Water Management

The document describes the Maharashtra Groundwater Act, which is an Act to regulate the exploitation of groundwater for the protection of public drinking water sources and includes the details of :

• Short title and commencement of the Act
• Definitions of the terms used in the Act
• Protection measures for public drinking water sources
  • Prohibition of construction of wells within certain limits
  • Declaration of water scarcity area
  • Regulation of extraction of water from wells in water scarcity areas
  • Declaration of over exploited watershed
  • Prohibition of sinking of well in over exploited watershed
  • Prohibition of extraction of water from an existing well for certain period
  • Closing down existing well
  • Power of entry upon any land for obtaining information
  • Power to stop contravention of the provisions of section 3, 5, 7, 8 or 9
  • Payment of compensation
  • Bar to claim compensation

We invite you to read and reflect on these stories. Teachers have expressed interest in using these stories in the classroom as a teaching resource.

Climate Change

• Gujarat farmers fight against climate change: Adopt technology to conserve resources and maximize benefits
• Higher-than-normal temperatures in Ladakh pose a threat to its glaciers and thereby life in the region
• South Asia is the world's most climate-vulnerable: India ranks second

Most of the rivers and streams in urban India are dead. With a very few and rare exceptions, these once-beautiful water bodies have been encroached upon, sources dried up or converted into sewage drains all over the country.Water is being sourced or pumped from sites upstream of the city for its needs or from long distances and the city administration has little incentive for cleaning its own muck. The dismal figures of urban sewage treated by sewage treatment plants, their installed capacity and efficiency stand testimony to this.

This report by ICRISAT deals with a survey of thirty-two tanks and farm data from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states to assess the economic performance of irrigation tanks in semi arid tropics of India. It uses district-wise data on climatic and institutional variables to analyze the factors affecting tank-irrigation density. Results indicate that the spatial distribution of irrigation tanks is determined primarily by physical factors—hard rock substratum, post-monsoon rains, low moisture-holding capacity of soils and by population density.

Content Courtesy: DevNetJobsIndia

• Specialist (Community Management) - Female

N M Sadguru Water & Development Foundation

This report under the WHiRL research project by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) identifies the potential unintended impacts of water harvesting so that, if at all possible they are avoided altogether, but if these do occur, they are recognised at an early stage and steps are taken to mitigate their affects. It highlights evidence that is emerging about water harvesting in semi-arid areas, on how water if used inappropriately, can lead to inequitable access to water resources and, in the extreme, to unreliable drinking water supplies.

This report by the World Bank examines the evolution of the management of India’s waters, describes the achievements of the past, and the looming set of challenges. The report draws heavily on a set of twelve background documents by eminent Indian practitioners and policy analysts, and addresses two basic questions - 

• What are the major water development and management challenges facing India? 
• What are the critical measures to be taken to address these? 

This working paper by the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University offers an analysis of the role of law in the Narmada valley struggle, especially that which was waged by one of India’s most prominent social movements in recent years, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), with a specific focus on India’s Supreme Court. The NBA rose in reaction to the Indian government’s plan to construct a large number of dams along the Narmada river, contesting the relief and rehabilitation provided for displaced families at first, and subsequently challenging the dams themselves as being destructive.