1 Government of India Ministry of Water Resources SUMMARY
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Government of India Ministry of Water Resources SUMMARY RECORDS OF PROCEEDING OF 6TH MEETING OF NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL HELD ON 28TH DECEMBER, 2012 IN NEW DELHI The 6th Meeting of National Water Resources Council (NWRC) was held on 28th December, 2012 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. The list of members of NWRC, their representatives and Officers, who attended the meeting, is at Annex - I Welcoming the Chairman, Members of the Council and other participants, the Hon’ble Minister for Water Resources, Shri Harish Rawat, explained the salient features of the Draft National Water Policy (2012). He stated that the draft National Water Policy (2012) was the result of wide consultation held with all stakeholders including consultation with Members of Parliament, Academia, Non-Governmental Organizations, Corporate Leaders and Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Enumerating the challenges in the water sector, he called for a common integrated approach governed by certain basic principles so that the concerns get addressed uniformly in different parts of the country, ensuring equity and social justice. He emphasized that integrated water resources management was essential for ensuring optimum development of water resources in the country for which environmental, social and economic aspects should be integral part of the project formulation, planning and implementation. The full text of the welcome address is at Annex – II. Delivering his opening remarks, Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh stated that the draft National Water Policy (2012) was an effort to focus attention on the looming crisis in the water sector and would lay a road map for the future based on the fundamental principles of equality, sustainability and good governance. He called for paradigm shift in the approach to the management of water resources. Recalling the deliberations at the National Development Council meeting held the previous day, he stated that outlays for the water sector, which had been increased substantially, would deliver only if they were matched with effective outcomes through better management. He, therefore, asked the Members of the Council to rise above political, ideological and regional differences and also to move away from a narrow project- centric approach to a broader holistic approach to issues of water management. He allayed apprehensions about alleged encroachment upon the constitutional guaranteed rights of the 1 States or centralization of water management through proposed national legal frame work. He called for collective support of all States and Union Territories as the Indian economy would face daunting challenges in the water sector, both in terms of quantity as well as quality, emphasizing the need to take urgent and pragmatic decisions. The full text of his opening remarks is at Annex - III. Shri Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam, commended Ministry of Water Resources for attempting to review and develop the National Water Policy to address the challenges of the emerging imperatives before the nation to ensure sustainable development. He welcomed the proposal to set up the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority. He stated that while the Constitution of India entrusted the use and management of water substantially to the States, it was important to arrive at a common understanding on the principles governing water use through the National Water Resources Policy. He suggested that the use of river water should be based on concept of territorial integrity, which reinforced the commonality of purpose. He, further, stated that the lower riparian States also had the right to natural flow of river and upper riparian could use it but must allow the water to flow unchanged in quantity and quality. He emphasized that the flood management issue, being of paramount importance for safety of life and property of the people, should be given mandatory consideration and weightage in all hydroelectric and other water based projects and schemes. He recommended that erosion should be considered as a national disaster for assistance under national disaster relief fund. He urged that the draft policy should emphasize drainage management, extensive soil conservation, afforestation, water management combined with regional flood warning systems and adoption of flood moderation measures along with well planned erosion management. The full text of his speech is at Annex – IV. Shri S. Prakash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab stated that water, being a State subject, should be left to the States to manage and any revision in National Water policy should be based on the existing Constitutional provisions and well recognized/universally accepted principles. He suggested that distribution of water resources should be and must be based on universally accepted Riparian Principles. He, further, stated that establishment of water tariff system, fixation of criteria for water charges, statutory empowerment of Water Users Association, pricing of electricity, establishment of a Water Regulatory Authority were matters which should be left to the States. He opined that inter basin transfer of water based on equality and social justice would be in conflict with exclusive rights of people living in basin areas. He 2 opposed the concept of integrated planning and management of river basins as it would be direct infringement on the freedom of the States to plan, formulate and execute water supply schemes as per their needs. The full text of his speech is at Annex – V. Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra appreciated the initiative of Ministry of Water Resources for revisiting the 2002 policy and stated that Maharashtra had been in the forefront of implementation of many water sector reforms and initiatives that were indicated in the National Water Policy of 2002. He noted that many of the provisions in the draft 2012 policy were already part of Maharashtra State Water Policy, 2003 or being implemented as development policy by Maharashtra. He specifically supported the policy recommendations with regard to environmental flow requirement and Water Framework Law. He proposed planning of basins/sub-basins on the basis of the average annual water availability subject to limitations put in by the awards of the river water disputes tribunals. He requested the Government of India to consider an appropriate package to meet the evolving needs of water sector reforms, such as promoting recycle and re-use of water, incentivizing economic use of water, installation of electronic meters, etc. The full text of his speech is at Annex - VI. Shri Shivraj V. Patil, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh endorsed the policy recommendation contained in the draft National Water Policy (2012). He emphasized accordance of higher priority to drinking water, speedy resolution of inter-State water disputes and fostering spirit of co-ordination amongst States for better water management. Shri Lal Thanhawla, Chief Minister of Mizoram congratulated the Ministry of Water Resources for bringing the draft National Water Policy (2012) before the National Water Resources Council for review and finalization. He stated that water was a reflection of land use and health of our water was the principle measure of how we live on the land. He suggested incorporation of unique needs and aspiration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections of the society. He also called for policies to address the specific problems of hill areas like sudden run off, weak water holding capacity of soil, erosion and sediment transport, recharging of hill slope aquifers that would greatly benefit the hilly regions. He emphasized quick adoption of National Water Policy (2012) and agreement on the manner in which the policy should be administered, including its relationship with several State agencies 3 presently having responsibilities in the field of water resources. The full text of his speech is at Annex – VII. Shri Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa informed about the several initiatives, such as, State Water Policy, Goa Ground Water Regulation Act 2002, etc., taken by his State for better management of water resources. He objected to the policy of Inter Basin Transfer of water that did not take into account long term in basin needs of the State from which outside the basin diversion were proposed. He stated that river basin organizations could not be effective mechanism in resolving disputes between basin States since unfettered powers with no accountability to the State legislatures, far from paving the way for resolving disputes between basin States, would only aggravate the disputes. Referring to Goa’s disputes with Karnataka and Maharashtra, he urged that vision for which the policy was envisaged should be implemented by the Centre and States in right perspective. The full text of his speech is at Annex – VIII. Shri Jagadish Shettar, Chief Minister of Karnataka, congratulated the Government of India for bringing out the draft National Water Policy (2012), which was more holistic and addressed various complex and multi-dimensional facets of the water resources in the country. He proposed that water framework law should be based on providing broad guidelines rather than specific directions taking care not to infringe on any of the States’ right to manage water resources for their own use. Regarding River Basin Authority, he suggested evolution of