National Water Policy is formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

to govern the planning and development of water resources and their optimum utilization. The first National Water Policy was adopted in September, 1987. It was reviewed and updated in 2002 and later in 2012. India accounts for 18% of the world population and about 4% of the world’s water resources. One of the solutions to solve the country’s water woes is to create

Indian Rivers Inter-link The Indian Rivers Inter-link is a proposed large-scale civil engineering project that aims to effectively manage water resources in India by linking Indian rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals to enhance irrigation and groundwater r ...

.c India has been successful in creating live water storage capacity of about 253 billion cubic meter(BCM) so far. In a first, the ecological needs of river have also been taken into consideration.

Salient features

The major provisions under the policy are: #Envisages to establish a standardized national information system with a network of data banks and data bases . #Resource planning and

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

for providing maximum availability. #To give importance to the impact of projects on

human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of ci ...

s and environment. #Guidelines for the safety of storage

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s and other water-related structures. #Regulate exploitation of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

. #Setting water allocation priorities in the following order:

Drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

Irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

Hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

Navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, Industrial and other uses. #The water rates for surface water and ground water should be rationalized with due regard to the interests of small and marginal farmers. The policy also deals with participation of farmers and voluntary agencies, water quality, water zoning, conservation of water, flood and drought management, erosion etc.

National Water Policy 2012

The main emphasis of National Water Policy 2012 is to treat water as ''economic good'' which the ministry claims to promote its conservation and efficient use. This provision intended for the privatization of water-delivery services is being criticized from various quarters. The policy also does away with the priorities for water allocation mentioned in 1987 and 2002 versions of the policy. The policy was adopted with a disapproval from many states.

Critics

* Paradigm shift in approach from service provider of water to facilitator of service. * Policy does not deter use among those who can afford to pay for water. * PPP mode may not ensure equity. * Policy does not follow polluter pay principle, rather it gives incentives for effluent treatment. * Policy was criticized for terming Water as an economic good. * In some regions it has not yet become successful . * The policy does not focus on the reduction of water pollution. * The policy doesn't lay out objective for commercial use of water, especially ground water

External links

National Water Policy (Ministry of Water Resources Site)Prime Minister of India during India Water Week 2012

Water: Towards a Paradigm Shift in the Twelfth Plan, Planning Commission by Mihir Shah

IWMI Research report nos # 1, 3, 14, 56, 72, 83, 107, 111, 121, 123, 125 etc.

Indian climate change from Harappa period.

References

{{Policies of India Policies of India Water in India Inter-state disputes in India Environmental law in India Water conflicts Ministry of Water Resources (India)

Salient features

National Water Policy 2012

Critics

See also

External links

References