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IMD district-wise monthly rainfall data from 2004-2011 for the whole of India

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In response to an RTI petition filed by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has made rainfall data for the past few years available at a monthly level, for each district of the country on their website.

India Water Portal has imported all the data from 2004-2011 into a spreadsheet that you can download and save for future use.

Acknowledgements

We thank Sailendra Mishra, RN Divakar, Samuel Rajkumar, Shubham Singh, Nisreen Ahmed and Nisha Thompson, for helping us extract and post this data in the public domain.

Disclaimer

While India Water Portal has taken significant effort to ensure the validity of the data, we are not responsible for any errors that may have occurred.

For accessing 1901-2001 meteorological data for the whole of India, please use the MET DATA Tool.

Download the spreadsheet with IMD 2004-2011 district-wise monthly rainfall data for the whole of India:


 

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IMD district-wise monthly rainfall data from 2004-2011 for the whole of India579.86 KB

Water resources in India under changed climate scenario- A paper in International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications

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This paper in International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, tries to assess the impacts of climate change on water resources of the river basins of India, which are of great significance for domestic, industrial agricultural and hydropower scenario of the country.

The paper in its introduction states that the shortage for fresh water is becoming a limiting factor for the socio-economic development of many countries. Further the competing demand for water for domestic and industrial purposes also adds pressure to the resource. Under such circumstances it is important to have a reliable assessment of the resource.

The global warming is expected to pose serious challenges to fresh water resource.The paper examines the escalating threats of climate change on eastern and north eastern, river basins of India. The objective of the paper is to analyze the spatial variation of water supply and demand across the flood prone river basins.

The paper then goes on to shed light on the methodology followed to collect data. The hydrologic simulation package HEC-HMS has been used for the evaluation of hydrologic impact of climatic variability on water resources of ten important eastern and north eastern river basins in India. Along with this historical data for the basins are used for the calibration and validation, daily rainfall data and stream flow data for a period of thirty years (January 1961 to December 1990) for the selected river basins. PRECIS climatic model was used to calculate future projection of climatic variables.

The paper then goes on to elaborate the results of the study carried, which includes river runoff, water availability, virtual water availability, water footprint and green water availability.

Click here to read the full paper.

Cost recovery in urban water services: Select experiences in Indian cities- A report by Water and Sanitation Program

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This report by Water and Sanitation Program states that while tariff reforms in urban service delivery are still in progress, service providers could improve cost recovery considerably by introducing more efficient operational practices.

The report draws on the report by Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) study from 2008 which made a comparative analysis of 23 urban local bodies (ULBs)—looking at seven cities in detail and another 16 based on secondary data to understand the factors affecting cost recovery.

The report elaborates on specific issues under the following sections:

  • Operational factors that influence cost recovery discusses operational and tariff-related factors that impede cost recovery by urban water service providers in India, especiallylow service coverage; high water losses and nonrevenue water; inefficient metering, billing and collection; and high staffing levels.
  • Tariffs and cost recovery and affordability and services to the poor discusses policy reform and practical initiatives and options to achieve improved cost recovery and, by implication, achieve service improvements, capital maintenance, and expansion of coverage.
  • Implications- The study carried out in the cities show that tariff structures are overly complex.The key challenge is to make tariffs understandable for customers, and to avoid complex subsidization rules and processes. Instead, subsidies need to be well targeted and transparent.

Click here to access the full report.

Water: Towards a paradigm shift in the Twelfth Plan - A paper by Mihir Shah in the EPW

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A fundamental change in the principles, approach and strategies of water management in India has been proposed in the Twelfth Plan. In this paper Dr Mihir Shah speaks on the need for this change, the process followed, the main features of this proposed change and the way forward from here.

Why is this paradigm shift needed ?

India’s water crisis

The paper begins with an introduction to the water crisis faced by the country. This has been aggravated due to the compounded effect of falling water tables, contamination of groundwater, rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and the fresh challenge of climate change. All these are contributing factors to the spiralling water conflicts seen both at state and local levels.

Eighty per cent of India’s water is used for irrigation from two main sources -canals and groundwater. Unfortunately both these sources are now beginning to hit an upper limit with the escalating demand for more and more water.

Limits to large dams

Studies suggest that existing reservoirs have reached their upper storage limit. The new proposed dams face the grim prospects of displacing more populace, difficulty in location of storage places and aggravating the already fragile ecosystems of these areas. The north east, while being a bio diversity hotspot, is more earthquakes prone.

The ambitious scheme for interlinking of rivers also presents major problems of surplus water, which affects the natural supply of nutrients and the monsoon system, and thus will have a serious long term consequences for climate and rainfall in the subcontinent.

The crisis of groundwater

Exploitation of groundwater beyond sustainable levels has led to serious over-extraction and quality deterioration. The decline in the water table has been to the extent of 3-5 cm per annum in the country.

What is the way out of emerging crisis ? How can this paradigm shift be brought about ?

Given this apparent emergence of limits to further development of water resources, a workable consensus on each issue was arrived at by the working group. The main features of this change are outlined below:

Large irrigation reforms

  • To increase water use efficiency by 20% for irrigation projects
  •  To create a substantial National Irrigation Management Fund (NIMF) to incentivise states
  • To broaden the human resource profile of existing irrigation departments to include disciplines such as social mobilisation, management, agronomy, etc
  • To reorient capacities of civil engineers to move them towards management roles
  • To include command area development (CAD)works in all irrigation project proposals from the very beginning as an integral part of the project

Participatory aquifer management

  • Adoption of a participatory approach to sustainable management of groundwater based on aquifer mapping that takes into account the common pool resource(CPR) nature of groundwater
  • To encourage the interface of civil society and research institutes with government, across all aspects of the programme
  • Special focus to be on:
    • Relationship between surface hydrologic units and hydro geological units
    • Lithological set-up constituting the aquifer with some idea about the geometry of the aquifer – extent and thickness
    • Identification of groundwater recharge areas
    • Groundwater balance and crop-water budgeting at the scale of a village or watershed
    • Groundwater assessment at the level of each individual aquifer
    • Regulatory options at community level, including drilling depth ,distances between wells, cropping pattern that ensures sustainability of the resource (aquifer) and not just the source (well/tubewell)
    • Comprehensive plan for participatory groundwater management based on aquifer understanding, bearing in mind principles of equitable distribution of groundwater across all stakeholders

Breaking the groundwater-energy nexus

  • To provide major investments to improve and sustain a better way of delivering power subsidies that cut energy losses and stabilise the water table at the same time
  • A possible effective solution found by states has been allowing rationed supply of power to agriculture, which can be at off-peak hours

Watershed restoration and groundwater recharge

  • Transforming Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) into the largest watershed programme
  • Launching a completely revamped programme on Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies

A new approach to rural drinking water and sanitation

  • Adoption of a new approach based on the principle of subsidiarity that seeks solutions to problems of water quality, lack of ownership, social exclusion etc.
  • Villages covered with piped water supply to get open defecation free (ODF) status on priority and vice versa
  • Waste water treatment and recycling to be an integral part of every water supply plan or project
  • Management of liquid and solid waste to be promoted together with recycling and reuse of grey water for agriculture and groundwater recharge and pollution control
  • APL-BPL distinction and the focus on individual toilets to be replaced by a habitation-saturation approach
  • Toilet designs to be fine-tuned in accordance with local social and ecological considerations
  • Programme to be taken up in a phased manner progressively leading to Nirmal blocks, Nirmal districts and eventually Nirmal states

Conjoint water and wastewater management in urban India

  • Focus on the need to invest in water and waste management in human settlements based on a strategy that is both affordable and sustainable
  • Steps defined towards sustainable solutions
    • Investments in water supply to focus on demand management
    • Reducing intra-city inequity and on quality of water supplied
    • Each city to consider, as first source of supply its local water bodies
    • Cities to get funds for water projects, when they have accounted for the water supply from local water bodies and have protected local water bodies and their catchments
    • No water scheme to be sanctioned without a sewage component.
    • Cities to plan for reuse and recycling of waste at the very beginning of their water and waste plan

Industrial water

  • Industry to adopt best international practices to improve water use efficiency 
  • To make comprehensive water audits a recurring feature of industrial activity
  • To make it mandatory for companies to include details of their yearly water footprint in their annual report
  • To examine the measures to levy charges for water use and incentivise water conservation
  • To publicly validate the water audit of industries so that this builds experience and confidence on the best practices.
  • To develop a forum which would
    • provide information on industry-specific good practices in wise water use
    • undertake to develop expertise in water audits and water use advisory services
    • to provide details of “exemplar” case studies
    • provide a “gateway” for accessing information about water saving and water efficiency technologies in rain-water harvesting, recycling and reuse, water conserving devices and support to helping behaviour change

Renewed focus on non-structural mechanisms for flood management

  • To tackle floods by placing greater emphasis on rehabilitation of traditional, natural drainage systems, leveraging the funds available under MGNREGA
  • To convert adversity into opportunity as detailed below
    • Part of the waterlogged area could be used for construction of small multi-purpose farm ponds
    • Mud of ponds would be raised on the side as embankments on which crops like banana, papaya, mango, pigeon pea and cashew nut can be grown
    • Pond water to be used to irrigate non-waterlogged, upland area
  • Priority to be given to non-structural measures such as the efficient management of flood plains, flood plain zoning, disaster preparedness and response planning
  • Improve methods of flood forecasting and warning, along with disaster relief
  • Upgrade flood fighting including public health measures and flood insurance

What are the initiatives taken up to support this shift ?

The two major initiatives being taken in the Twelfth Plan, in order to support the manifold paradigm shift in water management are as follows:

Water database development and management

The working group highlighted serious gaps and inadequacies in the scope, coverage and quality of data currently used. It came up with a concrete programme to improve existing scenario to generate a more comprehensive, detailed and reliable data and outlined changes needed in institutional arrangements.

Suggestions made to central government are summarised below:

  • To work out the strategy, modalities and funding for building a comprehensive, technical and scientific data base on potential and utilisable water from different sources
  • To detail the scope, content, methodology and mechanisms of the surveys to assess performance and impact of programmes through sample surveys of users and specific projects
  • To design an integrated and digitised National Water Resources Information System

New institutional and legal framework

  • State-level regulators
    • Model bill for state water regulatory system has been drafted
    • It incorporates the principle of subsidiarity by laying out water governance at four levels: (i) state, (ii) river basin, (iii) sub-basin, and (iv) local
    • Bill builds in enough flexibility in its design to take care of differences across states through a modular structure
  • New groundwater law
    • A new model bill for the protection, conservation, management and regulation of groundwater has been proposed
    • Overall objectives of the model bill are to
      • regulate iniquitous groundwater use and distribution
      •  regulate over-extraction of groundwater
      •  promote and protect community-based, participatory mechanisms of groundwater management that are adapted to specific locations
      •  prevent and mitigate contamination of groundwater resources
      •  promote and protect good conservation, recharge and management practices
      • protect areas of land that are crucial for sustainable management of groundwater and ensure that high groundwater consuming activities are not located in areas unable to support them
  • National water framework law
    • To draft a National Water Framework Law (NWFL) that states that while under the Indian Constitution water is primarily a state subject, it is an increasingly important national concern in certain contexts
    • Clarification of the nature and scope of this law is given
    • For a national water framework law to be legislated , two or more state assemblies need to pass resolutions in support of Parliament enacting such a law

The way forward

Conclusion

This multifaceted paradigm shift in the Twelfth Plan has initiated a complete change in the principles and approaches animating water management in India. It is a move away from a narrow engineering -construction perspective towards a more multidisciplinary understanding of water. This shift in perspective is backed by a completely new and vastly enlarged package of incentives and financial and technical support.

What lies ahead is the difficult task of implementing this new approach. Dr Shah strongly feels that the same preparedness of civil society, academia and government of closely working together that transformed the Twelfth Plan agenda will now be required in its implementation, with close involvement of local communities, if success is to be achieved on this path.

For more information on Dr Mihir Shah, please click here

For the Twelfth Five Year Plan 2012-17 documents click here

The complete paper can be downloaded here

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Water - Towards a paradigm shift in the Twelfth Plan - A paper by Dr Mihir Shah, Planning Commission (2013)184.92 KB

Compendium of sewage treatment technologies by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

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This compendium of sewage treatment technologies by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has been prepared, based on primary and secondary data gathered from operation of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the country over the last two decades. The data gathered was assimilated for determination of treatment efficiency, treatment cost and land requirements of various technological options available for sewage treatment.

Various available treatment options have been categorized and specific recommendations made regarding various technological options for sewage treatment in the various regions. Though the study is based primarily on the sewage treatment technologies adopted in the Ganga basin, the experience of other parts of the country has also been incorporated to develop the guidelines.

As regards STPs in the Ganga basin a wide range of technologies have been adopted such as Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs), Duckweed Pond Systems (DPS), Karnal Technology, Facultative Aerated Lagoons (FAL), Trickling Filter (TF), Activated Sludge Process and its modifications (ASP), BIOFOR process, ASP BIOFOR-F process, Fluidized Aerated Bed (FAB) process, Submerged Aerated Fixed Film (SAFF) process, rotating Biological Rope Contractor (RBRCX) process, Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) process and Down Hanging Sponge Bio-tower (DHSB) process.

According to the Compendium, 32 STPs totaling 728 MLD treatment capacity were constructed and 11 existing STPS (151 MLD treatment capacity) were renovated under the Ganga Action Plan Phase I (GAP-1). Activated sludge process (ASP) was the most preferred technology, with ASP and its minor variants accounting for almost 62 per cent of the total capacity.

26 STPs (722 MLD treatment capacity) were set up under the Yamuna Action Plan, Phase I (YAP-I). Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) process was the most preferred treatment technology, accounting for 83 per cent of the total installed treatment capacity.

Concurrently with YAP, 30 STPs having 2325 MLD of sewage treatment capacity were added in Delhi under the river conservation programme of the Government of NCT Delhi. Most of these STPS are based on ASP technology or its minor variants. A large STP (182 MLD capacity) has been constructed at Rithala using the BIOFOR-F technology.

In addition to the technological options discussed above, several other technologies have been used with success in various parts of India. These include the Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) technology and its minor modification known as the CTECH process, which has been employed in several places in western and southern India. Another promising technological option is the moving Biological Bed Reactor (MBBR), which is very similar to the FAB system. Further in many places in western and southern India, the UASB process has been used in conjunction with FAL and a Final Polishing Unit (FPU) or in conjunction with the ASP process to provide high quality treatment.

The categorization of the treatment technologies has been done in the Compendium based on comprehensive analysis of performance and cost data from a large number of sewage treatment plants in the Ganga river basin and elsewhere employing all the technological options mentioned above. The treatment technologies have been divided into four categories. This classification may not be universal, but is certainly valid based on experience with wastewater treatment plants over the two-three decades in India in general, and the Ganga basin in particular. 

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Compendium of Sewage Treatment Technologies by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (2009)16.95 MB

Wastewater management: A case study of Tiruchirapalli city in Tamil Nadu

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Any form of liquid waste discharged by domestic residents, industries, agriculture and commercial establishments into water is called a wastewater. This water contains different quantities of contaminants which pollutes water and makes it unfit for any productive or domestic use. Set against the backdrop of dire need for effective and efficient management of wastewater, this paper is a case study of Tiruchirapalli city in Tamil Nadu. The analysis provided in the paper is an outcome of the field work carried out in the city, which emphasises for developing a strategy for the management of wastewater.

The authors of this paper first give a brief over view of the need for managing wastewater, which if left to accumulate might lead to production of malodorous gases and can cause diseases.

The paper then lists out the contaminants of wastewater, which are as follows:

  • Sediments
  • Suspended solids
  • Pathogens
  • Nutrients
  • Organic
  • Inorganic

Though the need for proper drainage and disposal system in India has been felt way back in 18 century , following which treatement plants have been set up , laws have been passed, the authors state that strategies for wastewater management have not been proposed so far in a comprehensive manner. For this they under took a study, which aims to prepare a strategy for wastewater management.

The objectives of the paper are as follows:

  1. To review the status of wastewater quantity, quality, Collection, transport network, treatment, disposal, recycling and reuse.
  2. To determine the level of awareness among people on the drainage schemes, network connections etc.
  3. To identify the existing problems in quantitative manner.
  4. To propose, alternative collection network, strategies for increasing sewer connections, optimal routing etc.

The authors undertook a field study in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, to collect data, where field observation was made and interviews have been taken.

The paper then goes on to elaborate the field findings which are as follows:

  • Only 3 lagoons occupying 55.83 acres, were to be inadequate to handle the current sewage discharge.
  • Only 45% of houses have been assessed to be suitable to obtain sewer connections thus there is a need to expand the system to serve a population of 8.25 lakhs.
  • 32 areas in Tiruchirapalli city are omitted in the existing sewerage network

The paper then provides details of the field areas where the study has been carried out. After listing out the details of the state of wastewater system in the city, the problems were identified which are:

  1. Lack of awareness among the public on the existing facility and procedures for obtaining sewer connections.
  2. The duties of the private agency were not clearly specified leading to poor collection and transport.
  3. As a result of which the sewage received at the treatment plant contain bulk quantities of floating materials and coarse solids. This creates a problem of clogging during transport, an increase in pollution load on the treatment units thereby decreasing the efficiency of aerobic pond and facultative stabilization pond.
  4. The reasons for the above problems were found to be lack of administrative coordination among private agency, TWAD, and community.
  5. It was also found that these agencies blame one another while failing in their duties.
  6. The efficiency of the STP, Panchapur is very poor, only 40% BOD removal is obtained. This is mainly due to quality of the influent, silting of the lagoons, development of anaerobic conditions, lead to the reduction in the efficiency of the plant. The problem could be very well handled by making the agencies realize their responsibilities and try to build partnerships with the public.
  7. Poor land use practices and discharge of sewage on to the river system has resulted in public demonstration and appeal calling for appropriate land use and potential reuse of wastewater for agriculture and pisciculture.
  8. Reuse of wastewater for agriculture was not a successful one due to quality of treated wastewater, selection of crop and poor land use pattern.

The recommendations given by the authors are as follows:

  • A decentralized local sewerage system (individual sewerage system at each source with wastewater collection pits, cesspits or small sewage works, latrines, etc).
  • Safe collection and removal of sewage and rainwater in order to protect against disease.
  • Maintenance or improvement of the quality of surface water and groundwater.
  • Construction of permanently watertight sewers and repair of leaking sewers, pressure pipes and drains.
  • Optimization of drainage works.
  • Appropriate and adequate dimensioning of sewers and storage chambers to cope with peak flows (avoidance of flooding of properties, roads and land).
  • Suitable routing of sewers and arrangement of outfalls (in combined systems).
  • Flow control installations.
  • Use of materials, which fully meet the technical and hygiene standards.
  • Reuse of wastewater for agriculture and aquaculture i.e., Pisciculture.
Click here to read the full paper.

Just how large is MGNREGA: Making sense of the numbers

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The lyrically named MGNREGA is India's flagship programme and the worlds  largest employment guarantee scheme. No doubt, other superlatives can also be added to it. But just how large is India's top flagship programme? This article tries to understand the numbers.


A new rupee coin, with a weight of 4.85 gms (Image courtesy: Reserve Bank of India)It's budget for this financial year ( that of 2012-13) is Rs. 33,000 crores. If you are anything like this author, numbers that large are meaningless. One way to grasp this figure is to read it as Rs.33,000,00,00,000. Or if you wanted to transport this money by ship and were so unwise as to request it in one-rupee coins, you would be required to employ 11 of the Maersk E-class ships- the largest cargo ships available today. There are only 8 of them in existence, so that might be a little difficult. Clearly, Rs.33,000 crore is quite a large amount.


What has been done with that? NREGA related works have begun in most states and union territories to varying extents. We have another 3 months to go before the end of this financial year. Figures for employment status are available till 01 Dec 2012. The charts below illustrate the progress done till date.

Number of labour days created per person between 15-59 years living in a rural area

Number of labour days created per person between 15-59 years living in a rural area

The data used for the above figure was obtained from the NREGA website. The compiled data is available in an excel file attached below. Urban areas like Chandigarh, and areas with a resilent rural economy like Punjab and Goa predictably have low generation. States such as Maharashtra and Bihar with a need for rural employment also surprisingly feature in the lowest 17 states. With most states ranging between 0-8 days of employment per eligible person, the 6 states with a high level of employment lead by a large margin.

Number of NREGS works completed/in progress by category

Number of NREGS works completed/in progress by category

The above graphic illustrates the number of works by category. The 14 categories listed on the NREGA website have been further grouped under 5 broad heads. For the original data which includes state-wise information, please refer to the attached spreadsheet.

Answers needed:

This article has attempted to provide a broad-brush view of MGNREGA and the work carried out under it. In the process, it has raised other questions.

What explains the disparity among states when it comes to the number of job-days created?

Contrary to expectations, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Mizoram have very few projects that include renovation of traditional water bodies? What can explain this?

Data:
The data used for the illustrations in this article was obtained from the following sources
http://censusindia.gov.in/PopulationFinder/Population_Finder.aspx
http://nrega.nic.in/Netnrega/Homest.aspx

Relevant information from the various state sections has been compiled into two spreadsheets which are attached below. These are attached in both MS Excel and open document formats. We invite you to use the spreadsheets and help us glean relevant information, oddities, answers and questions. Please do share any explorations in the comments below!

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employment_2013_mgnrega.xls18.5 KB
employment_2013_mgnrega.ods26.44 KB
works_created_category_wise_mgnrega.xls40 KB
works_created_category_wise_mgnrega.ods39.46 KB

Assessment of exposure, intake and toxicity of fluoride from groundwater sources in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh

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Fluoride is one of the most commonly found elements in the earth’s crust. It is naturally found d in water and helps in healthy tooth development and cavity prevention. However its high concentration in water can be harmful to human health. The amount of Fluoride (F) occurring naturally in groundwater is governed principally by climate, composition of the host rock, and hydrogeology. As per the World Health Organization and Indian Council of Medical Research the permissible limit to fluoride in drinking water is 1.5mg/L. Anything more than this value can cause fluorosis (dental and skeletal), which can affect the bones and teeth. In the backdrop of this aspect of water quality, this paper in RASĀYAN Journal of Chemistry,  tries to assess the exposure to fluoride through drinking water consumption and to elucidate fluoride endemic areas through mapping in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh.

The authors state in the introduction that the number of villages, blocks, districts and states endemic for fluorosis have been steadily increasing ever since the disease was discovered in India in 1930’s. Thanks to overgrowth of population, which necessitates more and more need for water, the indiscriminate digging of tube wells, resorting to the use of hand pump water, unawareness regarding the importance of checking water quality, specially for fluoride and due to water shortage the incidence of fluorosis is increasing at a rapid rate. Endemic fluorosis is affecting 65 million people in India spread across 20 states.

With more number of people getting affected by fluorosis and the increased interest to know more about its adverse impact on health this study was undertaken in one of the severly affected districts of Uttar Pradesh- Unnao. The authors state that the study will be useful to perform remedial measures and can be helpful to give awareness about fluorosis to the villagers residing in the particular area.

The results of the study are as follows:

  • The fluoride (F) concentration range in the study area was found between 0.32 mg/L - 2.90 mg/L
  • The downward percolating water is not inactive, and it is enriched in CO2
  • The chemical composition of ground water vary and depending upon several factors i.e. frequency of rain, which will leach out the salts, time of stay of rain water in the root-zone, intermediate zone and presence of organic matter etc.
  • The variation of fluoride concentration among all the clusters are due to composition of ground water, which varies from time to time and from place to place.
  • The high levels of fluoride are due to geogenic sources.
  • Variation in fluoride concentration may be because of the presence of fluoride bearing minerals in the host rocks and their interaction with water.

Finally the authors state that it is high time that an affordable solution should be found to minimize the fluoride contamination for maintaining good health. Further they call for the need to carry out studies on hydro-chemical and hydro-geological aspect of occurrence of fluoride which can be useful to mitigate fluorosis in the district. The government authorities should install defluoridation tanks and also explore possibilities of bringing safe water from nearby villages, which can also be planned with village people and local authorities through community participation.

Click here to read the full paper.


What do we need to determine where a landslide will happen next in Sikkim? Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim

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This report presents information about the status of landslides in Sikkim. It was commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology and authored by the Wadia Institute of Geology. It draws upon several archives including that of the Directorate of Geology and Mining, Government of Sikkim. The report also presents recommendations for preparing an action plan for undertaking landslide studies.

cover of the Status report for initiating landslide studies in SikkimIntroduction
This status report was developed to aid the preparation of an action plan for undertaking landslide studies in Sikkim. It draws upon previous work carried out by the Geological Survey of India, The directorate of Geology and Mining (Government of Sikkim), Central Building Research Institute, Central Road Research Institute, Central Soil and Material Research, etc. It speaks of the necessity for coordination and information exchange between the various institutions working on landslides, especially between central and state agencies.The authors also describe the necessity for large-scale mapping of landslides.

Geomorphology and climate
The geomorphology of the Teesta basin, besides other influencing factors, is strongly influenced by tectonics. This chapter describes the geomorphic features of Sikkim in some detail with the help of relevant maps. It divides the state into four distinct morphotectonic belts as follows:

  • Piedmont zone
  • Inner and foothill zone
  • Axial zone
  • Trans-axial zone

Sikkim's rugged topography, especially the altitudinal variations (from 200 to 7000 metres above sea level) has led to a large range of climate conditions. This chapter presents rainfall data for 18 stations in Sikkim. An isohytal map of the state is also presented. The authors observe that the maximum incidence of landslides occur in high-rainfall zones. not only that, but the incidence of landslides can be correlated to daily rainfall.

Regional geology and tectonic setting
Sikkim extends across a section of Eastern Himalaya covering the four  transverse zones from the sub- to the Tethys Himalaya. These and other geological features such as thrust surfaces and the occurrence of various rock groups are discussed in this chapter. Several maps and diagrams are included such as a geological map of the Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalaya, culminations in the north-eastern Himalayas, the tectonic map of Sikkim, and the tectonic trends of Sikkim.The tectono-stratigraphic succession of rocks of Sikkim is presented in  a table which also details the districts in which the rocks are exposed. This chapter also introduces the topic of natural hazards in Sikkim. It explains that regions with the presence of schists and phyllites are most susceptible to landslides due to their susceptibility to weathering, shear distortion and mineral structure. The authors discuss the periodicity, mode of generation, and history of earthquakes in the area. These earthquakes trigger landslides both directly and when they cause seismic deformations which become weak zones.

Inventory of landslides in Sikkim
This chapter presents, in tabular form, details about all the landslides in Sikkim that have been recorded in literature. While it does not claim to be exhaustive, it is nevertheless the most comprehensive list of landslides in Sikkim available so far. The parameters present in the table are as follows:

  • Slide name/location
  • Physiographic zone/tectonostratigraphic domains
  • Geomorphic characteristics
  • Lithology
  • Type of material/legolith
  • Nature of mass movement
  • Structural attributes
  • Causative factors
  • Activated since and current status (as of 2004)
  • Authors

In addition to the original document which you can download below in pdf format, this article also presents the above information in two additional formats. Certain parameters are presented in a spreadsheet which can be downloaded below, and the landslides for which latitude and longitude are available have been mapped. This map is embedded below.
View Locations of some major landslides in Sikkim in a larger map

Discussion
This chapter takes a critical look at the information presented in the report so far. It points out the various lacunae in the data collection and suggests measures to remedy it. Further, the authors point out that rainfall, topography and geology have a combined influence on landslide incidence. They call for detailed mapping and collection of climatic, geological and landslide data for meaningful  landslide zonation.

Critical gaps and recommendations
This chapter discusses the critical gaps and makes the following recommendations to be undertaken urgently:

  • Preparation of topographic maps with scale 1:500 or 1:1000, with contour interval of 2-5 m
  • Preparation of geomorpholgy maps with scale 1:500 or 1:1000
  • Setting a network of automatic rainguages on slopes in areas with a known history of landslides
  • Preparation of overburden maps in areas with a known history of landslides
  • Detailed geotechnical investigations of known landslides
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Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapter 15.12 MB
Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapter 27.75 MB
Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapter 3 part 11.97 MB
Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapter 3 part 23.32 MB
Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapter 413.36 MB
Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapter 54.51 MB
Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 Chapters 6&75.51 MB
status_report_cover.jpg45.64 KB
Inventory of landslides in Sikkim (Yudhbir and Gergan) 2004 28.5 KB
  • What do we need to determine where a landslide will happen next in Sikkim?  Status report for initiating landslide studies in Sikkim

Analysis of visual representations of the water cycle in science textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Maharashtra State Board (MSB)

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In the recent times visual representation has acquired significant attention. These are in forms of photographs, sketches and schematic diagrams. At school level they are helpful in introducing abstract concepts in science. For this purpose they need to be appropriately integrated in the textbook. In the backdrop of this context this paper in Contemporary Education Dialogue is based on the analysis of the science textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Maharashtra State Board (MSB) for Classes 3–10.

Water cycle

Water cycle- Illustration courtesy : Sourabh Phadke

First an assessment is made on the use of visual representations following which the focus is on how it represents water cycle in textbooks. Here the authors look into the aspect of how the topic is discussed in school curriculum-the different types of visual representation used and how text and visuals are integrated effectively.

In the introduction the authors state that the idea of water cycle in school curriculum is unique as it is first abstract concept introduced to students through schematic diagram in their early stages of growing up. Starting from the most elementary level of water cycle, various complex concepts and processes are incorporated in the cycle in the higher classes, which includes transpiration and respiration.

The paper then goes on to state that visual representations become handy in depicting abstract concepts and complexity behind the water cycle. In the backdrop of this, the authors propose some general pedagogical guidelines and analyse some widely used science textbooks in India based on these guidelines.

The paper concludes with the following points:

  • Visuals are an inseparable part of science textbooks.
  • The pedagogical role of visuals is often obscured by their role in making the books imme¬diately attractive.
  • Though they are thought to be more important for younger children, they certainly have a role to play in reaching out to readers of all ages.
  • Visuals are more helpful for complex text.
  • The organisation and sequencing of visuals is an important tool for tuning the content and pedagogy for students at different learning levels.
  • Connection of visuals with the text and the use of labels need more attention in textbooks.
  • Use of visuals for the organisation, interpreta¬tion and transformation of ideas needs to be exploited instead of a reli¬ance on simple depictive or representational visuals.
Click here to read the full paper.

Four steps approach to achieve twenty four hour water supply - A report by WSP that draws lessons from diagnostic assessments in 6 cities of India

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Is conversion of a discontinuous water supply system to a continuous one possible? This document states yes! With carefully structured strategies based on known practical procedures and investment programs, 24 hour water supply system is possible.

At the request of Ministry of Urban Development the Water and Sanitation Program-South Asia (WSP-SA) initiated a program to assess what it would take to move to a 24/7 water supply system. Through a rapid technical assessments, draft strategies were developed for the cities of Guwahati, Indore and Delhi. Parallel to this Government of Karnataka and the World Bank carried out distribution system diagnostics in three cities in Karnataka — Belgaum, Gulbarga, and Hubli-Dharwad. The result of these studies were discussed in national workshop organized by the Change Management Forum. The proceedings and deliberations of this workshop is elaborated in this document.

The document in its background note first spells out the factors that have contributed to the discontinuous water supply, which are as follows:

  • rapid growth in population and water demand (and in some areas, shortage of water)
  • inadequate water charges and billing/collection mechanisms, leading to insufficient revenues to repair, maintain, and replace infrastructure
  •  intermittent and poor quality electricity supply
  • inadequate human resource development, including training in modern utility operations
  • inadequate demand-responsiveness and customer-orientation among service providers

The problems arising from this kind of water supply system are:

  • serious risks to health, resulting from ingress of contaminated groundwater into the distribution system.
  • inability to practice efficient demand and supply management
  • operational inadequacies which unduly weaken physical infrastructure
  • customer inconvenience, which for many people, particularly the poor results in a loss of household income or productive time as at least one family member has to cope with securing water on a daily basis, limiting water usage to levels below what is required for safe hygiene and an unwillingness to pay for a sub-standard service.

The reports on the rapid diagnostic assessment conducted in three cities are elaborated in the next section. Following this the requirements to bring in 24*7 water supply is listed out. Based on this a four-step approach to a strategy for conversion of 24/7 supply was proposed in the workshop.

Step 1 involves the following- collection of data, defining service levels, preparing hydraulic models, choosing pilot zones, preparing and estimating the costs, preparing tariff plan, carry out customer awareness programme and training the staff in operating the new system.

Step 2 involves legitimising unauthorized connections, convert and operate the system for 12 months, intorduce volumetric charging, collect collection and operation data and monitor the changes in customers attitude and behavior.

Step 3 involves using pilot trial data to refine designs and strategy, re-visit key decisions in the strategy and check costs and financing plan based on tested consumption patterns and willingness-to-pay.

Step 4 involves rolling out full-scale 24/7 conversion program.

The document also contains answers to some of the frequently asked questions, when cities plan to work towards having round ‘o’clock water supply system.

The conclusions drawn from the workshop are as follows:

  1. conversion from intermittent to continuous (24/7) water supply in India is both achievable and affordable – and essential to improved sector performance.
  2.  the technical process for converting to 24/7 supply is not complicated; it is well-suited to phased implementation but requires careful preparation and planning.
  3. sufficient bulk water is available for 24/7 supply in much of urban India; some countries in Africa on 24/7 supply have only 40 to 50 liters per person per day.
  4. Only when a distribution network is continuously under pressure, contamination of water supplies can be eliminated. Meters will function with accuracy, leak detections can be checked and modern demand and supply techniques can be excercised.
  5. It should lead to increased satisfaction of the customer.
  6. volumetric tariff should be applied in areas with 24/7 supply.
  7.  There should be awareness among people about water use and water charges under 24*7 supply scheme.
Click here to access the full document.

Environment statistics - A compendium by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2012)

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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has come up with a Compendium of Environment Statistics 2012, the thirteenth edition of the series, which started in 1997. The compendium aims at providing high quality statistical information to improve knowledge of the environment, to support evidence-based policy and decision making, and to provide information for the general public, as well as for specific user groups. The statistics are multidisciplinary and cross-cutting, involving numerous sources and stakeholders.

The FDES sets out the scope of environment statistics by relating the components of the environment to information categories that are based on the recognition that environmental problems are the result of human activities and natural events reflecting a sequence of action, impact, and reaction.

Through this annual publication, MoSPI is trying to bring out the environment related information to the extent to which the data exhibits the pattern of changes and their magnitudes in the Indian context.

It will be of use to-policy and decision makers at all levels; general public, including media and civil society; analysts and researchers; academia; and international agencies. 

The compendium can be viewed at the MoSPI website here.

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Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-StaffCompendium(2012)1.07 MB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-Complete-List-Tables(2012)44.49 KB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-Chapter-1(2012)2.95 MB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-Chapter-2(2012)161.26 KB
Environment Statistics- A compendium by MoSPI-Chapter-3(2012)3.49 MB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI- Chapter-4(2012)1.02 MB
Environment Statistics- A compendium by MoSPI- Chapter-5(2012)746 KB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-Chapter-6(2012)631 KB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-Chapter-7(2012)645.5 KB
Environment Statistics-A compendium by MoSPI-Appendix(2012)146.53 KB

State-wise data on damage caused due to floods during 1953-2011- A compilation by Central Water Commission

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Floods/heavy rains can cause a severe and irreversible damage to human lives, property both public and private, and livestock. Since floods are one of the frequent natural calamities faced by India, the loss incurred by it is huge. To give an idea of how big it can be, this compilation by the Central Water Commission provides state-wise data on the damage caused by floods/heavy rains for the time period of 1953-2011.

The data is presented in a tabular format under the following heads :

  • Area affected in million hectares
  • Population affected in millions
  • Damage to crops
  • Damage to houses
  • No.of cattles lost
  • No.of lives lost
  • Damage to public utilities
  • Aggregated data of all losses
Click below to download the data:
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State-wise data on damage caused due to floods during 1953-2011_CWC5.85 MB

Assessing the environmental flows for Kumbh Mela- 2013 at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh- A document by World Wildlife Fund India

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This document by the World Wildlife Fund India, is on the rapid assessment done on the Environmental Flows(E-Flows) for Kumbh Mela that is taking place in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Kumbh Mela is one of the biggest socio-cultural events that take place in North India where millions of cultural tourists and pilgrims visit the Triveni Sangam- the place where three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet and take a holy dip for satisfaction of their spiritual aspirations. Through this event the Government of Uttar Pradesh to place itself as a pioneer on the world map for its efforts in restoring Environmental Flows for the welfare of people and nature.

Environmental flows are defined as the flows required for the maintenance of the ecological integrity of rivers, their associated ecosystems, and the goods and services provided by them. The main question that comes up is “How much flow in the river Ganga will meet the socio-cultural aspirations of the people during Kumbh 2013?” For this purpose a scientific assessment of E-Flows is required. In this context, World Wildlife Fund India, decided to conduct a rapid assessment of E-Flows for Kumbh 2013 at Allahabad. The study conducted aimed to contribute to the state government’s efforts to ensure a clean Kumbh. The assessment was done by using Building Block Methodology by a multidisciplinary team hailing from various organizations.

Click here to access the full document.

A communication and advocacy strategy framework for sanitation and hygiene- Document by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and UNICEF(2012-17)

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The number people practicing open defecation in India is more than 600 million. Though the access to improved sanitation has increased since 2000 the pace of change has been slow. If the current trend continues then it will be difficult for the country to meet its Millenium Development Goal for sanitation. Thus accelerating access to and use of toilets and hygiene practices have become a national priority.

In the backdrop of this the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) alongwith UNICEF and other partners have developed the National Sanitation and HygieneAdvocacy and Communication Strategy Framework for 2012-2017. The overall goal isto make sure that people have access to, and use a toilet and practice good hygiene,including handwashing with soap after the toilet and before food.

The advocacy and communication strategy focuses on four critical sanitation and hygiene behaviours:

  1. Building and use of toilets
  2. The safe disposal of child faeces
  3. Handwashing with soap after defecation, before food and after handling child faeces
  4. Safe storage and handling of drinking water

This framework document is developed through a consultative process, to guide the execution of advocacy and communication efforts related to toilet construction and use and key critical sanitation and hygiene behaviours at the national, state and district level.

This document is divided into four main sections:

  • Why a sanitation and hygiene advocacy and communication strategy framework
  • What is the focus of the sanitation and hygiene advocacy and communication strategy framework
  • How to implement the sanitation and hygiene advocacy and communication strategy framework
  • Monitoring and evaluation framework
Click here to access the document.
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A communication and advocacy strategy framework for sanitation and hygiene-MDWS and UNICEF(2012-17)4.33 MB

Analysis on Delhi’s budgetary allocations for water and sanitation services in slum areas- Article in Economic and Political Weekly

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This article in Economic and Political Weekly by analysing various budget documents, attempts to capture the quantum of budgetary outlay for Water and Sanitation Services (WSS) in the slums of Bawana and Bhalaswa in Delhi. Further it captures various systemic weaknesses that impede the effective delivery of WSS in these two slum areas. 

The increasing population of slums in Indian cities has attained significant attention in academic and policy circles. Slums have been a part of Delhi’s landscape for a long period of time. According to the official census data of 2011 for Delhi the slum population of the city is approximately 32 lakhs.

This population has put immense pressure on basic civic infrastructure especially on drinking water and sanitation. Intermittent and inequitable water supply and poor sanitation facility are prominent features of these slums. Set in the backdrop of this context, the article raises the question whether Delhi’s budget is responsive to water and sanitation services. 

The analysis provided by the authors in the article states the following:

  • The budgetary outlay for slums, particularly for WSS, is uncharacteristically inadequate and even in the given outlay, funds remain unspent and unutilised.
  • Meagre allocation of funds elude rational estimates based on proper planning and need assessment.
  • The implementing agency has no direct programme intervention in the slums.
  • Financial support for providing additional facilities such as other civic infrastructures, including sewerage and garbage disposals in JJ colonies, has not increased in the last five annual budgets.
  • The fund allocated for 11 plan has remained unutilised and is carried forward to the 12 plan.
  •  There exists a high degree of centralisation in planning, budgeting, and expenditure.
  • All schemes for Jhuggi-Jhopri Relocation Colonies (JJRCs) are selective adhoc interventions and are not included in the core planning agenda for the city.
  • Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board is only involved in the environmental development of JJ colonies and is unable to undertake any kind of work in many slums owing to the issue of ownership of land that belongs to private individuals.
  • The multiplicityof agencies handling different components of WSS has lead to a lack of accountability in the system.
  • There is lack of coordination within the implementing agencies and so is a shortage of sanitation staff , which would look after the maintenance of the system.

The paper concludes by stating the following:

  • There is a need for a comprehensive agenda for the overall development of slums through a time-barred mission should be formulated with higher allocations of funds for the overall development of water and sanitation facilities in the city.
  • It is necessary to have an improved governance structure and processes at the institutional level so that significant policy benefits reach end-users/beneficiaries.
  • The issues such as lack of decentralised planning, centralised budgeting, shortage of human resources and poor convergence among implementing agencies need to be surmounted for the smooth implementation of programmes and schemes.
  • There is a need to look at other macro issues such as land tenure rights, livelihood options, and education and health facilities in slum colonies whose redress may make water and sanitation schemes little more than just adhoc interventions.

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Public provisioning in water and sanitation- EPW 175.58 KB

A simple yet effective filtration and sterilization technique to obtain clean drinking water: Paper in the Current Science Journal

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The paper ‘Simple filtration and low-temperature sterilization of drinking water’, describes how a straight forward, simple technique can provide clean drinking water that is pathogen free, using a simple sari!

Safe drinking water is a basic human right and its contamination causes transmission of waterborne infectious diseases that claim the lives of approximately 5000 young children throughout the world. Various methods of disinfection use chemicals, direct application of heat and filtration techniques.

Methods like chlorination and ozonation have side effects, and sterilization via solar energy is not possible on cloudy or foggy days. Solar disinfection involves storing contaminated drinking water in transparent plastic or glass bottles that are placed in direct sunlight, but can be problematic both for environment and health.

A simple, sustainable yet effective method of water treatment has been explained along with graphs and data to authenticate the findings. The method consists of filtering water through a four layered cotton-sari cloth (250 μm) before heating it, that reduces both turbidity and pathogen level in the drinking water. The water is heated at 55°C for a minimum of 45 minutes, to completely eliminate the coliform population. The water requires no boiling, saving energy, time as well as fuel.

This method is efficient, effective and easy to follow !

To read the complete paper, click here.


Performance of Expert Appraisal Committee for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects from 2006-2012 - Analysis by South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People

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While developmental projects are beneficial for growth of an economy they do have negative impact on the environment. This impact varies significantly by project type, size and location. In order to identify, examine, assess and evaluate the probable impacts of a proposed project on the environment the Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) in 2006, constituted different committees. The committees are called as Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC). An EAC committee on River Valley & Hydroelectric projects was also set up on these lines. In the backdrop this South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDARP) an informal network of organisation and individuals working on water issues has come up with an analysis on how have this committee performed till now? This document presents an analysis of the same.

From the time of its establishment in April 2007 the EAC for River Valley & Hydroelectric projects have had 63 meetings till December 2012. The document then goes on to critically analyse the functioning of the committee. It spells out the details of the steps that each project undergoes before getting clearance, where the lacunas existing in the committee, role of members, the process through which they are selected and role of the environment ministry are highlighted.

Following are the analysis given by SANDARP :

  • EAC has strong pro project and anti people bias
  • The EAC for RVP basically considers and clears hydropower projects
  • All irrigation projects have been approved.
  • EIAs have not properly assessed the full details of the land requirements of the projects.
  •  There has been no credible public consultation process and there have been serious anomalies in public hearing processes.
  • No Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) have been done when large number when large number of hydropower projects are proposed on number rivers.
  • Couple of environment friendly recommendations that have been made by other committees have also been rejected by the EAC, without any convincing reasons.
  • Hydropower and dams that the EAC considers have severe impact on natural resources and they are considered from the context of climate change.
  • EAC arbitrarily recommending release particular percentage of water from rivers during lean and non-lean seasons without any consideration to any scientific, ecological or sociological basis, blanket for all rivers from Himalayan to peninsular.
  • EAC does not ask for Biodiversity Impact Assessment of projects

The document the goes on to provide information on region wise status and analysis of the project wise clearances recommended by the EAC for RVP for the five regions of India, namely: North, North East, East, West and South.

Click here to access the full document.

To access project wise details from April 2007 to December 2012 click here.

Operational guidelines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 by Ministry of Rural Development (2013)

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This document by Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development provides operational guidelines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005). These guidelines aim at enhancing rural livelihoods by strengthening agricultural productivity.

With a brief note on the Act, in its first chapter, the document has the following chapters:

  • Key stakeholders-roles and responsibilities
  • Job cards, demand for work and unemployment allowance
  • Institutional architecture and human resources
  • Capacity building and awareness generation
  • Planning for works and preparation of labour budget
  • Works and their execution
  • Payment of wages
  • Strategy for vulnerable groups
  • Records
  • Management of information system
  • Financing MGNREGA
  • Transparency and accountability social audit, vigilance and grievance redressal
  • Quality management of MGNREGA works
  • Framework for convergence between MGNREGA and other programmes
  • Organising the workers
  • Partnership with civil society
  • Strengthening panchayats

Click below to download the document.

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Provision of safe drinking water in rural Bihar: Paper in the Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development

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A practical paper that addresses vital gaps in water quality monitoring and institutional weakness, focuses on the role of access and interventions in severely contaminated areas and calls for a drastic shift in the monitoring and intervention strategy to address safe water provision for rural Bihar

Access to safe water is a prerequisite to good health. Bihar faces a tremendous challenge in ensuring this basic access to safe water for its population of 83 million, both in terms of sustainability and contamination.

This paper 'Access, monitoring and intervention challenges in the provision of safe drinking water in rural Bihar, India' is based on a survey-cum-study undertaken on identifying quality-affected villages in the state. The results from the study indicate that hand pumps are the major source of drinking and shallow hand pumps at households (private), outnumber the government-created sources.

The study shows that the total number of dysfunctional hand pumps vary from 24 to 31% with a significant number in fluoride-affected areas. Also the number of dysfunctional hand pumps created by the government is increasing due to lesser stress on operation and maintenance than privately owned hand pumps.

This shift of water sources from traditional unprotected wells, that offered relative safety from geogenic chemicals, like arsenic, fluoride and iron, has led to an increased number of shallow hand pumps in Bihar. These unmonitored household sources are at risk of arsenic and fluoride exposure. And if the present trend of usage of unmonitored household water sources remains unabated, more habitations and communities will be affected by this.

Another pertinent observation is the inadequacy of the monitoring of water quality and mapping of water contamination based on the government created sources, which fails to reflect the ground reality; hence the study calls for mandatory testing of private sources .

Installation of community level centralized treatment plants, as carried out by the state government, has been unable to solve the problem as access to safe drinking water remains unresolved till date. The study recommends the promotion of affordable ‘Point of use filters’ as an interim measure for arsenic and fluoride management.

Deepening of shallow hand pumps at households may also be considered as one practical option using micro financial institutions. The study also advocates need for research to be undertaken to understand the future risk of exposure to arsenic due to large-scale motorized abstraction for water village supply and tube well-based agriculture in Bihar.

To read the complete paper, please download the attached PDF


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Access, monitoring and intervention challenges in the provision of safe drinking water in rural Bihar: Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development194.85 KB

River basin atlas of India – A report by Central Water Commission and Indian Space Research Organisation

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This "River basin atlas of India", an outcome of joint project “Generation of Database and implementation of web enabled Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) in the country”, is a publication by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Regional Remote Sensing Centre – West, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that presents the status of water resources development in each of the river basins as per CWC classification. It was launched on November 1, 2012 by Minister of Water Resources Shri. Harish Rawat in a function organized at CWC, New Delhi.

This comprehensive publication gives detailed information of major water resources projects along with the location of all hydrological observation sites including major dams, barrages etc. in all the river basins of India. All these features have been portrayed on the maps with river network, major cities and terrain in background. The hydrological and Flood Forecasting observation sites of Central Water Commissions are also marked in the basin maps.

India-WRIS

India-WRIS Sub-basins, Source: River basin atlas of India, CWC and ISRO, 2012

Attempts so far to delineate river basins in India 

The first systematic attempt was in 1949 by the Central Water and Power Corporation (CWPC), wherein the entire country had been distinctly delineated into six water resources regions which had in turn been further divided into 66 major river catchments.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India had assigned the work of preparation and codification of River Systems of India to a Consultant who in 1970 suggested / published the methodology based on the area concept. The suggested hydrological units were: water resource region, river basins, river sub-basin, watershed, sub watershed, mini-watershed and micro watershed. The recommended size of the watershed is from 250-750 sqkm.

A better working scale was achieved by the All India Soil and Land Use Survey (AISLUS) Organization of the Dept. of Agriculture and Cooperation which published the national level watershed atlas on 1: 1 million scale using the base map from Irrigation Atlas of India in the year 1990. In this atlas, the entire river systems of the country have been divided into 6 Water Resources Region, which has been further, divided into 35 basins and 112 catchments.  These catchments have been further divided into 500 sub-catchments and 3237 watersheds.  The atlas consists of 17 sheets on 1:1 million scales along with a Compendium of watersheds giving details of other related information such as area within the basin, sharing states and stream names etc. 

Later, watershed maps at relatively larger scale (1:2,50,000) were prepared by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in 2006 using GIS techniques under Hydrology Project (Phase-I) wherein various thematic layers relevant to groundwater for integration in the dedicated software and consequently in the Hydrological Information System (HIS) developed in the project. Watershed was one of the layers envisaged for integration in the software to facilitate the groundwater assessment on watershed basis. 

Water Resource Information System (WRIS) in India

The development of “Water Resources Information System” for the country is now being done by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). They have jointly conceptualized and are executing project India-WRIS WebGIS (www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in) aimed as ‘single window’ solution of all water resources related data and information in a standardized GIS format.

Under the India-WRIS Project national level watershed atlas is being prepared on 1:50,000 scale. A semi-automated hydrological unit boundary delineation approach is adopted to prepare a Watershed Atlas of the Country using DEM, larger scale drainage network and other ancillary data.

Based on the requirements and data availability, the project scope envisages 12 major info systems, 35 sub info systems with 108 spatial layers including 20 base layers, classified under 5 major groups along with the report generation. These spatial layers have large number of attribute data of 5-100 years depending upon the theme. The project envisages WGS-84 datum and LCC projection for entire country mosaic data as followed in ISRO under the national projects/missions.

pennar

East flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari, Source: River basin atlas of India, CWC and ISRO, 2012

The project involved installation of ‘Web Enabled Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS)’ with all database and development of software with following tools - Data visualization tools, Query and discovery tools, Contextual tools, Visual analysis tools, Metadata & information tools and Reporting tools. India-WRIS WebGIS Version 2.0 was launched in March 2012. All the information on water resources projects, hydrology and other related data of India as received from CWC and various state departments till November 2011 were organized as a part of the database.

The present information system has large number of GIS layers for various components of surface water, ground water, hydro met observations, water quality, snow cover, inland navigation waterways, inter-basin transfer links, hydro met extremes, land resources, water tourism, socio-economic parameters as well as infrastructure and other administrative layers. India-WRIS WebGIS (version 3.0) has all the basic map viewing and other capabilities including saving/printing facilities.

Numerous categories of tools are available namely, Navigation (Zoom In, Zoom Out, Pan, Full Extent, Previous Extent, Next Extent, Map Overview, Go To and Select Area Zoom/Rubber Zoom), Display (Swipe, Spotlight, Visualization, Magnifier, Get Feature Info and Identify), Search & Query (Query Builder and  Search by Proximity), Personalization (Draw, Print, Save as Image, Bookmark and Pin Mark) and Sharing (Share a Link, iFrame and Links on twitter/Facebook/Google+). These are useful for easy search, access, visualize and analysis of information.

"River Basin Atlas of India" as one of the outcomes under India-WRIS project

River basins are ideal units for planning and implementation of water resources projects. The basin maps provided in the atlas are as per CWC basin classification. The maps are given with DEM and hillshade of the country as the background so as to provide topographical details. A total of 22 river basin maps/plates of 20 CWC basins have been generated indicating major dams, hydrological observation sites of CWC and major cities. The drainage network shows all major rivers and important tributaries.

To impart the geographical land use of the basin, land use/land cover map (2005-2006) is also given. Elevation zone and average annual rainfall maps with statistics are also provided. The parliamentary constituencies are also displayed within the river basin boundary.

According to S P Kakran, Chairman, Central Water Commission “this atlas shall be a very useful reference for diverse users, like, Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture, Rural development etc. of union government and various line departments of state governments and several non-governmental organizations, research institutes involved in natural resources management in the country".

The report is divided into three main parts –

Introduction – This begins with an account of the State-wise Area, Population, Population Growth and Parliamentary Constituencies. The population growth for the period (2001-2011) is depicted. Land use and land cover map for the year 2005-2006 is provided. Average annual and monthly rainfall is presented for the period 1971-2005. Also shown are Water resource divisions/ regions, hydrology of Indian region, CWC Basins & India-WRIS Basins and Sub-basins, Flood Forecasting Stations in India, Water Resource Projects of India.

River Basins of India – The river system in India is classified into four groups - Himalayan Rivers, Deccan Rivers, Coastal Rivers and River of Inland Drainage. It has been divided into twelve major basins and eight composite basins. These twenty basins are shown in the River Basin Atlas of India.

India-WRIS Project: Digital Watershed Atlas - This section provides an account of the project.

The drainage network shows all major rivers and important tributaries. State wise distribution of basin area is also represented through pie charts. The culturable command area and ultimate irrigation potential of major irrigation projects in each basin is tabulated. Salient features of the basin like live storage capacity, catchment area and average water resource potential are also given in tabular form. In the Hydrology of Indian Region map, trans-boundary water inflow and out flow of the country is depicted for Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra and Barak basins.

An explanatory line diagram is given for each basin showing the course of the major river from its origin to outfall and its tributaries along with headworks and photographs of water resource structures.

flow diagram

Flow diagram of Cauvery river,  Source: River basin atlas of India, CWC and ISRO, 2012

Apart from this, thirteen country level maps of Administrative Boundaries, Population Growth, Parliamentary Constituencies, Water Resources Division, Water Resources Region, Hydrology of Indian Region, CWC Basins, India-WRIS Basins, India-WRIS Sub-Basins, Flood Forecasting Stations, Land use / Land cover, Average annual and monthly rainfall are also provided for complete insight of water scenario in the country.

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River basin atlas of India – A report by CWC and ISRO (2012)83.61 MB

Case studies on amelioration of water scarcity in rural Gujarat by Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust

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This document is by journalist Suhit Kelkar on behalf of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust. It is a collection of case studies on ways to ameliorate water scarcity in rural Gujarat.

It provides first-hand accounts of how water programmes impact lives of hundreds and thousands of villagers. The solutions to deal with water scarcity include the promotion of rainwater harvesting (RWH), groundwater replenishment and drip irrigation. The highlights of the stories are as follows:

  • With technical advice from the Kharash Vistarotthan Yojana (KVY) a farmer could install a rainwater harvesting system in his house. With the collected water he could plant (chickoo) trees in non-agricultural rocky land.
  • Installation of roof Rainwater Harvesting System in the homes of Khambadia village saves their time to collect water for domestic purpose.
  • Villagers from Kukaswada village use RWH water only for drinking and cooking.
  • Installation of RWH in Bamanwada village helps the villagers to deal with saline water.
  • With the widening of Netravati River, six check dams and several recharging borewells built, wells in surrounding villages remain wet even in the dry seasons.

Click here to access the full document.


Guidelines on Integrated low cost sanitation scheme by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (2012)

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This document by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation provides guidelines for the low cost sanitation scheme. The main objective of the scheme is to convert the existing dry latrines into low cost flush latrines and to construct new ones.

Under the 12th plan the scheme intends to convert the latrines serviced by humans as identified by the Census of 2011 in urban areas. Further the scheme encourages adoption of new technologies like bio-digester and ecosan toilets by implementing agencies. The aim is to improve overall sanitation in towns.

The document provides details on:

  • Selection of towns
  • Towns eligible for the scheme
  • Selection of beneficiaries
  • Financing pattern
  • Implementation of the scheme
  • Stages in the implementation of the scheme
  • Role of the state coordination committee

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Guidelines for decentralized wastewater management by Ministry of Urban Development (2012)

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This guideline is prepared by the Centre of Excellence in the area of Decentralized Wastewater Management, in the Department of Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, which comes under Ministry of Urban Development. It provides an insight into ways and means of planning and executing decentralized wastewater management systems (DWWM) by Urban Local Bodies.

DWWM treats wastewater of individual houses, apartment blocks or small communities close to their origin. This system is a combination of many technologies within a given geographical boundary, namely, onsite systems, low cost collection systems and dispersed siting of treatment facilities. It provides the decision makers with an essence on various aspects of decentralized wastewater management. It has several links to the appropriate chapters / sections of the manual to provide detailed information to engineers / consultants who may be engaged in planning, design, operation and maintenance.

The guideline provides details on the following aspects:

  • Advantages and disadvantages of DWWMs
  • Advantages and disadvantages of on-site wastewater treatment systems
  • Situations suitable for DWWM
  • Planning for DWWM
  • Design period for DWWM
  • Components of DWWM
  • Wastewater collection system
  • Characteristics of wastewater
  • Selection on available technologies for DWWM
  • On-site treatment systems
  • Sludge management
  • Operation and maintenance
  • Reuse option of treated wastewater
  • Regulations
  • Operation and maintenance of DWWMS
  • Other aspects- technical, financial, social, legal

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Book Review: Governing international watercourses, by Susanne Schmeier

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This article presents a review of the book'Governing international watercourses' by Susanne Schmeier- a book that has been called 'a stunning piece of work' by Aaron T. Wolf. The book examines the river basin organisation as a key institution for managing international watercourses. The book follows a three-part structure of developing theory, refining it, and then discussing three case studies.By emphasizing that more trans-boundary events are focused on cooperation rather than on conflict- with a far smaller percentage being violent conflict- this book carries a message of hope.

Cover of the book ' Governing International Watercourses' by Susanne Schmeier

Introduction:
The introduction presents the format of this book. It opens by presenting a review of the work done so far. The chapter examines the evolution of discourse related to international water courses including the discussions related to relevant institutional organizations and the conflict-cooperation debate. It is in this chapter that Schmeier points out the overwhelming prevalence of attempts at cooperation over transboundary water as opposed to conflict.

PART I: Theory of international river basin governance

Building a theory of river basin governance effectiveness:
This chapter develops a theoretical model for examining the effectiveness of RBOs. It begins by defining RBOs on the basis of their institutional nature, rather than as is commonly done, on the nature of their  mandate. Schmeier defines a  RBO's effectiveness on the basis of effectiveness level, scope, and range which are illustrated in the chart below
The chapter presents an overview of the problems and the concerned actors in its discussion of exogenous determinants. In relation to these, it postulates seven hypotheses linking effectiveness to the complexity of the problem, its strategic importance, the nature of the questions up for discussion, the nature of the 'goods' or benefits being contested, the position of the situation in Game theory, the power structure among the riparians, and the existing level of cooperation.

Further, Schmeier considers the influence of institutional design characteristics on RBO effectiveness. Here too, she presents hypotheses discussing the impact the following have on RBO effectiveness: Proportion of riparians involved in the process, the scope of the RBO's mandate, their reliance on explicitly stated principles of international water law, level of legalization, differentiated organizational setup, presence of secretariats, access to sufficient financial resources, mechanism of ensuring financial sustainability, mechanism of decision making, mechanism for  data exchange, monitoring practices, dispute resolution platforms, and coordination with other regional institutions.

PART II: The empirics of international river basin governance
River basin organizations around the world
View at the mouth of Kading river joining Mekong116 River basin organizations governing shared watercourses are identified, mapped and analysed in this chapter.This mapping also provides an insight into the main problems faced by river governing institutions, which have been classified in 12 categories. Water quantity problems are not only the most frequent, but also the most difficult to solve, or the most malign. The twelve broad problem categories are sorted along a continuum ranging from the most malign to the most benign. The effectiveness of RBOs varies with the malignity of the problems it faces. Similarly, this  varies with the nature and location of the hegemons as is only too well illustrated in the case of the Ganga, where India and Bangladesh have polarized views on the means of governing the waters. In a similar fashion, Schmeier uses the examples of other rivers to refine the hypotheses postulated in the preceding chapter. She emphasizes that there is evidence that adverse circumstances do not hamper the effective governance of watercourses, which further proves the initial hypothesis of this book, that the institutional design of river basin organizations has an impact on governance. Additional details of the river basin organizations studied in the course of writing this book can be obtained online at the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD)

PART III: Case Studies
The hypotheses first developed and later refined in the course of this book are now tested on three river basins in this chapter.These are:

  • The Mekong River Basin and the MRC
  • The Danube Basin and the ICPDR
  • The Senegal Basin and the OMVS

Analysis of these three basins has been carried out on the basis of information gathered from several secondary sources. In addition, semi-structured interviews have been carried out with various stakeholders. These case studies present a comprehensive picture of the basin areas, issues concerning the basins, and the governance structures that are instituted in the basin. Schmeier presents a thoughtful analysis of the effectiveness of each RBO as well as the external and internal factors that contribute to that particular level of effectiveness.

The appendices present information about the basins studied in this book, summarize the main points, and also present more general information about RBO functions and secretariat functions.

This book offers the reader an overview of- as it promises- the factors governing RBO effectiveness. It also when read in conjunction with TFDD is a valuable storehouse of painstakingly collected and analysed information about transboundary watercourses and the organizations that govern them. In this respect, it promises to be of immense value  to students and researchers looking for data on transboundary rivers.

Published 30th November 2012 by Routledge – 368 pages


Handbook for flood protection, anti-erosion and river training works by Central Water Commission (2012)

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This handbook by Central Water Commission aims to provide necessary guidance to the field engineers in the state and central for design, appraisal, construction and monitoring of the flood management works covering all the relevant BIS codes, design manuals, guidelines, technical specifications for construction materials and practices etc. to meet new challenges in the flood management in India.

It provides typical examples of civil structures to help the field professionals in standardizing the design practices and use of state-of-art technology. The handbook will be beneficial for all practicing engineers dealing with flood management works.

With a brief over view of the impact of floods in India in the introductory chapter, the handbook then goes on to elaborate on different types of floods, the ways through which floods have been managed and salient features of Flood Management Programme. It has following chapters:

  • Construction materials
  • Design of flood embankment
  • Design of flood revetment
  • Design of spurs/groynes
  • Design of RCC porcupines-screens/spurs/dampeners
  • Design of drainage improvement works
  • Implementation and construction methodology
  • Cost estimate of flood management works
  • Unit rate analysis for flood management works

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Influence of anthropogenic contamination on fluoride concentration in groundwater: A study of Mulbagal town, Kolar district, Karnataka

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Groundwater contamination is a serious, but relatively ignored issue in the country. This contamination occurs in either through geogenic or anthropogenic means. Fluoride contamination is one such example of geogenic contamination that is widely found in the Kolar district of Karnataka. However, the fluoride levels in the town of Mulbagal are lower than those in the surroundings. Earlier, a study was conducted on the impact of pit toilets on the groundwater in the area. The present paper investigates the presence of any link between these two phenomena.View of Mulbagal Town, Kolar District, Karnataka


Methodology:
43 wells within the town limits were analysed for this  study.

Results:
The paper presents the groundwater chemistry of the samples in some detail. This includes ion concentrations, fluoride etc. Despite the fluoride contamination prevalent in the area, none of the samples had fluoride concentrations above the permissible limits. Data analysis indicates a strong correlation between these low fluoride levels and the higher concentrations of calcium and bicarbonate in the area.

Conclusion:

Leachate from pit toilets in Mulbagal town increases the concentration of sodium, potassium, calcium, bicarbonate nad nitrate ions in the groundwater, which affects the ability of fluorite to dissolve, and so prevents the rise of concentration of fluoride in the groundwater.

Previously published in  International Journal of Economic and Environment Geology , Vol:3(1) 24-33, 2012

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Assessing the land use change and its impact on water resources: A study on the Mula and Mutha rivers catchment area in Pune

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Land use changes alter hydrologic system and have potentially large impacts on water resources. An assessment in an area with seasonally limited water availability and which is subject to rapid socio- economic development and population growth will provide an exemplary view on the local impacts of major recent developments in India. In this backdrop this paper analyzes past land use changes between 1989 and 2009 and their impacts on the water balance in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune. The aim of the paper is:

  • assess the land use changes between 1989/1990 and 2009/2010
  • analyze the impacts of these changes on the long-term water balance components in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of the city of Pune.

With a brief description of the methods and materials used to carry out the study, the paper goes on to elaborate on the current and historic land use classification of the study area. In the next level the authors provide an assessment of land use change impacts on water resources. Following this the results and discussion of the study carried out are spelt out.

Following are the conclusions made by the authors:

  • Urbanization has been the main driver of land use change. It has led to the shift of cropland towards the Western part of the study area. Since this trend is expected to progress in future there will be more reduction of cropland.
  • The ongoing urbanization will result in less evapotranspiration, more run- off and will have negative effects on water quality.
  • An increase of agricultural area leads to an exacerbation of the imbalance of water availability and demand in dry season due to increased consumption of irrigation water, whereas urbanization results in more runoff during rainy season due to the increase of paved surface area.
Click here to read the full paper.

Anthropogenic activities leads to deterioration of groundwater quality: A study of Mayyanad and Edamulakkal panchayats of Kollam district in Kerala

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Kerala is a rain blessed state in the country. It has highest  number of wells, when compared with other states. However due to its slanting topography there is significant decline in the ground water levels leading to severe water scarcity during summer months in most districts of the state. Further over extraction and dependence of groundwater for domestic use from the dug wells especially in rural pockets has resulted in several groundwater problems. In this backdrop the paper in  The Ecosan- An International Quarterly Journal of Environmental Science, sheds light on groundwater quality issues in two panchayats of Kerala.

The author states that the factors responsible for groundwater contamination can emerge from lack of sanitation, unsafe pit latrines, domestic waste dumps, and proximity of wells to latrines, waste dumps and cattle sheds. Rising of water table during rainy season can further aggravate the chances of well water contamination. Though the state authorities have initiated certain action programmes in tackling water contamination and water shortage, but they have been only partially successful. The objective of this paper is to investigate the ground water (well water) quality and availability in selected panchayats of the state and suggest remedies at household level.

A survey was carried out in two panchayats viz. Mayyanad (coastal land) and Edamulackkal (midland) in Kollam district of Kerala. The purpose of this survey was

  •  to find out f the dependence of the households on well water,
  • the sources of contamination of well water
  • the well protection measures adopted by them
  • analyse the characteristics of drinkingwater and compare it with Bureau of Indian Standards

The results of the study are:

  • Wells surveyed did not have water tight casing or lining but were mostly protected by platforms and net covering.
  • People in Mayyanad panchayat use septic latrines and in Edamulakkal panchayat people use pit latrines.
  • well water is contaminated with coliforms and faecal coliforms in the range of 200 – 1200 MPN/100 ml and 40 to 150 MPN/100 mL.
  • pH of well water is always acidic and is below the desirable limit of Bureau of Indian Standards.
  • for solving the water scarcity it is advised to construct simple pits near wells for rainwater recharge.
Click here to read the full paper.

Stratergies for achieving environmental sustainability in rural development: A report by United Nations Development Programme

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This report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presents strategies for inclusive rural development embodying the principles of environmental sustainability. It recommends measures needed to achieve green, including measuring and tracking, the use incentives and the building of capacities. It also contains a number of case studies showing how green results can be achieved.


The report has examined six flagship Government of India (GoI) schemes namely-Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS); National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM); Integrated Watershed Development Programme (IWDP); Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY); National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDP) and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) to recommend actions and measures to achieve greening outcomes. In specific it looks at:



  1. Improving quality and carrying of eco systems including, water in surface bodies, aquifers and soil profile and arresting degradation of natural resources.

  2. Enabling sustainable livelihoods, based on sustainable use of natural resources.

  3. Strengthening ecosystem resilience to enable them to recover from extreme weather events and cope with climate change.

  4. Reducing the ecological footprint of interventions through efficient use of energy, material, natural resources and increased use of renewable materials.

The report also outlines specific recommendations for flagship schemes, which are as follows:


Priority recommendations for MGNREGS:



  • Prepare Perspective Plan for every gram panchayat on the basis of landscape, watershed or aquifer based planning.

  • Strengthen capacities of gram panchayats to develop green proposals and monitor green results: develop and utilize appropriate toolkits for this purpose.

  • Strengthen block level capacities to support implementing agencies to deliver green results.

  • Develop an MGNREGS green index as a part of the scheme monitoring system to track green impacts at the gram panchayat level.

  • Incentivize gram panchayats to achieve and surpass the threshold level on the MGNREGS green index; this incentive may be drawn from the budgetary provision for administrative expenses.

  • Increase focus on treatment of forest land in convergence with joint forest management and the Green India Mission.

Priority recommendations for NRLM:



  • Include as „essential‟ outcome in Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) guidelines, a result each on sustainably harvested produce and sustainable agricultural practices (in addition to current one on soil health) for all initiatives.

  • Develop protocols for sustainable harvest of non-timber forest produce and sustainable agriculture and livestock management, and facilitate their adoption by SHGs.

  • Earmark 2 percent of overall budget (or 10 percent of provision for infrastructure and marketing) for work at meso level on developing niche markets for sustainably harvested produce and for green input supply chains.

  • Provide backloaded, labour subsidy‟ to SHGs for adoption of sustainable practices to compensate for lower labour productivity (in current guidelines, there is provision only for capital subsidy or revolving funds for SHGs).

Priority recommendations for IWDP:



  • Specify environmentally sustainable resource management and production systems in the work plan, with convergent support from other schemes, and develop capacities of community institutions to adopt the systems.

  • Use the budget allocated for „production systems and microenterprises‟ to support key aspects of sustainable production systems.

  • Establish indicators for soil health, biodiversity and water resource sustainability and set up resource sustainability targets using these indicators.

  • Formalize usufruct rights and legal entitlements to promote sustainable use practices through community involvement. The 5 percent budget provision for the, consolidation phase‟ must be released only after these measures are adopted by the community.

  • Encourage support organizations to take on action research pilots to enhance green results.

Priority recommendations for NRDWP:



  • Ensure source sustainability is built into the Resource Development Proposals from Gram Panchayats while sanctioning projects.

  • Institutionalize participatory water quality monitoring and reporting by gram panchayats.

  • Ensure safe disposal of contaminants after the water treatment process.

  • Dedicate additional funds for use of green technologies.

  • The Water Security Plans must take into account all relevant water demands.

Priority recommendations for NBA:



  • Establish a Green Home Protocol and a green panchayat protocol to be implemented in a phased manner across the country.

  • Enhance the budgetary share of solid and liquid waste management component.

  • Increase emphasis on solid and liquid waste management in the eligibility criteria for the Nirmal Gram Puraskar.

  • Prepare an inventory of solid and liquid waste management technologies and disseminate widely.

  • Launch a campaign for highlighting the tangible benefits of rural sanitation on health and livelihoods.

Priority recommendations for IAY:



  • Prepare region-specific Handbooks of Green Building Designs including green construction materials that cover the life cycle of an IAY house.

  • Support district level Building Resource Centres to promote green technologies and designs; link financial support to quantity and effectiveness of green services provided.

  • Develop an IAY Green Index to measure, monitor and report on green results on a regular basis.

  • Provide additional subsidy (20 percent) to families building housing units that score above threshold on the green index.

  • Provide additional funds to districts committing to specified number of green housing units under IAY.

Click here to access the report.

An insight into the management of forest resources by tribal communities in Kargata and Bhagwanpur villages in Vidarbha, Maharashtra

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Tribal communities are important part of forest ecosystem. Their indigenous knowledge and tradition in managing the forest resources cannot be overlooked. This paper in Economic and Political Weekly, sheds light on this aspect of forest management.

The Forest Conservation Act and Forest Rights Act have acquired significant attention ever since they were passed in 1980 and 2006. While the former restricts the alteration brought to the forestland, the latter extends the rights of forest dwellers to use its resources. Though both the acts were passed by both the houses of parliament, the Ministry of Environment and Forest and other conservationist believe that this will lead to destruction of forests and wildlife. The shift in the policy emphasises on devolution, decentralisation and community rights will be crucial for both community and forests. In this backdrop the paper tries to analyse: whether communities are capable of managing the resources; will the transfer of power to forest dwellers result in large scale deforestation; are traditional norms governing forest resources still effective in the communities. The paper presents results of four field experiments carried out in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

The primary objective of the paper is to understand the finer aspects of nature of the dependence of the forest dwellers, their priorities, shared norms and role of money.

The paper first gives a detailed description of the study area: land under forest area, the communities in the region, their occupation, their exposure to the outside world, economic status, the change that has occurred with respect to their connectivity to the mainstream society. An analysis on these shows that communities are undergoing continuous change due to the penetration of electronic media, improved transport, and communication.

The paper the goes on to spell out the details of the methods of data collection. It included focused group discussion, household surveys using a structured questionnaire, secondary data collected from International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research programme protocols and key informant interviews. The study was carried out in Kargata (in 2009) and Bhagwanpur villages (2011) and in To understand and collect information on different aspects of forest management by communities games were designed by the authors. These aimed to capture:

  1. attitudinal aspects underpinning individual behaviour expressed through privately taken decisions regarding forest use, such as harvesting trees.
  2.  individual decisions regarding forest use arrived at after communication among participants.
  3.  nature of dependence on forests/forest products collected.
  4. priorities for plantations in a degraded forest
  5.  responses to increases in payoffs

Following this the authors elaborate on the observations made from experiments that were carried out in the field.

To bring together the threads of the research the authors conclude with the following:

  •  Harvesting behaviour of both the communities was non-exploitative and non-commercial.
  • Communication homogenised the harvesting behaviour of the individuals.
  • Their first priority is fuel wood, followed by fodder and they manage it in a sustainable manner.
  • If the resource size goes below a critical minimum, the communities are capable of dealing with scarcity by looking for alternatives.
  • For fuel wood the communities collect only fallen branches and old trees, no fresh felling is performed.
  • The indigenous communities can be trusted with forest management responsibilities, and steps like JFM and FRA are moving in the right direction.

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Not just the numbers: an assessment of the impact of MGNREGA on rural water security

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A month ago, India Water Portal tried to make sense of the numbers involved in India's flagship programme. Two-thirds of the works in progress in the current financial year (2012-13) were devoted to works linked with water- split nearly equally between water for domestic use and water for livelihoods.  In this article, we look at the efficacy of this programme at providing water security.

IWMI and IRMA have been working to determine the impact of MGNREGA on rural water security. They presented the results of their studies during a dedicated session at the IWMI-TATA annual partner's meet at Anand in November 2012.

Nitin Bassi presented an overview of the status of NREGA in the country, and then led  a discussion of how it impacts employment and access to water.He addressed the question of why employment generation does not match the potential of MGNREGA. and presented pertinent statistical information about MGNREGA. His study classifies the various water interventions into three typologies and suggests management mechanisms for each.

The discussions during this session have been grouped into three categories below.

Quality of structures created through MGNREGA:
Shilp Verma presents main results of a  study of 143 assets created by MGNREGA and perceived to be the best-performing assets by the administration and also by the users. This study analysed the direct economic benefits of these 'showcase' assets one year after creation. This talk ends with offering 8 guidelines for maximising the economic returns of investment in creating assets through MGNREGA including setting easily-acheivable goals, keeping MGNREGA demand driven and fixing responsibility for the maintenance of created assets.

Apoorva Oza added to the importance of quality and meaningful work by pointing out that of the three deliverables of employment- income, production and recognition- MGNREGA tends to focus only on income. Recognizing that people look for work satisfaction rather than meaningless employment will not only increase demand, but will also increase the value of the assets created by MGNREGA.

Men and women digging trenches to aid spring recharge in Sikkim

Sikkim's Dhara Vikas program utilises MGNREGA to conserve local springs

MGNREGA's potential to create assets that add to water security:
CFID described how MGNREGA has the potential to rehabilitate irrigation systems including ensuring transparency, institutional set up, etc. A financial break up is also provided. The presentation makes a strong argument for replicating this process in other states as well.

RPS Mallik's study of two districts in Madhya Pradesh concluded that the quality of structures was acceptable, but farmers' access to the water made available is dependent on their access to pumping equipment.

Barbara von Koppen pointed out that truncated silos for water use do not hold true in actuality where all water is subject to multiple use. Planning for this multiple use needs to begin from the grassroots level.Global experiences with this planning for multiple use are described in this talk.This will also increase accountability in public spending and water allocation.

The impact on labour markets:
Nisha Nair examined the impact of MGNREGA in the context of the pre-MGNREGA labour scarcity in Kerala. She presents statistics about the employment generated through MGNREGA, including the fact that the share of women in MGNREGA is now at 93%. The study presented covered 13 villages in Palghat, where the program was demand-driven. The reasons for its attracting labour more than farms were found to be higher wages, better facilities, the perception of it's being lighter work, and availability of work close to home.

Some other reasons were awareness of MGNREGA and its benefits, the need to open a bank account with the resultant financial independence, the perception that it is a 'government job' and schemes for MGNREGA workers initiated by the state government. However, this caused a shortage in the availability of farm labour. The coping strategies adopted by farmers is explained, including mechanization. Farmers' perceptions of the impact of MGNREGA on labour are also listed including their contention of it's making labourers 'lazy'.

Shilp Verma presented an analysis of the impact of MGNREGA on labour markets. The impacts can be classified as the impact on income, segmentation of labour market, bargaining power of labour, additive/substitive effects to the labour market, and distress migration. Shilp pointed out that the MGNREGA wage rate provides a base bargaining point for the labourers. At the same time, the prevailing farm labour rate also determines if the labour market is added to as in the case of Kerala or whether there is a shift within the existing labour base. Migration continued as MGNREGA labour does not match urban earning potential, though it may be argued that this is opportunity migration rather than distress migration. Verma classifies the impact of labour into four 'interactions' depending on the prevailing labour situation and provides an analysis of each.

One important and positive impact that is evident from both Nisha Nair's and Shilp Verma's presentations is that the set MGNREGA working conditions- such as creche facilities and set times- have led to labourers desiring the same facilities in other jobs. Another positive impact is the financial independence that the compulsory bank account provided the women workers.

To learn more about MGNREGA, read the MGNREGA Sameeksha 2012
To learn of how MGNREGA will evolve in the future, read the guidelines of the Mihir Shah Committee.
Read the highlights of the IWMI TATA annual partner's meet

An analysis on the performance of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in 13 states of India- A paper in Economic and Political Weekly

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Can farmers adopt a new technique without shunning their traditional farming practices, which results in increased yield and profits? Through System of Rice Intensification (SRI) it is possible. SRI is a new method of paddy cultivation, which uses local/traditional seed and organic compost to increase production.

SRI has spread to nearly 50 countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. This progress has attracted attention in academic and policy circles. However data on the actual levels of its adoption and its impact is not available. The available data shows adoption to this technique has given positive results. However what is missing is an insight into actual levels of adoption in different regions of the country, and whether adoption can be encouraged by promoting the core components of SRI as a package or only some of the components with modifications. In this backdrop this paper in Economic and Political Weekly tries to address the following:

  • the yield, income and cost advantage of SRI over non-SRI practices
  • the level of adoption of different components of SRI by farmers
  • the drivers of SRI adoption
  • the constraints faced by farmers in the adoption of SRI

The paper first elaborates on the methodology followed by the authors. The study was carried out in 2010-11, it surveyed 2,234 sample farmers with SRI and non-SRI fields in 13 states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. The data collected from the survey were on: adoption of SRI core components, costs, returns, and constraints. For this purpose farmer, extension officers, non-governmental organizations and scientists were interviewed. The paper then goes on to elaborate on the components of the cultivation practice. Following this is an analysis of SRI yield, income and adoption level- its constraints are provided. A brief note on the views of scientists and agricultural extension officers is given.

The paper concludes with the following:

  • There is significant yield benefit in most of the regions
  • Modifications in SRI practices are mainly due to problems related to surface and groundwater supply, soil types, droughts/floods, crop seasons (kharif/rabi), and the availability of skilled labour.
  • Major constraints are in the application of this techniques are: lack of skilled manpower available in time for planting operations, poor water control in the fields, and unsuitable soils.

Key recommendations proposed by the authors are as follows:

  • Focus should be given to specific components of SRI.
  • Encourage farmers to practise SRI in their own way to would enhance the rice yield compared to older practices.
  • Use GIS mapping, to identify areas suitable for SRI (hot spots) where it can popularised.
  • Use machine transplanting.
  • Impart training to farmers
  • Carry out long-term field experimentation with different SRI practices so that concrete conclusions can be drawn about their sustainability.
  • Drivers of SRI adoption can be examined and incorporated in agricultural development programmes such as the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
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An evaluative study on the informal water distribution system in Kaula Bandar slum in Mumbai- A paper in BioMed Central Public Health Journal

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As a result of rapid urbanisation, majority of migrated population is forced to settle in places which are not legally recognised by state authorities. These areas thus lack in basic services like water supply and sewerage. Consequently, the slum dwellers often resort to illegal methods to avail these services. Such practices in these overcrowded slums are not only poor in terms of quantity supplied but the quality is also a major problem. In this backdrop the paper evaluates an informal water distribution system in Kaula Bandar(KB), slum in Mumbai.

The paper in its background states that in Mumbai only notified slums are ensured security of residential tenure and access to water, sanitation, and electricity. In non-notified slums there exists a complex informal system for procuring, distributing and storing water. The authors define non-notified slums as “community-created or private systems that are outside of the purview of government regulation”. Such distribution systems adversely affect health and social equity of the people.

The authors evaluate such a distribution system using commonly accepted health and social equity indicators: cost of water, quantity of water consumed at the household level, microbiological and chemical quality of water, and residents’ opinions of hardships associated with water access. For this purpose the authors have used data from the 2008 KB Baseline Needs Assessment (BNA) and the 2011 KB Seasonal Water Assessment (SWA).

The paper after setting the background of the study goes on to describe the study area where:

  • Almost everyone purchases water via an informal distribution system run by private vendors.
  • Water vendors have created entry points in the fire brigade pipes from which water is extracted using motorized pumps.
  • Underground piping infrastructure is absent.
  • Large plastic drums are used for storing water, which is used for bathing, toileting, and washing clothes.

An analysis on this system shows:

  • That it is vulnerable to widespread failure. This is so because whenever the local government official’s raid and confiscate motors that tap water from fire brigade pipes, access to water to KB’s residents is cut. Such episodes of “system failure” occur a few times a year.
  • Water vendors incur significant costs to maintain such a system, all of which are passed on to community residents who purchase this water.
  •  Water vendors pay bribes of INR 500 to 1000 (USD 9 to 18) to get motorized pumps back.

The paper then goes on to elaborate on the study design for the 2008 Baseline Needs Assessment (BNA) and study design for the 2011 Seasonal Water Assessment. The findings of these studies are as follows:

  • Majority of households paid a monthly base fee to water vendors of Indian rupees (INR) 150 to 400 per month for water during all study periods.
  • The residents spend 52 to 206 times more than residents of slums with legal water access, depending on the season.
  • Residents spend 5.9% to 15.9% of their monthly household income on buying water in different seasons.
  • An Excess amount of INR 13,087,458 (USD 237,954.00) was incurred yearly on water in the current informal system. This could pay for entirely new water infrastructure in KB more than five times every year.
  • The households do not meet the WHO recommendation that all human beings use a minimum of 50 litres per capita per day.
  • Most households, 568 (59.2%), do not use any method of water purification. They consume it in its raw form.
  • There is significant contamination of drinking water and storage water at the household level.
  • Most of the residents identify complications with land ownership and the slum’s unauthorized (i.e., non-notified) status as the main reasons for lack of formal water access.
The authors conclude that though the paper sheds light on the quality, quantity and reliability of water supplied in a single slum, such will be the situation faced by a significant proportion of urban dwellers in India. In such circumstances the quality of water supplied will be poor and will have a severe impact on the health os the slum dwellers. Thus it is important to ensure that there is safe storage of water and chlorination of water is done prior to consumption.  There should be equitable access to water and efforst should be made to connect the slum locality with formal water distribution network.

Click here to read the full paper.

Need for an ecologically sound agricultural system - A video interview with Ardhendu S Chatterjee, Director, Development Research Communication and Services Centre (DRCSC), Kolkata

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Indian agriculture has changed. From earlier a lifestyle to now livelihood, our farming has journeyed through revolutions. Food production increased but so did the problems of depleting soil fertility and rising debt. The green is fading and an evolution is now sought.

This video is an interview with Ardhendu S. Chatterjee, Director, Development Research Communication and Services Centre (DRCSC), Kolkata who narrates the rise and fall of Indian farming system and the transitions it has undergone. The attempt at accelerating the production of food, brought in its wake tons of problems. It took some time to realize that the chemical pesticides killed more than just the pests.

The organic system of farming now seems to have arrived. While organic farming has its benefits, Ardhendu Chatterjee brings to light a holistic system of farming that has its roots in the local culture, local resources and local knowledge. This system of farming, known as ecological agriculture or sustainable agriculture integrates local plants, animals, birds in a manner that they complement each other, increase productivity of the soil and income of the farmer through the processing of agricultural waste. A beautiful conspiracy of nature !

Uniform drinking water quality monitoring protocol- A document by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (2013)

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This document by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation provides a set of protocols that aims to standardise the requirements for setting up and ensure proper functioning of water quality testing laboratories operating at State, District and Sub-district levels. These protocols are suggestive in nature and will be useful for laboratory personnel, water supply engineers and policy makers working in the drinking water sector.

The alarming rate at which the drinking water sources are getting contaminated has acquired the much required attention in the recent times. The use of pesticides and fertilisers has severe impact on the quality of drinking water. With the number of people getting affected with diarrhoeal diseases, an attempt has been made by the ministry to improve the quality of existing water quality testing laboratories.

The purpose of this document is to describe various elements of laboratory management practices to ensure that the data generated is comparable, scientifically correct and in a form that can be used in implementing interventions to improve water quality. Further it includes details on water quality testing laboratory, infrastructure and staff requirements.

The contents of the protocol are as follows:

  1. Drinking water quality monitoring
  2. Need to revise Uniform Protocol on Water Quality Monitoring Order, 2005
  3. Functions of a drinking water quality testing laboratory
  4. Requirements for setting-up water quality testing laboratory
  5. Safety measures to be followed in laboratory
  6. Treatment technology for laboratory wastewater

Click below to download the document.

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Uniform drinking water quality monitoring protocol-MDWS (2013)1.47 MB

Manuals for preparation of detailed project report for rural piped water supply schemes by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

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The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has prepared manuals, to implement the works related to piped water supply scheme in planned manner, maintaining appropriate standards and quality of the schemes, and ensure their completion in time.

The manuals are prepared keeping in mind the activities mentioned in the 12th five year plan. As per the plan the aim is to improve full population coverage in all habitations taking into consideration aspects of quantity, quality, distance, timeliness, regularity and reliability of supply by the implementing agencies so as to ensure reasonable and reliable water supply to all including the poorest sections. One of the important recommendations stated in the plan document is to aim to cover at least 55% of the total rural households with “piped water supply schemes", with house connection.

The manuals will be of use to the state government department, implementing agencies to plan, design, construction and maintain the piped water supply schemes.

The contents of the manuals are as follows:

  • Location of the project
  • Project execution and design period
  • Population
  • Water demand
  • Present status of water supply and sanitation
  • Institutional set up and details of formation of VWSC
  • Details of preparation of water safety and security plans
  • Proposed scheme – Details of scheme components
  • Cost estimates
  • Life-cycle cost approach
  • Operation and maintenance
  • Water quality monitoring
  • IEC and HRD activities
  • Other designs norms & practices
  • Scheme completion schedule
  • Completion reports
  • Approval of projects

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Manual for preparation of detailed project report for rural piped water supply schemes- MDWS (2012)1.87 MB

Changing climate, changing lives - A film on the impact of climate change on agriculture in Dhulikhel, Nepal

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The story of climate change has been hijacked by snow and ice. While climate change touches the lives of people all over the world, we tend to be carried away by the more glamorous ‘melting away of glaciers’ than the not-so-apparent but significant changes on the ground elsewhere.

This video echoes the voices of people experiencing the brunt of climate change in the Nepal Himalayas. Shifting patterns of rainfall and extreme weather conditions have rendered the crops impaired and the farmers in limbo, and how farmers are adapting to the situation.

While mountains remain the hotspot of biodiversity and culture, they are also hotspots of climate change impact. It is in this context that research projects like Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) based out of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), try to get to long-term solutions with their research and knowledge.

“HICAP aims at linking climate science research knowledge with the experience of farmers and communities who are already facing the consequences of climate change. It helps them in sharing their direct experiences of dealing with the consequences of climate change, and also understanding the science behind the changes that they are seeing”, says Nand Kishore Agrawal, HICAP coordinator.

This video was made as a part of HICAP’s Regional Journalists’ Workshop held at Kathmandu from 4th-9th February 2013 in an effort to document the real-life impact of climate change experienced by the people in Dhulikhel region of district Kavre, Nepal.

How do groundwater irrigation and energy supply influence each other ? - Talks from the IWMI-Tata Annual Partners' Meet held at Anand in November 2012

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Groundwater is extensively used for irrigation with India being the world's largest consumer of groundwater. However, there is considerable waste of this valuable resource. While part of this waste can be attributed to a lack of incentive for conservation, unmetered electricity supply contributes greatly to this problem. This has led to the formation of what is being termed an energy-irrigation nexus.

Several sessions at the IWMI-Tata Annual Partners' Meet in 2012 discussed this phenomenon, its causes, impacts and possible management strategies. This article presents the videos of the related talks, short descriptions of each video and links to background papers.

The videos in the playlist above are as follows:

Chris Scott draws upon international experiences, particularly those from Mexico. This talk discusses whether the current exploitation of groundwater is an example of 'planned depletion'. It also describes groundwater management responses to this depletion in Arizona and Mexico. He then discusses the trends in global power generation and use, and the impact of these on our water resources.

Aditi Mukherji presents the results of a study conducted by IWMI in Punjab and Karnataka. This talk begins with an overview of the 'energy-irrigation nexus' in India. It then describes the results of an attempt made with the support of the World Bank to provide direct farm subsidy.

Nisha Nair speaks of the impact of the malpractices committed by farmers to cope with seasonal demand, the impacts of these and of the measures taken by the state to deal with this 'power anarchy'. Nair reports on the results of a survey conducted to determine the extent and nature of these impacts. The water market, where farmers buy power and sell water is described, as is the Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal experience.

Madhavi Mehta examines the management changes in the Gujarat power utilities and describes how they revitalised service delivery. Mehta explains the various management changes including unbundling of distribution companies, and separation of feeders. The results of an analysis of the restraining and driving forces involved in this transformation are presented.

Stuti Rawat describes the ways in which regulatory authorities can influence the energy-irrigation nexus. This talk draws on studies in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The electricity demand and the regulations in place to meet this demand in these three states are described in detail.

Parmershwar Hegde presents the experiences of ENZEN Global Solutions in providing energy-efficient pumps in 39 villages in Doddaballapur, Karnataka through a programme titled 'Agricultural demand-side management', itself a part of the WENEXA programme. The program aims not only at increasing energy efficiency, but also upgrading the power distribution network, farmer consultancy, training farmers, initiating water use efficiency measures and watershed activities.

Sunderrajan Krishnan discusses the dug well recharge program initiated in 2007 following the advice of IWMI researchers, which failed to meet its goals. The lessons learnt from that program have been listed in this talk. The background paper can be read here.

SA Prathapar, in his first talk, explains the concept of aquifer recharge in its simplest terms as the process of impounding recharge where the rainfall is low. He then goes on to describe the various factors that affect the performance of recharge structures such as rainfall and rainfall patterns, and aquifer types. The background paper can be read here.

In his second talk, SA Prathapar explains that there is currently a lack of objectivity in the way that recharge is discussed today. This talk proposes a separation of 'performance' of management of aquifers from 'impacts'.  Prathapar explains these two terms in detail, and arrives at guidelines that future research is advised to follow. He suggests that impact can be measured by looking at availability (has the quantum of water increased), accessibility (can the water be used) and achievement (what is the water being used for).

Shilp Verma and Sunderrajan Krishnan present the results of a two-year study on the river Meghal. This explains the process of using multiple data sets to map the hydrology of a basin and the methods used to assess the impact of water harvesting at the basin scale. The background papers can be read here and here.

Alka Palrecha speaks of the difficulty of obtaining reliable and accurate time series data for water harvesting structures, soil and crop reports etc which are necessary to assess the impact of water harvesting measures. The first part of this presentation describes the issues with data obtained in great detail as also are the means of correcting these errors and gaps. In the second part, Shilp Verma then elaborates on the ways in which this data has been processed and utilised.

Between 2002 and 2007, several groundwater units have shifted from the critical to the semi-critical category in the semi-arid Saurashtra region. Analysis indicates that decentralised rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge interventions have led to this shift. In this talk presented at the IWMI-TATA Annual Partners' meet at Anand, Gujarat in November 2012, RC Jain examines this phenomenon. The background paper can be read here.

Tushaar Shah discusses ways of dealing with the energy-irrigation nexus by managing groundwater and electricity jointly. The talk begins with a discussion of the origins and nature of the groundwater economy, with a focus on the drivers of this economy. He postulates that removing power subsidies and/or metering power will drastically decrease groundwater exploitation.Various methods of managing wasteful power consumption and controlling the present anarchy of power use are discussed in detail. Gujarat's experience with the Jyotirgram programme is discussed.

Learn more about the IWMI-Tata Annual Partners' Meet.

How would you 'develop' the Himalayan states ? - Let the Indian Mountain Initiative know !

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The Indian Mountain Initiative was conceived and set up by CHEA  in 2010. The goal of this initiative is to provide a forum for the mountain states to engage in continuous and constructive dialogue.

The 3rd sustainable mountain summit will be held at Kohima in September 2013. Prior to this a meet of the mountain states will be held on 19 March 2013 at Delhi. This article presents the proceedings of the past meetings as a background to those to come.

Vision of the Indian Mountain Initiative

In response to the recommendation of the Planning Commission Task Force that the Himalayan states need a platform for regular interaction, CHEA initiated the Indian Mountain Initiative. Read more about the Initiative here.

First Sustainable Mountain Development Summit at Nainital

The annual summits are the physical manifestation of the Initiative's aim to provide a platform for discussion. The first Summit organised in Nainital, emphasised the need for a platform that would seek and delineate solutions to the problems that exist across the 11 Himalayan states, namely those of livelihoods, natural resource management and climate change. 

Read a report by CHEA of the first Summit at Nainital here.

Second Sustainable Mountain Development Summit at Gangtok

The second Summit was organised in Gangtok, Sikkim, and the identified themes for discussion were water, communities and forests, and mountain livelihoods. 

Read a report by CHEA of the second Summit at Gangtok here.  A report by India Water Portal of the second Summit is here and videos are here.

Text of the 'Gangtok Declaration'

The ‘Gangtok Declaration’ was presented by Summit convener, Lok Sabha MP PD Rai

Third Sustainable Mountain Development Summit to be held at Kohima

The third Summit is being planned for Kohima later this year. Prior to that, a meeting will be held next week to follow up on the decisions made during the Gangtok Summit.

Are you a resident or frequent visitor of the Himalayan states ? What are your experiences of the way development is defined for the region ? What changes would you like to see in the governance of the mountain states?

Do let us know in the comments !

Watershed atlas of India by the Central Groundwater Board

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This collection of watershed maps of India is by Central Ground Water BoardWatershed management has been gaining top most priority in water resources sector. It has been applied in various hydro-power and irrigation projects, assessment of ground water resource, pollution and artificial recharge studies. Therefore it has become a pre- requisite to any developmental programme because land and water resources have maximum interaction and synergic effect, when developed on watershed basis.

Watersheds are natural hydrological entities that cover a specific aerial expanse of land surface from which the rainfall runoff flows to a defined drain, channel, stream or river at any particular point. The terms region, basin, catchment, watershed etc are widely used to denote hydrological units. Even though these terms have similar meanings in popular sense, technically they are different. Size of a watershed is governed by the size of the stream occupied by it. Size of the watershed is of practical importance in development programmes. For example, size of irrigation cum hydel project has its watershed size several thousands of square kilometers but for a farm pond the size may be few hectares only. In deserts and flat terrains with little incipient drainage, it may be difficult to delineate small sized watersheds whereas in undulating and hilly terrains smaller sized watersheds could be easily delineated. Hence the aerial extent of watersheds vary widely in the various attempts made earlier for demarcation of watersheds.

With a brief description of the background to the preparation of the watershed atlas, the document then goes on to elaborate on the need for large scale maps which use 1:250,000 scale.

The maps are made on 1:250,000 sacle. The administrative boundaries have been obtained from administrative maps of Survey of India / National Informatics Center (NIC). Major drainages and drainage names are derived from drainage map of SOI. Locations of major towns along with attributes were obtained from NIC.

There are three stages in the preparation of these maps:

Stage I : Basin Delineation

The entire country have been divided into a total of 34 Basins more or less coinciding with the basins as delineated in Watershed Atlas of India, 1990 by AISLUS (1: 1 million scale) which has a total of 35 basins except Brahmputra whein left and right bank has been merged together. While delineating the river basins, the groundwater flow and its linkages / interactions with river flow system has also been considered.

Stage II: Sub-basins delineation

The basins have been further divided into a number of sub basins. Sub basins consists of an independent tributary streams. For examples, Godavari basin has 8 sub basins. Sub basins have been delineated from down stream to upstream. Keeping in view the groundwater flow and its linkages / interactions with river flow system the concept of left bank and right bank has not been followed while delineating the sub-basins.

Stage III: Watershed delineation

Each sub basin is divided into a number of watersheds. Watersheds are the smallest hydrological unit that can be delineated cartographically on base map of 1 : 250,000 scale. Watersheds are delineated from upstream to downstream.

The entire country has been divided into 34 basins, 94 sub-basins and 3448 watersheds. The names of the basins, sub-basins along with their ID and numbers of watersheds are given in the table.

To view the complete list of basin and sub-basin names along with number of watersheds clcik here.

To know more about the codification system click here.

Below are the maps of different basins:

  1. Barmer
  2. Beas
  3. Bhadar
  4. Bhatsol
  5. Brahmani
  6. Brahmaputra
  7. Cauvery
  8. Chambal
  9. Chenab
  10. Churu
  11. Ghaghar
  12. Godavari
  13. Imphal
  14. Indus
  15. Jhelum
  16. Krishna
  17. Kutch
  18. Lower Ganga
  19. Luni
  20. Mahanadi
  21. Mahi
  22. Narmada
  23. Pennar
  24. Qura Qush
  25. Ravi
  26. Sabarmati
  27. Surma
  28. Sutlej
  29. Tapi
  30. Upper Ganga
  31. Vaippar
  32. Vamsadhara
  33. Yamuna

River water quality data by Central Pollution Control Board (2005)

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Rivers are one of the prime suppliers of drinking water. They are also important for agriculture, fisheries and recreational activities. However some of these activities also pollute the rivers. Pollution can be either from point sources such as industrial or sewage effluent discharges, or can be diffused from roads or agricultural run-off. Therefore it is necessary that rivers are protected from pollution and are managed as a sustainable resource for all of the activities that depend on their water quality. In this backdrop the document by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) elaborates on the river water quality in India.

The Central and State Pollution Control Boards / Pollution Control Committees in Union-Territories in India are responsible for restoration and maintenance of the wholesomeness of aquatic resources. To ensure that the water quality is being maintained or restored at desired level it is important that the pollution control boards regularly monitor the water quality. The water quality monitoring is performed with following objectives:

  • For rational planning of pollution control strategies and their prioritisation;
  •  To assess nature and extent of pollution control needed in different water bodies or their part;
  • To evaluate effectiveness of pollution control measures already is existence;
  • To evaluate water quality trend over a period of time;
  • To assess assimilative capacity of a water body thereby reducing cost on pollution control;
  • To understand the environmental fate of different pollutants.
  • To assess the fitness of water for different uses.
  • Present Approach to Water Quality Management

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has established a network of monitoring stations on rivers across the country. The present network comprises of 870 stations in 26 States and 5 Union Territories spread over the country. The monitoring is done on monthly or quarterly basis in surface waters and on half yearly basis in case of ground water. The monitoring network covers 189 Rivers, 51 Lakes, 4 Tanks, 2 Ponds, 3 Creeks, 4 Canals, 10 Drains and 218 Wells. Among the 870 stations, 566 are on rivers, 55 on lakes, 10 on drains, 12 on canals, 4 on tank, 3 on creeks and 2 on pond and 218 are groundwater stations.

To know more about the details of the water quality monitoring click here.

Click on the respective river basins to acquire its data  on water quality. It provides monitoring locations on canals, creeks and drains; lakes, ponds and tanks; and groundwater aquifers are listed out alphabetically for States and Union Territories.

  1. Brahmaputra
  2. Brahmani-Baitarni
  3. Groundwater
  4. Canals-Creeks-Drains
  5. Cauvery
  6. Krishna
  7. Ganga
  8. Mahanadi
  9. Godavari
  10. Mahi
  11. Medium and minor rivers
  12. Indus
  13. Narmada
  14. Pennar- Subarnrekha
  15. Lakes, ponds and tanks
  16. Sabarmati
  17. Tapi

Click below to downlaod the data of all the basins mentioned above.

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Report on private water supply augmentation project in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh by Manthan Adhyayan Kendra

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Irrespective of the resistance faced by private sector in managing the water, their participation continues to grow. Shivpuri, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, is second in the list in the state following Khandwa, where private sector participation has begun to be executed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns. Read on to know more about this project.

This report byManthan Adhyayan Kendra,  focuses on the issues related to the new private water supply augmentation project from Madikheda Reservoir, on Sindh River, to Shivpuri town in Madhy Pradesh. It further discusses and analyses the concession contract signed between private operator and Shivpuri Municipal body to execute the project.

The report is part of Manthan's efforts to study the trend of Public-Private Partnership projects in water sector, especially in small and medium towns and their socio-economic-cultural impacts on local people, financial health of municipal bodies, local water resources, governance issues and contractual conditions under PPP contracts.

The report starts with a brief introduction on the Shivpuri town- about its rivers and drainage, the existing water supply system, its water resources, water treatment and distribution system and water supply charges.

It the goes on to elaborate about the project. The main features of the project are as follows:

  • The cost of the project is Rs 80.71 crores and is being implemented under UIDSSMT (Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme in Small and Medium Towns) supported by the Government of India and the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
  • The grants sanctioned under this scheme have the central and state share of 80% and 10% maximum respectively.
  • The objective of this scheme is to make the ULBs financially sustainable and attractive for PPP projects.
  • ULBs and state governments would have to agree to the reforms agenda of the scheme. These are meant for the financial sustainability, full cost recovery, user charges and private participation in urban municipal services.
Following this an exhaustive description is given on the scope of the project, its financial aspects and issues centered around water tariff.
Click here to read the full report.

Continuity and change in ancient small-tank irrigation in Sri Lanka: A paper in Economic and Political Weekly

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Sri Lanka is home to one of the three most famous ancient irrigation civilizations in Asia. The effective functioning of this irrigation system depended on the then social organization as much as on technical accuracy. This paper, first published in the Economic and Political Weekly,  explores the changes that are taking place in this social system today and the impact of these changes on the irrigation system.


1. Hydraulic civilization in the dry zone of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's irrigation systems depend on cascades of small irrigation tanks. The accompanying illustration from the paper details this irrigation system. Locally managed village tanks for rice irrigation have been in existence in the dry zone of Sri lanka for millennia. The resilience of this system can be explained by the synergy between the tank ecology, social capital, and institutional structures. These tank systems can be said to be a perfect match for the area, because they have in fact been designed for  the ecology and society in the region.Schematic illustration of the social organization around a tank in Sri Lanka's dry zone

Social organization around a tank in Sri Lanka's dry zone (Source: Dhammasena (2010))

2. The tank and its socioecology
This section details  the tank irrigation system that irrigates approximately 2,20,000 hectares in Sri Lanka's dry zone. The various components of the tank conserve resources and minimize risk to the system from natural calamities and sedimentation. They were designed for a land use system that included irrigated rice cultivation in the command areas, shifting cultivation in the catchment. and perennial crops in the home garden.
The several  interconnections between the tanks  ensure that water is subject to use multiple times in each catchment. Tenurial systems enable the proper management of tanks and sharing of tank water, fishing rights etc. Some of these institutions survive today.

3. Fertilizer subsidy and the power of farmer organizations.
The traditional institutions established for irrigation and agriculture management are subject to rapid change today. The centrality of the tank to village society has changed with new lands coming under agriculture, common lands becoming privatized and other market changes. A major change is the fertilizer subsidy started to ensure rice cultivation. Subsidized fertilizers are routed through farmers' organizations. This has led to a surge in the popularity of  these farmers' organizations, and to the respect they are accorded in the village.

4. Belated boom in agro-well irrigation
In the 1970s and again around 2000, there was a surge in agro-wells. Vegetables and market crop cultivation on formerly rain-fed lands is now the mainstay of agrarian livelihoods. Increased profits are transforming lives in these villages. These wells have small energy footprints with most using 1 or 2 hp pumps. The high cost of kerosene leads farmers to use groundwater conservatively. However, these wells are rapidly drying up with as many as 30% being out of use.

5. Pump irrigation boom in Mahaweli command
Canal commands are also seeing a surge in pump irrigation. This section details one such boom in Mahaweli command. Here, lift irrigation from the feeder canal has caused a boom in vegetable cultivation.

6. Sri Lanka's unique energy-irrigation nexus
Electricity, though much cheaper than the kerosene option is not cheap in Sri Lanka where farmers pay progressive traiffs. This has led to a demand for energy-efficient irrigation methods, a preference for high-value crops, and some power theft.

7. The Kerala-Sri Lanka model of groundwater irrigation
This section provides a table that outlines four energy-irrigation-livelihoods scenarios in South Asia. It argues that energy subsidies have created a groundwater based agrarian system which place a low value on both electricity and groundwater, to the detriment of energy boards and aquifers. On the other hand, Sri Lanka and Kerala  provide a model where high value crops are irrigated through judicious use of groundwater, thus maximizing efficiency.

8. Summary and conclusions
a. The high profits offered by valuable market crops are driving well irrigation, as they offer considerable control over water use. This is not without its drawbacks, which include encroachment, use of chemicals and errosion of social capital.
b. The fertiliser subsidy policy has let do a boom in farmer organizations.
c. CHanges in this policy, allowing open sale of subsidised fertilisers,  will weaken the FOs of this authority.
d. SriLanka's electricity tariffs need to recognise farmers agricultural needs as a separate category, similar to Kerala where electricity for irrigation is metered but cheaper than for other uses.
e. Metered irrigation wells can play an important role in load management, since irrigators can be offered incentives to use power in off-peak hours.

Dr. Samad had presented a talk on the same topic during the IWMI-Tata Annual Partners' meet. Watch the video below:

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Continuity and change in ancient small-tank irrigation in Sri Lanka: A paper in Economic and Political Weekly by K Jinapala, Madar Samad, Ranjith Aritaratne, Tushaar Shah 1.18 MB

Country and state-wise assessment on the problem of waterlogging, salinity and alkalinity in all major and medium irrigation projects - Reports by Central Water Commission (2009)

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Government of India, spends millions of rupees on the development of irrigation projects throughout the country. These irrigated croplands, though limited to about 30 percent of the gross cropped area, contribute more than 50 percent of the total agricultural production.This signifies that scientific management of irrigation water and irrigated croplands has emerged in a big way. There is an increase in cropping intensity and production.

But there are some negative consequences of irrigation also. As per published reports considerable areas in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat Haryana and few other states, twin problems of waterlogging and salinity is alarming. If this remains unnoticed over the years a large area will be turned into barren areas. In this context these reports have been prepared.

This collection of reports by Central Water Commission provides a detailed inventory about the spatial extent and severity of waterlogging and salinity/alkalinity problem in the command areas of all major and medium irrigation projects in the country. It is prepared with a motive that preventive and ameliorative measures can be taken to arrest degradation of productive agricultural lands.

Reports on assessment of water logging and salinity in major and medium irrigation commands are important as they help in determining the sustainability of any irrigated production system. Remote sensing tool has been used to map and monitor waterlogging and soil salinity / alkalinity in the irrigated areas.

This project of mapping the problems of water logging and salinity across the country was entrusted to Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres, Jodhpur by Central Water Commission. The project was aimed at fulfilling following objectives and deliverables:

  • Assessment of saline and /sodic lands using multi–temporal satellite data.
  • Spatial correlation between critical ground water depth (from well observation data) and surface waterlogging manifested on satellite data.
  • Development of information system by integrating all (collected/processed/developed) during the study for all the states and union territories.
  • Preparation of state wise and consolidated report for the country as a whole.
This collection of  reports will be of immense use to planners, administrator, agriculturists, researchers, academicians, engineers and other related agencies as baseline information about the status of the problem of the irrigation commands.

Reports on assessment of water logging and salinity in major and medium irrigation commands of different states are available sepeartely. A consolidated report is available for all the Union Territories and North Eastern States.

Click below to download the country report as well as reports of states.


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Country level report- India-WRIS (2009)3.28 MB
State-wise-reports-on-water-logging-and-salinity-India-WRIS (2009)23.06 MB

Alternative and sustainable drinking water and sanitation security in flood prone areas of north Bihar- Report on the groundwater seminar organised by Megh Pyne Abhiyan and ACWADAM (2011)

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The report 'Drinking water & sanitation security' is a post seminar document on arguments, processes and technologies for establishing alternative and sustainable drinking water and sanitation security in flood prone areas of north Bihar discussed during the seminar held from Nov 30 to Dec 1, 2011, in Patna.

MPN Report


The report is divided into the following sections:

Seminar highlights

The seminar highlighted the severe issues of water and sanitation (WATSAN) in flood regions of north Bihar and how a large vulnerable community is affected by it. How understanding of the problems associated with flooding can be enhanced and various stakeholders collaborate around the sanitation challenge, was discussed. Though Right to water and sanitation as legally binding in international law, only one in three have access to improved sanitation in South Asia. What is required is a paradigm shift regarding sanitation - a change in attitude for reuse of human manure in a safe manner and the recovery of treated greywater to the environment.

Challenges, alternatives and opportunities

Though rivers overflow and the lands are saturated with water during monsoons, there is a severe shortage of drinking water in this region. Eklavya Prasad, Megh Pyne Abhiyan, highlighted the strong local beliefs, raised questions on the duration of the abysmal drinking water scenario and how failed monsoon crop had an impact on the economic condition of the small and marginal farmer.

S. Vishwanath commenced with the idea that solutions to any problems have to be contextual and have to materialize from the affected area itself. He then listed goals and discussed SODIS (Solar disinfection) a method to treat biologically contaminated water, the dying art of dug wells, rooftop harvesting and sanitation practices.

Himanshu Kulkarni shared experiences about the science of groundwater, citing diverse examples and emphasized that groundwater is both, the source and sink in the alluvial flood plains.

Session was moderated by Prem Kumar Verma and chaired by Alka Palrecha.

Alternatives, sustainability and security

There is an urgent need to challenge and change current attitudes and practices of natural resource management that encourage dependence on others. The approach should be to enhance people’s capabilities, coping capacities, and self-interest, thereby placing the possibility of solutions at a level where they can decide for themselves.

Chandrashekhar stressed upon the need to understand the scientific linkages between the various components of nature and of those components with humans. Vinay Kumar emphasized on the importance of analysing various aspects of floods and the problems caused by their recurrence and building a team that includes local community members, social mobilisation and demonstrations in terms of gatherings and jal yatras.

Activists, local potters, farmers- many varied voices from the affected villages spoke on their individual experiences.

K. Nelson Royal moderated this session while Padmaja Nair chaired the session.

Groundwater quality and flood plains

Policy and decision makers predict that groundwater will pose the biggest challenge to the water management sector especially in India, due to the highly decentralized and individualistic pattern of groundwater use.

Sudarsan Sahu, Scientist, Central Groundwater Board’s (CGWB) gave a presentation on the occurrence of arsenic in groundwater of Bihar. He illustrated how a total of 57 blocks across 15 districts with a population of more than 1 crore have been reported to be arsenic affected.

Siddharth Patil, ACWADAM, spoke about the intensive water quality testing by MPA and also the results of the tests in the form of groundwater profiling. The results showed high presence of iron and arsenic more in handpumps than in dug wells, showing that the problem of arsenic contamination in groundwater was on the rise.

K Vijayalakshmi,and Pramod Kumar, Development Alternatives discussed different pathways by which arsenic enters groundwater and also about some ill effects of consuming arsenic contaminated water and benefits of DA’s ‘Jal Tara arsenic filter’.

Ashok Ghosh spoke on appropriate arsenic mitigation strategies for rural Bihar like rain water harvesting, dug wells, etc. As per his estimates, directly and indirectly about 24 per cent of Bihar’s population was affected by arsenic problems.

The session was chaired by S.Vishwanath and moderated by Chandrashekhar .

Innovative practices appropriate for the alluvial flood plains of north Bihar

Camilla Wirseen in her presentation stated that sanitation is a UN declared human right, and without access to it, many communities are left vulnerable to a multitude of health impacts and disasters. She shed light on ’ Peepoo’; a single-use, self-sanitising, biodegradable toilet that after use turns into valuable fertiliser.

Carol Steinfeld, an ecological solutions advocate promoted ecological approach as a feasible way of addressing the concerns arising out of present day sanitation practice in her presentation. She defined urine as liquid gold because of its nutrient load, which alone can be used as a fertilizer.

Banku Bihari Sarkar spoke about WASH response during emergency situations and pointed out how unhygienic existence impacts human existence during emergencies like floods. DP Singh, Pubic

Health and Engineering Department (PHED), explained the roles and responsibility of the department, responsible for rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

Nitya Jacob, UNICEF, emphasized that knowledge management for alluvial flood prone areas with an emphasis on drinking water and sanitation though essential, needs to be presented in an organized way for maximum benefit. He also highlighted the requirement and significance of a network, substantiating it with an example.

Some alternative treatment options shared for water and sanitation were :

Water treatment

  • Kanchan Arsenic Filter: Has 2 removal units for arsenic and pathogens; usable at individual level
  • JalNirmal Arsenex sachet: Removes turbidity, arsenic and iron from drinking water; usable at individual level
  • Arsenic Removal Systems: Attached to hand pumps, useful where arsenic has been detected in groundwater; useful for both community and individual use
  • INDION Jalshudhi: Low-cost drinking water purification , eliminates bacteria and turbidity; usable at both community and individual level
  • Water Purification Unit: Teats any kind and quality of surface or high salinity ground water; suitable for individual use
  • Solar-powered Water Purification System: Treats any kind of water
  • Fcubed : System needs no powe;scalable from the individual to community level
  • Water purifier: Requires no electricity, can be set up in 10 minutes in the remotest areas, and filters out even viruses using ultra filtration; useful for both individuals and communities
  • Dr. Ashok Gadgil’s water purification system: Delivers up to four gallons potable water perminute; good for communities
  • Boiling water for 3-5 minutes, useful in households
  • Sodis: Water in transparent bottles is kept in bright sunlight for 4-6 hours; useful at the individual level
  • Chlorination: Add 4 drops of standard bleach to a litre of water,let it stand for 30 minutes; used at individual or community levels
  • Bicycle power portable water filtration system: Use in disaster zones suitable for communities
  • The Solar Cube: Provides up to 10,000 litres of clean drinking water per day from polluted water or salt water; useful for communities

Safe disposal of excreta during emergencies:

  • Peepoo: Individual packet latrines in which faeces are collected and disposed in biodegradable bags, compost the faeces within 3-4 days; only suited for individual use.
  • Bucket or elevated toilet: An elevated structure over a tank lined with a large replaceable plastic bag; useful for individuals or communities
  • Chemical toilets: Have a tank with a chemical to aid decomposition
  • Trench toilets: Faeces are covered with soil; good for communities
  • Elevated pit latrines: Built on a 3-5 foot high mound with the slopes stabilized to prevent
  • Erosion; useful for individuals
  • Eco san latrines:Have an elevated structure over a container or bin which stores organic
  • waste for decomposition; used by individuals or communities
  • Combined Pit latrine: Has two pits, one direct and the other offset connected by a PVC pipe;useful in floods and suitable for shallow water table areas
  • Floating toilet: An adaptation of the ecosan latrine for individuals and communities

S.Vishwanath moderated the session and Vijoy Prakash chaired the session.

Scaling up: Exploring potential for linking alternative framework with existing centrally sponsored schemes

MGNREGA funds could be potentially leveraged to rehabilitate the drainage and chaur system of Bihar and for deepening and desilting of the main drainage channels where flooding occurs. Prem Verma, Secretary, Samta, spoke on his experience of how a plan materialised on developing matka filters under state sponsored schemes. Anil Verma, Team Leader, PRADAN, Bihar spoke on how system of root intensification (SRI) may be a potential tool to overcome flood related agricultural concerns in north Bihar.

Prabhakar Sinha, SWASTH, specified that technology options for sanitation and drinking water should go hand in hand, because both supplement each other. The way forward was discussed , evolving a response that will establish an alternative WATSAN model that will adapt to community needs. The framework would be made operational through a set of regulations developed by ACWADAM-MPA.


To know more on the seminar, click here

To download the complete report, click here

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Drinking water & sanitation security in flood prone areas of north Bihar- A post seminar report ( 2011)2.15 MB

A farmer intrinsically trusts the land, says 'Timbaktu' : A national-award winning film on an organic farming movement in Andhra Pradesh

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'Timbaktu' describes the motivation, efforts and results of the Timbaktu collective started in the 1980s by Mary and Bablu Ganguly. This beautifully shot film narrates the history of Timbaktu in Ananatapur District, and through it also describes the impact of the Green Revolution on the land. Just as important, it narrates the story of a couple with a dream, and how they made it come true. Mary and Bablu come across as an intensely likeable pair who are passionate about the land they live  in and the people they share it with. This perhaps, is the true charm of this award-winning film- Timbaktu won the National Award (2012) for the best Environmental film.


Allowing the land to recover:

This film begins with a silent enumeration of the various chemicals used in conventional agriculture and their impact on health. Bablu Ganguly speaks of the early days when he and Mary moved to the drought-prone Anantapur District for a 'mad, mad experiment'. Their first attempt in planting trees on their 32 acres taught them the importance of soil moisture and of feeding the land.

The film describes the situation in Anantapur with its rocky soil and low rainfall.Ganguly takes the viewer to the watershed and explains the water conservation measures implemented.This has led to the growth of trees and an rise in the water table from 60 to 18 feet below the ground.He also explains the process of improving the quality of the soil, and how natural growth occurs when the natural systems are respected and allowed to recover.Today, the lessons learnt from the first 32 acres are helping regenerate 7000 acres through the Timbaktu Collective.

Organic agriculture:

Ganguly further explains the concepts and philosophy of organic agriculture, which looks more at nurturing the land than at exploiting it. He explains the destructive impact of mono-cropping and how this leads to dependence on chemical inputs. Ultimately, even increased doses of chemical fertilisers fail to compensate for a well-nourished soil. This leads to crop failure and ultimately to despairing farmers. In the last decade, nearly 700 farmers in anantapur committed suicide.

Seeds as a gift, not a commodity:

The importance of seeds to a farmer is succintly explained as God's gift to the farmer. The film then talks of farmer-owned seed supplies and the growing control over seeds by a handful of large families. This  not only affects the consumers choice of food, but also the farmers' ability to purchase and plant food. Ganguly speaks of the concept of whole food versus processed foods. This is linked to the diversity of  the food we grow and ultimately consume.
Farmers speak of the training conducted in organic farming by Timbaktu. This includes crop planning, identifying pests,  and making pesticides. They also speak of the viability of organic farming as opposed to conventional chemical-based farming.

A question of trust:

Ganguly states that organic 'certification' is only needed when the consumer does not trust the farmer. The consumer needs to recognise the trustworthiness of farmers instead of placing blind faith in the certification of large corporate giants. The Dharani society was formed to provide a larger market for the organic crops grown. Farmers speak of the the many benefits that they get from belonging to this society. Ganguly argues convincingly that instead of conventional farmers receiving subsidies for applying chemicals, organic farmer need to receive incentives for safeguarding their soils. This will offset some of the costs that organic farmers bear because their product is by definition more perishable than the products that are preserved using chemicals.
Mary and Bablu speak of what Timbaktu and the process of establishing it, of working with the land, means to them

Learn more about the Timbaktu Collective:

The Collective's home page

Where the earth meets the sky: an article in The Better India

Timbaktu Organic: Products procured and marketed by Dharani


Springs of hope - A film on revival of dying springs in Sikkim

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Pure and beautiful, mountain springs confer lives. With change in climate conditions and rainfall patterns, rural habitations in Sikkim face drinking water shortages. Many of these springs are drying up or their discharge declining.

But there is hope at the end of an endeavour, where science, government and community come together to revive springs of their local region.

This video presents the effort of the Dhara Vikas initiative in rejuvenating the dying springs of Sikkim.

Sikkim, a northeastern state sitting in the lap of the Eastern Himalayas has varied elevations ranging from 300 to 8583 metres above sea level. Variable and complex in its geology and terrain, the rugged mountainous state of Sikkim has about 80% of its rural population dependent on springs for drinking water, sanitation and irrigation (Tambe et al 2011). These springs, however, are drying up.

Reduced sponge action of the land owing to the changing climate and geological and anthropogenic reasons have reduced the recharge of rainwater into the ground. As 85% of rainwater runs off the surface down the mountains, not much is left to recharge the springs in some of the watersheds. In fact, half of the perennial springs have already dried up or have become seasonal and nearly 8000 villages are currently facing acute water shortage even for their drinking purposes (Rana and Gupta 2009).

Dhara Vikas initiative adopts a science-based, community-involved approach to develop the springshed and recharge the springs without disturbing the source. Truly, springs of hope !

About Dhara Vikas

Dhara Vikas or springshed development in Sikkim is a collaborative effort of the Rural Management and Development Department, Government of Sikkim with technical support from the People’s Science Institute, Dehradun, WWFACWADAM Pune, ARGHYAM Bangalore and the State Institute of Rural Development, Sikkim to ensure rural water security in the state.

References

Reviving dying springs: Climate change adaptation experiments from the Sikkim Himalaya

Hydrogeological action research for spring recharge & development and hill-top lake restoration in parts of Southern District, State of Sikkim, India

Related links

Reviving dying springs: A paper documenting the Sikkim experience of groundwater recharge using geo-hydrology

A story of resurgence: A video featuring the revival of Doling lake, Sikkim

"Integrate understanding of hydro-geology into planning of watershed management programmes" - A report on the training workshop on groundwater management in the Himalayas, organised by People's Science Institute, in December 2012 at Dehradun

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Environmental change, water security and adaptation initiatives in the Sikkim Himalaya30.52 MB

30% of Jaipur receives water contaminated by bacteria: A report on the quality of piped water supply in Jaipur city based on data from NEERI and PHED Rajasthan

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Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan receives a little over 276 million litres of water every day. This is predominantly groundwater, with a small percentage being water from the Ramgarh lake. Using data obtained from the Public Health Engineering Department of Rajasthan and from NEERI, this article traces the route of water from its source to the consumer. The treatment measures taken and water quality at various points of treatment are explained. The article ends with a list of suggestions for improvement.

Background

Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan is among the modern cities of India with 3.1 million (Census 2011) residents.  Jaipur is to a large extent dependent on groundwater for its drinking water supply: 90% of the total drinking water demand of the city is dependent on groundwater, while 10%  is supplied from the Ramgarh Lake situated 35 km from the city. The water supply in the city is maintained by Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Rajasthan.

The depth of ground water table varies from 15 to 40 m with seasonal variations of 1 to 3m. There are 990 tube wells over the city through which 276 million litres per day (mld) of raw water is fetched.

Ramgarh Lake is only the surface water source of the city. It is an impounded reservoir located 35 km northeast of the city. The lake is dependent on rainfall for its water supply.  It was constructed in 1903 with a gross storage capacity of 2650 million cubic feet. Due to the semi-arid climate zone, rainfall is sparse, thus the lake almost dried up. Presently about 0.13 mld (0.35 lakh gallon/day) of water is taken from the lake due to erratic rainfall.

The water supply system in Jaipur

There are two water treatment plants in the city

  1. Laxman Doongri Treatment Plant - Located in the eastern fringe of Jaipur city on Jaipur Delhi Bypass it is the major water treatment plant of the city. In the year 1956, capacity of the plant was augmented to treat 33 MLD of water. Further reorganization of the Jaipur water supply was undertaken in the year 1963 and total design capacity of the filter plant was increased to treat 60 MLD of water. However, presently due to acute shortage of water in Ramgarh Lake the plant is run to treat only 0.13 MLD of water.
  2. New Filter Plant – It is located near the Band Gate Intermediate Pumping station. However due to paucity of water the plant has been closed down since three years. The plant has been shown by dotted lines in figure-1.

A simplified pictorial representation of the drinking water supply system of Jaipur city.

Figure-1: A simplified pictorial representation of the drinking water supply system of Jaipur city.

All the basic water treatment procedures like pre-chlorination, alum, lime dosing, flocculation, settling, filtration and chlorination are carried out in the Laxman Doongri treatment plant. Water from the treatment plant is then stored in clean water reservoirs.

There are three Clean Water Reservoirs (CWRS) where the treated water is stored after disinfection. The three reservoirs have the following storage volumes 1.89, 3.7 and 1.5 ml. The reservoirs are constructed of stone masonry and RCC. According to PHED officials the CWRs are well ventilated but there is no provision for control of mosquito and other aquatic insects. The reservoirs were last cleaned in December 2000.

The water from the reservoirs is then pumped into CWRS of the various zones of the city. Then from the associated CWRs to Overhead Service Reservoir of associated locality, from there the water is supplied through gravity. There are a total of 54 CWRs and 57 service reservoirs (one CWR may supply water to two SRs).The city is divided into two divisions- north and south division. Each Division is then divided into five subdivisions and each subdivision is again divided into two or three Chowkis with a total of 27 chowkis.

Administrative divisions for water supply in Jaipur

Fig 2- Administrative divisions for water supply in Jaipur

Water quality checks:

The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur in 2001 had carried out quality checks of the water at all the stages i.e treatment level, clean water reservoir level, service reservoir level and at consumer end level for the three seasons (monsoon, summer and winter).

  • Water samples were monitored for all the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics at treatment level.
  • Water samples were collected from Clean Water Reservoirs and Service Reservoirs and analysed for residual chlorine and bacteriological parameters.
  • At the consumer end, water samples were tested for residual chlorine and bacteriological parameters.

Water quality analysis:

Below is an analysis of the test report from the treatment level up to the consumer end level.

1) Treatment level

All the physio-chemical parameters as indicated by BIS :10500 norms were tested, but no bacteriological test  was done. Out of the physio-chemical parameters the samples had TDS, Alkalinity, Hardness, Calcium and Magnesium, at a much higher concentration than the permissible levels. Samples were collected for six days in each season, but in the following graphs the average values of the parameters have been shown. In all the graphs the red line indicates the permissible concentration of the parameters.

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2) Clean water reservoir level

At this stage samples from 25 Clean Water Reservoirs have been taken on various dates for three seasons. Here also the average concentrations have been taken into account for TDS, Alkalinity, Hardness, Calcium and Magnesium. 

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3). Service reservoir

At the service reservoirs level water samples have been tested for residual chlorine, Total Coliform (TC), Total Faecal Coliforms (TFC) and Total E.coli (TEC) concentration. The sampling has been done for winter and monsoon seasons only.

jaipurwqfig13

4). Consumer level

Same as the service reservoir level Total Coliform (TC), Total Faecal Coliforms (TFC) and Total E.Coli (TEC) concentration in the samples were analysed for all the seasons.

jaipurwqfig13

Discussion:

At the treatment level-

  • TDS levels in all the samples are much higher than the 500mg/l permissible level.

 This could be due to the aquifer structure of the area. Aquifer structure pertains to the rock structure below the ground level that allows the flow of the groundwater. The mineral composition of the aquifer affects the quality of the groundwater. Thus the predominant ions of the aquifer are also found in the groundwater in higher concentration. In the Jaipur region the ground water is Ca-Mg Cl SO4 NO3 type. Thus calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate and nitrate are the dominant ions found in the ground water. Presence of these ions in higher level leads to high TDS, hardness and alkalinity in the water.

  • Water samples have not been tested for Total Coliforms and Total Faecal Coliforms.

 It should be done as damage has been reported by PHED officials in the chlorine tower and dosing line in the treatment plant. Also algal growth has been reported in the channels, clarifiers and filter beds. 

At CWR level-

  • High concentration of calcium and magnesium is detected in all the water samples for all the seasons.
  • In some samples TDS, Hardness and alkalinity values are above permissible level.

Inadequate treatment facilities can be attributed to the high concentrations of the above parameters after treatment.

At service reservoir level-

  • Bacterial contamination is observed in less than 15 % of the sample out of the total samples. Residual chlorine concentration in these samples has been found to be less than 0.2 mg/l (desirable limit according to BIS standards). No reasons have been attributed by the officials for the above situation. 
  • Bacterial tests have not been carried out for samples with residual chlorine concentration more than 0.2 mg/l. Testing of samples should be made mandatory to ensure no bacterial contamination in the samples.

At consumer end level -

  • Approximately 30% of the total samples in the three seasons are contaminated with bacteria. This increase in the bacterial contaminated water samples from the service reservoir level to consumer end level suggests there could be cross contamination with sewage pipe lines. However according to PHED officials cross connection between drinking water pipelines and sewage lines cannot be an option as leaked sewage lines which were running close to water pipe line have been shifted.

Conclusion

70% of the city is receiving bacterial uncontaminated water at the consumer end. Howeve,  the water is still not upto BIS standards due to a high concentration of TDS, hardness, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium.  These are linked, as presence of calcium, magnesium is leads to high TDS, alkalinity and hardness. Thus managing the concentration of calcium and magnesium will also control the problem of TDS, alkalinity and hardness in the water. It should be noted that intake of water with calcium, magnesium, hardness, TDS and alkalinity levels above the permissible level does not pose any serious threat to most individuals, though certain people are at risk. These are as follows:

  • Calcium- Though excess calcium is excreted through the kidneys of a healthy person, it may be fatal for people suffering lactose intolerance. 
  • Hardness- According to reports of World Health Organization, there are no side effects associated with consuming hard water. Some studies however, have shown a weak link of eczema in children with hard water.

Apart from the above health problems for certain people, hard water causes other problems like scaling of pipes. The calcium and magnesium of the water gets deposited on the pipes in carbonate form. This can lead to clogging of the pipes, decreased efficiency of water heating and filtering devices. Also hard water tends to reduce the efficiency of soap.

Action points

The main challenge of PHED is to provide standardised quality drinking water to the consumer.Action should be taken from the plant level to the consumer end level to manage the problems.

  • Flash mixer installation

Installation of flash mixer at Laxman Doongri treatment Plant to avoid manual mixing of alum solution thus increasing the efficiency of floc formulation which would improve sedimentations.

  • Cleaning of treatment plant

Repairing the clarrifloculator, chlorine dosing pipeline and chlorine tower. Also cleaning the treatment plant as algal growth has been reported by PHED officials in the towers and sedimentation tank.

  • Cleaning of CWRS

According to PHED officials the CWRs were last cleaned in 2000. Also tackle the problem of controlling mosquito and aquatic insects.

  • Installation of preparation tanks-

In the some areas due to absence of functional preparation tanks ,disinfection is done by mixing bleaching powder solution in a buckect at Service Resevoir stage. Thus installation of functional preparation tank at each Service  Reservoir should be done.

  • Checks on existing water supply pipelines-

Checking of water distribution pipeline should be done to guarantee that there is no cross linking of water pipeline with sewage network.

  • Water quality checks-

Frequent water quality checks at all the levels ( treatment, service reservoirs, consumer end ) should be done to maintain the water quality.

  • Sustainable use of rainwater

Rain water harvesting should be promoted at household level. This initiative will not only help to curb the issue of water shortage but will also reduce bacterial contamination.

The story of how blissful ignorance allows Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to deprive Mehdiganj, Varanasi of its water

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Bottled drinks are commonplace and we often reach for them without a thought. We may even feel good about our purchase as we read about the companies' commitment to water security' printed on the label. 

What does 'being water positive' really mean for the villages where manufacturing plants are situated ? This article examines the case of one such plant in Mehdiganj, PO Benipur, Arajiline block, Dist Varanasi and its effect on the groundwater levels in the area. The village has led an agitation against 4 specific negative impacts of the plant, acheiving moderate but measurable success.

This year, the movement comes to a crisis point as despite a warning by the Central Groundwater Development Board, the plant applies for a four-fold expansion.

Excerpt of map NG44-12A showing Varanasi and Mehdiganj

Excerpt of map showing Varanasi and Mehdiganj

The area:

Mehdiganj is  a small village just off the Grand Trunk Road, a few kilometers from Varanasi. Benipur, of which it forms a part, had a population of less than 11000 persons in 2001. The primary occupation is agriculture with the predominant crop being wheat. In addition to the wheat, some farmers grow vegetables. While horticulture is not an expanding business, the village is known for the mangoes it produces.

The background:

Since  Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited (HCCBPL)  set up its plant in 2000, the villagers claim it has defrauded them in four crucial areas:

  • Excessive withdrawal of groundwater leading to its depletion
  • Disposal of sludge and wastewater
  • Encroachment of land and evasion of stamp duty
  • Ignoring labour laws and other harassment of the residents

A complete narrative of the struggle can be obtained here. Also read the account on Lok Samiti's site here.

The present crisis:
In 2009, Arajiline block was declared 'critical' in by the Central Groundwater Board. Despite that, in February 2012, HCCBPL applied for a NOC to expand its operations.

Application for increasing withdrawal by 200,000 cum per annum in a critical area

HCCBPL's application for increasing withdrawal by 200,000 cum per annum in a critical area
(Please download the letter using the links provided below this article)

This expansion will increase withdrawal to a 250,000 cubic metres per annum from the original 50,000 cubic metres - an increase of 4 times over the present consumption. This will have disastrous impacts on the farmers in the surrounding area. The groundwater in the area is dropping at the rate of  more than 1 m per year. It is now at about 13.5m below ground level from just 3.5 m in 2002. The area is already exploited to 96.39% of its total capacity. The deeper the water table, the more energy farmers need to expend to irrigate their fields. A point will soon come when farmers can no longer afford to pump water out, whereas HCCBPL has the economic means to drill further. A lack of irrigation will affect the quality and yield of their market-bound vegetables.

The fallacy of water-positive manufacturing
Several bottled water companies including HCCBPL promote their water conservation efforts. In this case, Coca-Cola claims that it is recharging 120% the quantity of the water that it sucks out of the aquifer. The numbers are arrived at not on the basis of empirically rigorous measurement, but on the basis of generous thumb-rule estimations.

HCCBPL has constructed several rooftop rainwater harvesting units. It arrives at the quantity of water being harvested by multiplying the rainfall considered 'normal' for the area with the square metres that drain into each unit. However, the area has not received 'normal' rainfall for all but two years since 2004. The inefficacy of the rainwater harvesting structures have been confirmed by both CGWB and HCCBPL.

Several of these rainwater harvesting units are neither in the immediate vicinity of the plant, nor in the 10km radius buffer zone, but in government buildings upto 30km away. If there are any benefits, they need to be considered at a 'global' scale, because the farmers certainly do not benefit from these.

Similarly, HCCBPL is proposing to compensate for its expansion by rainwater harvesting. This is proposed to be done by converting existing village tanks into percolation tanks by excavating the deposited clay layer that acts as a water holding strata. While this may theoretically benefit some wells, it will definitely have a negative impact on lift irrigation from the tanks, as they will no longer hold water. This will further increase farmers' costs by forcing them to expend more energy in lifting water. It also needs to be mentioned here that regular desilting and maintenance is carried out in these tanks by the Panchayats through MGNREGA. However, this has not stopped HCCBPL from claiming credit- and groundwater- by a proposed deepening of these village tanks.

The tank at Mehdiganj in April 2013

The tank at Mehdiganj in April 2013

The response:
Lok Samiti is gearing up to meet this crisis by sourcing all the information they can, relentlessly keeping on top of any progress in the application, and writing letters to government officials. You can download the letter they are forwarding to various government agencies below. It provides a succint and convincing testament to the importance of not increasing groundwater withdrawals in the area.

The activists:

The crusaders of Mehdiganj- members of Lok Samiti

Their address:

Lok  Samiti
Nagepur
PO Benipur, Dist. Varanasi, UP 221 307
E-mail: loksamiti@gmail.com

And now it's your turn:

The gap between the origins of our food and our awareness of where it comes from, is increasing daily. Very often, a wilful blindness seems to be the norm. I am referring to an increasing tendency to ignore the more squeamish reality of our food. It is this tendency that is giving rise to concerned news articlesblog posts, and books.  

While it is most apparent when we order a meat dish prepared boneless with the specific intent that it will not remind us of where it came from, it also applies to soft drinks. We ignore as we drink 'just one bottle' of a fizzy drink that this was produced in a factory along with millions of others, to satisfy the craving of a million individuals who are each drinking 'just one bottle'. 

Bottled drinks in their many forms are an ubiquitous part of our lives today. The real cost of these drinks, as we have seen in this article, is far more than the Rs 30/- we pull out of our wallets. The real cost is paid by entities that do not even figure in our everyday transactions- the environment, our global 'trust fund' of fossil aquifers, and the people living near the plants where bottled drinks are produced. This case study refers to Coca-Cola, but the issue is true for all purveyors of bottled water no matter how 'water-positive' they claim to be.

But let us stick to the issue of Mehdiganj. They are at a crisis now. Despite the authenticity of their concerns, despite the reams of data that they have backing their claims, they may still not be heard. Despite their courage, 'Goliath' might still defeat them.

What can you do to ensure Mehdiganj is not deprived any further of its water ?

Download these documents : Size
Toposheet of the Varanasi-Mehdiganj area (Courtesy: the Perry Castaneda collection)4.16 MB
Letter to the CGWA against giving NOC to HCCBPL 569.62 KB
HCCBPL's application for NOC, page 11.42 MB
HCCBPL's application for NOC, page 21.3 MB
  • The story of how blissful ignorance allows Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to deprive Mehdiganj, Varanasi of its water
  • The story of how blissful ignorance allows Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to deprive Mehdiganj, Varanasi of its water
  • The story of how blissful ignorance allows Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to deprive Mehdiganj, Varanasi of its water





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