Governance
Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme: CAG performance audit report (2008)
Posted on 12 Jul, 2010 01:18 AMThe performance audit report of the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) for the period April 2002 to March 2007, conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), reveals numerous deficiencies in execution and implementation of works such as cases of time and cost-overrun, non-completion & delayed completion of works, non-functional & defunct works, delayed completion & non-completion of water quality mission projects, incorrect prioritization of works, wasteful and unfruitful expenditure, and expenditure on unapproved items.
A study of saline freshwater interface phenomena in the Mahanadi delta region (Orissa)
Posted on 10 Jul, 2010 10:40 PMThe subsurface aquifer systems in Mahanadi delta region in Orissa (India) is largely characterized by two groups of freshwater aquifer systems, both of which are prone to saline water mixing/migration with time and development:
- The south western Mahanadi delta region is represented by unconfined to semi-confined freshwater aquifers underlained by brackish/saline aquifer systems with a diffusion boundary.
- The north eastern parts of Mahanadi delta is represented by deep freshwater confined aquifers overlained by brackish/saline water aquifers with aquitard/ aquiclude boundary.
Draft regulatory framework for wetlands conservation - Comments by ATREE
Posted on 09 Jul, 2010 11:49 PMThe Ministry of Environment and Forests released a draft of the regulatory framework for wetland conservation - Wetlands Conservation and Management Rules (2009) for feedback from all stakeholders. The draft framework was prepared by a multi-disciplinary expert group, and final round of comments were invited till June 21st 2010.
The Wetland Conservation Team of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) did a detailed analysis of the draft regulation and submitted several pertinent concerns to the Ministry. The most significant observation is that the new framework (as do much of India's policies and laws) continues to propose unjustifiable State control and interventions over the country's wetlands and livelihoods of people dependent on them. The regulation does not make any constructive suggestions or recommendations for the conservation that the country's wetlands demand, and instead brings all wetlands into complete official control by installing Central, State and District-level wetland regulatory authorities, wherein the majority of the members will be senior government officials.
Conservation of lakes - Myths and realities of desilting
Posted on 09 Jul, 2010 11:11 PMDesilting is becoming a major component of any Lake Conservation Project now a days. The basic reasons given for necessity of desilting are - increasing the storage capacity and checking eutrophic conditions.
As it is not practicable to reverse the slow process of silting in the bed of lakes through which only silt can be removed, there is no word like 'desilting' in any standard English dictionary. What we are doing in the name of 'desilting' is practically 'digging' or 'excavation' of lake bed. By so called desilting, the original lake bed is disturbed which has far reaching adverse effects on the performance of the lake. Most visible effect is the increase in percolation rate resulting in heavy seepage losses through the lake bed as observed after massive desilting at Pushkar lake in 2009.
Rajasthan State Water Policy - State Water Resource Planning Department (2010)
Posted on 03 Jul, 2010 02:21 PMThe Rajasthan State Water Policy 2010, describes the critical status of water in Rajasthan in terms of:
- The growing imbalance between demand and supply of water
- Uncertainty in availability of water
- Inequity in access to water
- Low operational efficiency of water resource development projects
- Depleting groundwater resources and deteriorating quality of water
- High cost of service, low cost recovery and low level of expenditure
- Lack of ownership among stakeholders
The policy has evolved out of the earlier policy documents and intends to function from the new perspective of Integrated Water Resources Management, which is holistic and includes a bottom up approach.
Recent technical literature relevant for the hydrologists of the country – A compilation by the National Institute of Hydrology
Posted on 01 Jul, 2010 04:10 PMThe report is a compilation of abstracts of hydrological literature from select national and international Journals for the period 1991-95. Though a sizeable number of Journals are published in the field of hydrology and water resources, scientists involved in different studies and projects find it difficult to go through all of them.
Recent technical literature relevant to the Hydrologists of the country – A compilation by the National Institute of Hydrology
Posted on 01 Jul, 2010 03:30 PMThe report is a compilation of abstracts and annotated bibliography of hydrological literature from select national and international Journals for the year 1996-97. Though a sizeable number of Journals are published in the field of hydrology and water resources, scientists involved in different studies and projects find it difficult to go through all of them.
Institute of Water Policy's 2nd Global Water Policy Dialogue, Singapore
Posted on 28 Jun, 2010 01:04 PMOrganizer: Institute of Water Policy
Venue: Raffles City Convention Center: Canning Ballroom, Singapore
Topic:
- Index of Drinking Water Adequacy (IDWA)
Parameter characterization for solute transport in groundwater - A research report by National Institute of Hydrology
Posted on 27 Jun, 2010 08:16 AMThe study attempts to develop a mathematical model for transport of a solute in groundwater by taking the mass balance of the dissolved pollutant over a static elementary volume in three cartesian coordinates.
The management of groundwater resources is becoming a complicated task due to the overwhelming pressure on groundwater and the changing scenario of groundwater quality (physical, chemical and biological).
The hydraulics of groundwater is governed by many bounded and un-bounded factors. The mixing of constituents in groundwater is an important factor that shapes the occurrence of constituents in any precise location at any given time.
Renukaji Dilli Ke Nalon Mein - A documentary about the movement against the proposed Renukaji Dam Project
Posted on 18 Jun, 2010 05:22 PMThe Renuka Dam Project proposed over the river Giri Ganga (a tributary of the Yamuna) located some 300km away from Delhi, is a joint project of the governments of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Delhi, to be constructed by the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) in Sirmaur district of HP.