hope that an effort will be made to revive them to ensure water supply for rural areas. Posted on 31 Jan, 2011 02:51 AM

The state government's investments in supplying potable water under the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) scheme which envisaged a no tanker supply' end to the scheme is critiqued. The authors note that the project mainly concentrated on asset creation, neglecting operation and maintenance resulting in limited improvement in villages, with respect to water supply.

Dying wisdom of medieval water management of Aurangabad city - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
This paper discusses the water management techniques and technology known as Neher. Posted on 31 Jan, 2011 01:40 AM

The city of Aurangabad has benefited from the construction of  aqueducts and canals by its earlier rulers. According to the authors  between 1617 and 1803, a number of aqueducts and canals were constructed.

Traditional water management practices and water sector reforms in South India - A comparative analysis of three systems and Participatory Irrigation Management policy - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
This paper deals with the comparative analysis of traditional water management practices in tanks systems and water sector reforms carried out in three southern states of India. Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 06:13 PM

The authors study three tanks; one each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and find that almost all tanks in Southern India face similar problems that include farmers in command area being deprived of water, siltation, lack of proper maintenance of such structures, lack of political will to decentralise authority to tank institutions etc.

Traditional water management practices in coastal Karnataka - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
This paper highlights traditional water management practices that were practised in coastal Karnataka. Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 04:10 PM

Th paper begins with a brief history of the region of Southern Kanada, its geography and the religious practices of the region. Some of the key features of this region includes  an abundance of rivers though they mostly are rain-fed. 

Preservation of Mysore urban water bodies - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
Preserving our lakes in Mysore Posted on 30 Jan, 2011 04:00 AM

This paper presents the status of lakes in Mysore. It gives emphasis to the Socio-Economic Natural Complex - Lake Ecosystems (SENCLE) model of lake preservation and management which includes socio-technical aspects of lake care.

Eradication of manual scavenging - Recent PIB Releases
Manual scavenging is a dehumanizing and degrading practice and rehabilitation of manual scavengers is an issue of human dignity Posted on 28 Jan, 2011 04:17 PM

 The Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Mukul Wasnik recently inaugurated the two-day Consultation Meeting on Eradication of Manual Scavenging and Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers.Speaking on the occasion, he called upon the States to work towards eradicating the shameful practice of manual scavenging by the end of the 11th plan. He regretted that despite various efforts made by the Central Government and the States, the practice of manual scavenging still exist in some parts of the country. The meeting was organized by the Ministries of Social Justice & Empowerment, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Urban Development.

Shri Wasnik said that we must address rehabilitation of manual scavengers to our utmost capacity.

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