Water: Perspectives, Issues, Concerns

Water resources are an issue of ever increasing importance worldwide given rising populations and increasing environmental degradation. Water has also become a divisive issue, both within and between countries. In the Indian context, the on-going Cauvery waters dispute, the controversies surrounding the Sardar Sarovar Project and the projected shortfalls in water supply which will affect large tracts of the country in the coming years, are just a few of the developments that serve to underline the need for a better understanding of water resources. This book discusses and analyzes several interlinked themes related to crucial aspects and many dimensions of water resources. The author draws upon his administrative experience, as well as his academic work after retirement, to present a lucid view of the issues affecting water resources while critically reviewing policy and constitutional provisions. The six sections of the book respectively cover a wealth of topics including: Water resources in India’s federal framework; the adequacy or otherwise of constitutional provisions to resolve inter-state water disputes; and a critique of the National Water Policy 2002. The different ways in which water resources are perceived, and whether there is a need to fashion a national water law. The controversies surrounding large-dam projects in India; a critique of the Supreme Court’s recent judgement concerning the Sardar Sarovar Project; and an examination of the relationship between the Government of India and the World Commission on Dams. The recent trend of discussing scarcities and conflicts relating to water resources in the language of security, and the fallacies and dangers implicit in that discourse. Conflict-resolution with reference to the water treaties India has entered into with its neighbours. Ways to minimize, if not eliminate, the dilemmas that face water resource management in India, and whether or not various river-linkage schemes should be implemented. With its lucid coverage of numerous topics of seminal and topical importance marked by original and unconventional thinking, this book will be of interest to the general reader as also to students and academics in the fields of water resources, hydrology, environmental studies, development studies and public administration. It will also attract the attention of policy makers and the media.