From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI: The National Water Resources Council on Friday approved the new National Water Policy with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh saying legal structures on water were inadequate and calling for judicious use of the resource.
Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat, after the meeting, said the new policy had been approved.
“We have improved on the 2002 policy to meet the challenges of the future,” he said.
The policy seeks to focus on the looming crisis in the water sector and lay a roadmap on principles of equity, sustainability and good governance.
Rawat said states had been assured that the proposed national water framework law and the law on river basin management would be drafted only after extensive consultations.
Besides suggesting a legal framework for water laws, the policy also proposes Water Regulatory Authority (WRA) in all the states to fix and regulate the water tariff system and charges.
Earlier, in his opening statement at the 6th meeting of the National Water Council, the Prime Minister said the country faced water scarcity and legal structures dealing with water were inadequate.
He said planning for water use and distribution had to be done on the foundation of national vision.
He called for a national legal framework on general principles of water and said the country was approaching a critical juncture for the future of water management.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya on Friday demanded setting up of a Regional Water Management Authority for the Northeastern region in place of the present Brahmaputra Board, which many felt has failed to serve its purposes.
Addressing the National Water Council here, Meghalaya’s Minister for Water Resources AL Hek said such an authority would ensure holistic development of water resources and proper support to all the states.
The new body will be having decentralised effective presence in each state capital, he said.
The Brahmaputra Board was set up by the Centre under an Act of Parliament under the Ministry Water Resources for the planning and integrated implementation of measures for the control of floods and bank erosion in the Brahmaputra Valley and related matters.
The Board office started functioning with Head Quarters at Guwahati and its jurisdiction includes both the Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys and covers all the states of the Northeastern region.
Over the years several states of the region have been demanding reconstitution of the Brahm-aputra Board or scrapping it altogether.
Hek demanded for more attention for development of hilly areas along with the an Integrated Flood Management Programme.
“Thrust should be given to catchment area treatment aimed at enhancing surface water retention, silt management and ground water recharge which he said will help in checking river erosion, landslides, silting apart from flood management,” he said. (With inputs from agencies)