River linking is no smooth-sailing exercise
January 18, 2019
| The Hindu Business Line
The river system is a major source of irrigation, provides potable water and cheap transportation, helps in electricity generation, and is a source of livelihood for the people. To ensure optimal utilisation of river water, one of the options is to divert water of surplus river basins to the deficit ones. There are several challenges in implementation of inter-basin water transfer projects.
Towards a clean Ganga
December 30, 2018
| The Statesman
The Constitution of India mandates the central and state governments to provide both clean and decent environment and clean drinking water for the people (Article 48A, Art. 51 (A) (g), Article 21). The Supreme Court has also declared that the right to a decent and clean environment is a fundamental right. The Ganga Action Plan of the 1980s and currently the Namami Gange programme with a Rs 20,000-crore outlay during 2015-2020 have set in motion many river cleaning activities, but their positive outcome is nowhere in sight.
Improving water management in States
October 12, 2018
| The Hindu Business Line
India's water sector has entered a stressed phase, and is likely to move into scarcity mode in the near future. It is projected that the country’s water demand by 2030 will be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual loss of about 6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Firming up principles of water sharing
July 24, 2018
| The Hindu Business Line
The apex court guidelines are important tools in resolving water allocation to various States, and the policy-makers, tribunals or water managers can effectively use them. The February 16, 2018, judgment of the Supreme Court relating to Cauvery water dispute is a landmark one in the context of water resource management, especially in resolving any water-sharing dispute. The judgment is the culmination of a long-drawn litigation against the Cauvery Tribunal award 2007 by States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
Big worry
June 22, 2018
| The Telegraph
According to the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, in more than half of the blocks of Bengal, the water level is falling by 20 centimetres a year on average. In tandem, arsenic and fluoride contamination is also increasing. In rural areas, drinking water supply is largely dependent on non-electrified tube wells. Many such tube wells have already failed, while many of them are yielding contaminated water, creating a drinking water crisis. The falling water table has also led to the drying up of many water bodies, with a serious impact on local flora, fauna and the ecology.
Alternate solutions to our water woes
March 23, 2018
| The Statesman
In India, over 76 million people lack access to safe water, the population living in peri-urban areas, etc. The available water is not always safe and is contaminated. To augment the safe water availability, not only should the water be of potable quality, but the sources of supply have to be enhanced. Unlike conventional water supply through piped water, use of drinking water ponds in some rural coastal areas, or developing integrated tanks including revival of surface water ponds are examples of natural measures for augmenting the sources.
