Governance

The Joint Legislature Committee on Encroachments in Bangalore Urban District, was constituted in June 2006 with 14 MLAs and 6 MLCs, with A T Ramaswamy as Chairman. The attached report contains translated excerpts from the original Kannada report released in 2007, as well as a complete detailed version of the interim reports.

The report written on the basis of spot inspections, land surveys and hearings of various government departments and statutory bodies, concludes that the various state bodies such as the Bangalore Development Authority, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, City and Town Municipal Councils etc, miserably failed in their duties to protect Government and public land, and have become helpess, tolerant witnesses, and in many cases, active participants, abettors and promoters in these crimes in tandem with the land mafia.

Article and Image Courtesy: Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)

BARRAGES AS A BETTER ALTERNATIVE  TO POLAVARAM DAM  POJECT

(Replies to Discussion Report of Advisory Committee on alternate proposals made for

Polavaram project by Sri.T.Hanumantha Rao, former Engineer-in-Chief, AP State)

This paper presents and explores the efforts of the Government of Rajasthan, in tackling the problem of fluorosis and in ensuring that the Rajasthan Integrated Fluorosis Mitigation Programme (RIFMP) impacts all segments of the target population, including dalits. 

Rajasthan has almost half of the total villages, with the highest levels of fluoride in the country. After the success of the UNICEF pilot project using Domestic De-fluoridation Units (DDUs) at household levels, the Government of Rajasthan in 2005 adopted this technology and implemented the Rajasthan Integrated Fluorosis Mitigation Programme (RIFMP), across the state.

This presentation describes the work of WaterAid and Haritika in organising drinking water security through Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approaches, in Dhasan river sub-basin (part of Bharar river basin), Nowgon block, Chattarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

Due to emphasis on Environmental Education, the subject is being taught at all levels of education.  It is indeed pleasure to see technology students of all branches are being taught with the subject in first year.  The Environmental issues and law varies from country to country and is unique to India.  Understanding the issues does need lot of research and study ma

A one-day “Action plan workshop for the rejuvenation and sustenance of Arkavathi river basin”, was organised on 25th July 2009, by the Global Academy of Technology and Geological Society of India at Bangalore, to discuss the future of the dying Arkavathi river and Bangalore's precarious water situation, and to develop concurrent implementable action plans to address the problem. The Arkavathi is a tributary of the river Kaveri, originating in Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district, that provides about 20% of the total water requirements of Bangalore, with Kaveri providing the remaining 80%.

The satellite township of Navi Mumbai, with a total area of 344 km², was developed in 1972 by CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) to de-congest the city of Mumbai. Initially a marshy land interspersed with villages, Navi Mumbai has been developed into a planned township, with much of its marshes and freshwater wetlands being converted into urban infrastructure.

Navi Mumbai is a rapidly developing twin city. In the course of development, it was realized that more emphasis needs to be given towards the preservation and sustainable management of the freshwater wetlands it harbours. Given the vulnerability of these wetlands and their resource potential, there is an urgent need to develop a framework for sustainable use of freshwater wetlands. This requires efficient management systems and development of sustainable models, which would help maintain the natural characteristics of wetlands while also exploiting its potential to meet the socio-economic and recreational needs of communities. To tackle this important aspect, TERI conceptualized a pilot project with active support of CIDCO in October 2008. The Khandeshwar Lake was chosen as a model to demonstrate the feasibility as a ‘sustainable wetland’.

The attached presentation is an update on the work taken up and impact achieved since the start of the project, and includes details from the World Wetlands Day celebration organised on 2 February 2010. Details of TERI's wetland management program are here.

In the context of the guidelines of the revised National Water Policy (2002) which require the states to prepare a comprehensive state-level water policy, and also the need to pay special attention towards the construction of new irrigation projects, along with water management, land management, food management, floods management, ecological balance etc, in the context of the various new developments and problems being faced by the state of Bihar over the last decade or so, the Water Resources Department of the State Government of Bihar has prepared a draft State Water Policy (2009) and is inviting comments from the general public.