Water Laws

India is the largest user of groundwater resources in the world. It is estimated that approximately 230 cubic kilometers per year is used annually, this is more than a quarter of the total world consumption from this resource.

It is in this context that this World Bank report looks at the reasons for this quantum of groundwater usage.

The report delves into socio-economic and political reasons and looks at policies which inadvertently promote so much extraction. The report also analyses various attempts to manage this resource. These attempts range from government and international agency efforts directed to grassroots mobilisations. Finally the report comes out with suggestions to deal with this crisis.Read More

This article published in the Economic and Political Weekly begins by arguing that India’s annually renewable water resources are finite and are subject to uncertain climatic variability and that these resources need to be systematically monitored and managed to meet the needs of a diverse society.Read More

India will thus benefit from a unifying national water policy that combines scientific knowledge of India’s water resource systems with the nation’s democratic ideals so as to achieve an equitable sharing of this vital resource among all segments of society.

This book by Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, highlights the emerging issues related to privatisation of water in the context of the recent surge of privatisation-related initiatives in the water sector in India.

The history of attempts at privatisation of water till recent times from all across the globe indicate that they have been met with strong resistance where ever they have been implemented. This is because of the total failure of all these programmes to address the social responsibility of providing water to all without consideration of profits.Read More

However, this backlash against privatisation has led international donor agencies to use a different type of strategy and language. This has led to a shift from Private Sector Partnership (PSP) to Public Private Partnership (PPP) and more recently to the Water Sector Reforms (WSR) in countries such as India.