Surface Water

A two day National Workshop on need for policy and legal norms for allowing freshwater flows in Rivers in India on January 3-4, 2009 at Bangalore ended with a unanimous demand that governments must allow continuous, sustained freshwater flows in all perennial rivers of India, whenever, a dam, diversion or hydropower project is planned, constructed or operated. Inaugurating the workshop on the morning of January 3, 2009, Shri L C Jain, former member, planning commission of India (and many other important posts), expressed his pain and anguish on the state of India's Rivers, "It is very disturbing that the acts of commissions and omissions of the authorities have ruthlessly, blindly, heartlessly lead todestruction of almost every major rivers of India. The hearts of the officials and ministers should throb for the millions depending for their needs and livelihoods on the rivers, but it seems that the stones of the South and North block buildings have entered their hearts." Quoting Gandhiji's agenda for the economic independence of India from what he wrote in the Young India on November 29, 1929, Jain said, Land, Water and Air cannot be subject of commerce, but the planners lock up the pain, hunger, malnutrition in the paragraphs of their five year plan documents and do not ensure their inclusion in their actual plans and programmes. He expressed his deep anguish that even the recommendations of the official policies and committees on ensuring freshwater flows in the rivers remain unimplemented.

The Preliminary Consolidated Report on the Effect of Climate Change on Water Resources, prepared by the Central Water Commission and the National Institute of Hydrology, under the guidance of the Ministry of Water Resources in 2008, is one of the first official reports made available by the Government of India, of a reliable quantitative assessment based on field data, of the likely effect of climate change on the availability of water resources, i.e. on the glaciers and snow melt, on rainfall and their effect on run off into the river system and their contribution to ground water. In the Report, an attempt has been made to give a brief account of the available studies on possible impacts of climate change on India's water resources, change in India's water needs, climate of India, river basins of the country, present water resources and future demand and supply, impacts of projected climate change and variability, and associated hydrological events and likely vulnerability of regional water resources to climate change. Identification of key risks, research needs and prioritisation of mitigation strategies has also been discussed. Access the report here: Preliminary Consolidated Report on the Effect of Climate Change on Water Resources

"Irrigation Infrastructure - A View from below" is a new research study by Chitra Krishnan funded by the "Knowledge in Civil Society" initiative.

Following is the summary of an interview of Anshu after he along with his team did their part in the rehabilitation processes. The summary narrates Anshu's experiences and evaluations on Bihar flood.

The document can be downloaded as a PDF here (Hindi): Kosi rehabilitation policy document

Kosi disaster: The rehabilitation & reconstruction policy

Vishwanath calls on all to set aside the "yuck" factor and take a rational view of the use of urine as a fertilizer. From a open discussion he goes on to list out the advantages of using plant nutrient rich urine as fertilizer and provides the maths behind his validation!! Write in with your take in the comments!

The report starts from August as the floods struck and chronicles the sequence of events till November. The initial frenzy of the flood & confusion as people panic and relief exists as only a mirage to the slow grind of the government machinery are documented.

Recognizing the value of wetlands and taking cognizance of the fact that there does not yet exist a formal system for conservation and management and wise-use of wetlands, the National Environment Policy (NEP), 2006 seeks to set up a legally enforceable regulatory mechanism for identified valuable wetlands to prevent their degradation, enhance their conservation and wise-use by all the stakehol

The Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development recently released the National Urban Sanitation Policy. We attach the document below, as well as key excerpts. We request you to add your comments below regarding the provisions of the Sanitation Policy. Click here to view the National Urban Sanitation Policy The document is quite comprehensive and detailed. It lays out a vision for urban sanitation in India. It instructs states to come up with their own detailed state-level urban sanitation strategies and City Sanitation Plans. It moots the idea of totally sanitised and open-defecation cities as a target and the setting up of a multi-stakeholder City Sanitation Task Force to achieve this. Environmental considerations, public health implications and reaching the unserved and urban poor are given significant emphasis in the policy. Funding options are laid out including direct central and state support including through existing schemes, public-private partnerships, and external funding agencies. It directs that atleast 20% of the funds should be earmarked towards servicing the urban poor. The Center also plans to institute awards to the best performing cities, reminiscent of the Nirmal Gram Puraskar awards for villages. Important Excerpts from the Policy: