Governance

Floods: In India, out of the total geographical area of 329 m ha., the flood prone area has been estimated as 45.64 m.ha. Heavy flood damages were experienced in the country during the monsoon of 1955, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2001 & 2004.

"Unreasoned push for large storage projects", is a note by Himanshu Thakkar written in July 2006, on the central government's unreasoned preference for large multi-purpose storage projects, inspite of evidence and experience contrary to the same.

Water supply is one of the five urban basic services being addressed by the Government of India under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) with support from Asian Development Bank (ADB) embarked on a Benchmarking and Water Utilities Data Book Project for 20 selected water utilities in India.

The Municipal Corporation may on contractual terms agreed with the Operator or Operator consultant, allow them to participate in the management, operation and maintenance of all municipal water works and the construction or acquisition of new works necessary for a sufficient supply of water for public and private purpose in the City or any specified part thereof.

The Swajaldhara Guidelines are an outcome of the Sector Reforms Project launched on a pilot basis in the year 1999-2000 and presently scaled up for the whole country from the Tenth Plan. Thus, if the village/block level Panchayati Raj Institutions or User Groups come forward and agree to adhere to the reform principles, water supply schemes can be taken up by them in those areas.

Mr. S.S. Ranganathan, author of this guest post, is a retired senior executive of Ion Exchange and currently a consultant based in Bangalore.

He can be reached at: ss.ranganathan@gmail.com , +91-9343734229

WATER SECURITY FOR THE RESIDENTS OF APARTMENTS & GATED COMMUNITIES -  S.S.Ranganathan

As India's economic boom gathers more and more momentum with each passing year, industrial water and energy use and related environmental impacts are going to be among the most critical factors in resource sustainability debates in the country and elsewhere. The companies portrayed represent a wide spectrum of industry: paper, metals, agro-processing, synthetic fibre, petroleum, transport, cement, energy, fertilizer, soft drinks and more.

Made available to us by the CII, the presentations offered here describe in detail just how these varied companies have undertaken wide ranging and often innovative eco-friendly modifications to equipment and procedures both within the their plants and in the townships around them. Technical parameters, financial implications and gains/savings are all clearly documented, making them valuable resource materials for study amongst the industrial community in India and elsewhere. While specific industries can of course gain from the sector specific innovations, there is also a wealth of material on ideas whose utility cuts across sectors, potentially benefiting industry as a whole.

• Click here to view all the presentations
• Read a description of the event by S. Vishwanath of the Rainwater Club who was on the jury
• Click here to visit CII-GBC website

As a major user of water and generator of effluents, the corporate sector has a tremendous impact on India's water and sanitation situation, especially in the current context of accelerating growth and industrial development.

This presentation deals with the Integrated Watershed Development Programme being implemented by ITC Limited, Kolkata.  Given that it is a large agro-based company with a pan-India presence, it is hardly surprising that ITC's soil and water conservation interventions are on a major scale, covering 66,723 acres in 450 villages from 23 districts in 7 states.

This report by the

These papers published by FORWARD provides a background on the water crisis in India and describes the water and sanitation situation in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.