Citizens' Rights and Duties

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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
Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India: A civil society consultation by WASSAN to discuss priorities for the twelfth five year plan
civil society consultation was held on “Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India” by WASSAN at Hyderabad in December 2010, defining broad contours of twelfth plan with a focus on rural livelihoods the thrust area being policy framework, funding support, institutional arrangements Posted on 26 Jan, 2011 09:13 PM

Rainfed AgricultureA civil society consultation was held on “Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India” by WASSAN at Hyderabad in December 2010 to discuss priorities for the twelfth five year plan. The Planning Commission, Government of India has been steering the process of development in India by conceptualizing five year plans and had sought inputs from civil society organizations, activists groups, networks of CBOs / NGOs, donors and others for preparing an approach paper for twelfth plan.

The objective of the consultation workshop was to contribute to the process of defining broad contours of twelfth plan with a focus on rural livelihoods the thrust area being policy framework, funding support, institutional arrangements etc., by -

  • Consolidating the lessons from good practices in promoting and protecting rural livelihoods in the country, that could be integrated in twelfth five year plan.
  • Systematically articulating issues and concerns (bottlenecks) in promoting and protecting rural livelihoods, which could be addressed in the twelfth five year plan.

Sustainable water management initiatives in Konkan under threat - A report
an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes- this intricate system is now beginning to fall apart. Posted on 21 Jan, 2011 02:09 PM

Guest Post by: Parineeta Dandekar

At the first sight, Daarche Paani (‘water at the doors’) appears unreal.. on a small flat plateau called ‘Sadaa’ in konkan, an elegant cobbled walkway leads a puzzled visitor to stairs carved in stone, which go down to an ancient grove, and here is an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes in a village called Gudaghe. When I visited the place, I could see three eminent visitors, a silent lady washing her load of clothes, a fairy bluebird splashing at a tank and a huge moonmoth in one of the trees.

Stone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche PaaniStone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche Paani.
Photo: Parineeta Dandekar

Managing Natural Resources -A report by IDSAsr
Managing the scare natural resources better and how space programme plays a role in this, a seminar of country's brilliant minds take the issue head on. Posted on 18 Jan, 2011 04:24 PM

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.

Conservation of urban lakes as potential sources of freshwater - Paper presented at the National Seminar on Water and Culture (2007)
The paper is a case study of the management of ancient lakes and other water bodies in and around Hyderabad. Posted on 09 Jan, 2011 11:52 PM

The author sees the need for the conservation, maintenance and management of these ancient water bodies for the supply of water to cities. The author suggests that there is need to integrate traditional wisdom with modern water resource management.

Films on Watershed Development and Dairying by Samaj Pragati Sahayog
Samaj Pragati Sahayog has recently completed production of two films, which are now available for purchase. Posted on 06 Jan, 2011 05:42 PM

For the last 2 decades Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS) has implemented watershed management projects in an attempt to integrate regeneration of natural resources with livelihood security of the poor

SPS has recently completed production of two films, which are now available for purchase.

Benchmarking local government performance on rural sanitation in Himachal Pradesh - A learning note by WSP
This document is about benchmarking local government performance on rural sanitation in Himachal Pradesh. Posted on 06 Jan, 2011 06:43 AM

This document deals with benchmarking local government performance on rural sanitation in Himachal Pradesh. To strengthen outcome-focused management of the rural sanitation sector in India, the Water and Sanitation Program’s (WSP) Global Scaling Up Sanitation Project, in partnership with the Government of Himachal Pradesh, developed a five-step process to monitor and benchmark performance on a monthly basis across all twelve districts in the state. Applied at the local government (district) level, this process has proven to be an effective approach, one that can improve reporting, monitoring, and performance.

Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Bill (2009)
Maharashtra ensured of sustainable and adequate supply of groundwater, maintained prescribed quality and protected public drinking water sources. Posted on 05 Jan, 2011 07:32 PM

The Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Bill, 2009 aims to facilitate and ensure sustainable and adequate supply of groundwater of prescribed quality, for various category of users, through supply and demand management measures, protecting public drinking water sources and to establish the State Groundwater Authority and District Level Authorities to manage and to regulate, with community participation, the exploitation of groundwater within the State of Maharashtra.

Saltscapes - Dholavira, Gujarat - A guest post by Amitangshu Acharya and Ayan Ghosh
Watch the beautiful Kachch unravel itself and its treasures in a video documentary. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:41 PM

Guest Post: Text by Amitangshu Acharya, Photographs by Ayan Ghosh

Kachchh – a brilliant halfway between a turmeric yellow Rajasthan and the emerald green Sahyadris – offers an upside down version of life. It tells you that seeds of life and civilisation are often hidden beneath the sands of time in inhospitable terrains.

High altitude wetland protected areas in western Arunachal Pradesh - Identification and demarcation using GIS
Saving the catchments for the survival of the wetlands. The High altitude wetlands are in grave danger and so is the life that it sustains. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:15 PM

Guest Post by Shashank Srinivasan

High altitude wetlands in the Indian Himalayas are crucial to the water security of downstream communities. They buffer the flow of glacial meltwater to sustain river flow in the dry season, ensuring that human settlements have access to water when they need it most.

High altitude wetlands are also reservoirs of biodiversity and contribute local livelihood opportunities. Identifying these wetlands and demarcating areas for their protection is thus crucial to any wetland management plan.

In this poster, a method of using topographic data obtained by remote sensing techniques, to identify the catchment areas of these wetlands has been described.

The author suggests that the protection of these catchment areas will ensure the survival of these wetlands, as well as of the communities that depend on them.

Guidelines for water safety plans for rural water supply systems by the Sulabh International Academy of Environmental Sanitation
Developing a village security plan for providing drinking water to rural households is now the focus. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 07:20 PM

This document by the Sulabh International Academy of Environmental Sanitation presents the guidelines for water safety plans for rural water supply systems. The revised National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) Guidelines 2009-2012 issued by Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation has shifted the focus from source development and installation of water supply system for providing drinking water supply to rural household to focus on development of village security plan.

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