Original Request: Prema Gera, UNDP, New Delhi
Posted: 30 June 2006
Given the critical situation of the water sector in Rajasthan and the need for its integrated and coordinated planning, the State Government of Rajasthan set up an expert committee on ‘Integrated Development and Management of Water Resources’ under the chairmanship of Dr. V.S. Vyas on the 29th June 2004. The Committee gave its recommendations in June 2005.
Among other recommendations, the Committee suggested a revision of the state water policy adopted by the government in 1999. Consequently, the state government has prepared the Government of Rajasthan- State Water Policy (Draft) and has placed it in the public domain for feedback. This document is available at the following link: http://www.rajirrigation.gov.in/docs/DraftStateWaterPolicy.pdf (Size: 38 KB)
The Rajasthan draft water policy covers several necessary aspects such as the need for the water policy to reflect overall development goals of the state such as poverty reduction, economic growth, environmental well being, progress of weaker sections, promotion of livelihoods; the importance for water resources development projects to be prioritized on economic, social and financial criteria; the need for a well developed and comprehensive information system for water management, etc.
While the Rajasthan government wants the state’s water policy to reflect the problems, views and aspirations of all water users in the state, it is also keen to learn from experiences in other states of India and from the larger community of practitioners, policy makers and researchers. With this in mind, the policy is being placed on Solution Exchange to benefits from the rich and diverse experience of the community.
Members may also like to refer to the following documents as background reading:
- Salient points of the Report of the Vyas Committee (Summary in PDF) http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr/res31070601.pdf (Size: 33 KB)
- Report of the Expert Committee on Integrated Development and Management of Water Resources headed by Dr. Vyas (Full Text Link) http://www.rajirrigation.gov.in/docs/report.htm
- National Water Policy of India (Full Text in PDF) http://wrmin.nic.in/policy/nwp2002.pdf
Looking forward to your responses.
Please see attachment below for the responses.
