It is good to see this week that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has acknowledged the non-existent or vacuous groundwater governance in India at both central and state levels. It was long overdue. It took the judiciary almost three decades to realise this, since the Supreme Court order in late 1990s for setting up Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) under the 1986 Environment Protection Act.
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DRP 270426: Probe into violations by Pune River Front Development Project
(Feature Image: Pune RFD work along Mula Mutha river. Credit: Free Press Journal)
The Maharashtra government order for a probe into the violations of the Environmental Clearance of the controversial Pune River Front Development (RFD) project is noteworthy for a number of aspects. Most importantly, it signifies a significant gain for the critiques of the project, since the probe has been ordered following a letter by environmentalist Sarang Yadwadkar, who has been relentlessly fighting against the project.
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DRP 200426: Himachal HC takes cognizance of impact of Hydro Project silt flushing on rivers
(Feature Image: Pandoh dam discharging silt laden flood waters in Beas river in Aug. 2025. Source: Amar Ujala)
In a remarkable development, the Himachal High Court has taken cognizance of the impact of silt flushing from the Shanan Hydropower project in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on the downstream fish, has fined the project Rs 12 lakhs and has ordered scientific monitoring of the future sediment discharge, only to be done after March 1 each year. The order is largely due to the fact that under the Himachal Pradesh Fisheries Act, Nov to Feb is trout breeding season. The order thus is not likely to be applicable for silt flushing by other hydropower projects. It is also good to see that the court has formed a monitoring committee and asked for compliance reports.
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DRP 130426: CAG Reveals Governance Failure in J&K Wetlands Management
(Feature Image: Cover page of CAG report on Wetlands management in J&K)
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report is revealing official document on how systemic governance failure has failed the wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir. The fact that 518 out of 697 lakes have shrunk or disappeared, reflects on decades of ineffective policies. As per the report, the multiple departments operated in isolation with no accountability, no shared database and no management plans thus making the wetlands vulnerable to encroachment.
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Yamuna Manthan 0426: Will Govts Ensure Survival of Chambal River Sanctuary?
(Feature Image: Index map of Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal River Interlinking Project. Souce: NWDA)
Two critical developments over the past month have once again highlighted the scale of threats undermining the ecological integrity of the Chambal, the largest tributary of the Yamuna. The rich aquatic life in the Chambal Sanctuary has already been adversely affected by the gradual decline in river flows and unabated illegal sand mining.
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DRP 6 April 2026: CAG Report on DJB indicates fundamental issues
(Feature Image: Sewer line cleaning work by DJB in North West Delhi’s Sanjay Colony. Credit: Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
The Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Audit of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for 2017-2022 highlights the fundamental issues facing Urban Water Sector in India. Unfortunately, CAG stops short of reaching the conclusion that lack of National Urban Water Policy and lack of accountable governance are the fundamental issues also plaguing DJB like other Urban Water Bodies in India.
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DRP 300326: Sad state of migratory Riverine fish in India
(Feature Image: Cover page of CMS summary report on Global Assessment of Migratory Freshwater Fishes)
The key CMS (Conservation of Migratory fish Species) report this week once again highlights the sad state of migratory Riverine fish, fisheries and fisherfolks in India. Shockingly, even when thousands or tens of thousands of fisherfolks lose their livelihoods due to projects on rivers, there is not even assessment of impacts of such projects on fish, fisheries and fisherfolks, leave aside consideration of compensation or rehabilitation for them. The Sardar Sarovar Project on Narmada River in Gujarat, one of the most celebrated dams of India, as an apt example of this situation. Farakka Dam is another such example.
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DRP 230326: Small Hydro environment friendly and help community development?
(Feature Image: Priyadarshini Small HEP on Manuni khad in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh damaged after flash flood in June 2025. At least 8 workers of the project were also killed in the disaster. Image Source: Gems of Himachal, post on X.)
The impression being given through the following PIB Press Release dated March 18 2026 that this scheme cleared by the Union Cabinet to promote small hydropower projects will promote environment friendly and socio-economically beneficial projects in North East and other hilly areas is incorrect and misleading.
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DRP 160326: Urgent need for adaptive reservoir management in India
(Feature Image: Vyasi dam on Yamuna river in Uttarakhand. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
A detailed report this week in an international Water Power Magazine underlines the urgent need for India, as rest of the world to adopt adaptive reservoir management. This has become urgent as under changing climate, the Probable Maximum Precipitation figures are changing fast. In India, it has already increased by 35% in 84% of mainland. This makes the current reservoir operation models including rule curves and spillway capacities outdated. Human activities in the catchment and aging infrastructure are making the situation worse.
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DRP 090326: Polavaram Dam Safety questioned
(Feature Image: Polavaram Dam. Source: The Hindu)
The safety issues related to Polavaram dam has been under focus for some weeks now. It has come under sharper focus last week due to some very specific questions about various aspects of the Dam, from CWC, Centre for Liberty and former MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar. The project has also been under scrutiny by a panel of experts from abroad. However, the work of the Panel of Experts has remained under wraps so far, which should not have been the case.
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