South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People
(Feature Image: Revived Bansilalpet stepwell in Hyderabad which has a capacity of over 20 lakh litres. Rangan Datta/Telegraph India.)
Marking World Water Day 2023; this compilation by SANDRP highlights top ten successful and worth replicable initiatives and actions being taken in Indian cities for revival of surface water sources and recharge of depleting groundwater table.
Continue reading “World Water Day 2023: Positive Urban Water Stories from India”This report highlights top ten positive water stories from rural India from last one year. SANDRP has been marking the World Water Day by presenting the stories of some remarkable efforts undertaken for protection, revival and management of water sources by individuals, local communities and governments.
Continue reading “World Water Day 2023: Positive Water Stories from India”Guest Blog by: Seema Ravandale
Abstract: The hill women share the special intricate and culturally nurtured connection to forest and water, which makes them better steward or owner of their resources. This demands their participation beyond the right-based “beneficiary” approach, recognizing their accumulated knowledge and resilient and adaptive capacities in recently contested discourse of Springshed development and governance in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).
Continue reading “Celebrating hill women and their role in Springshed development and governance”There cannot possibly be any worse news on World Water Day for India than that the Prime Minister is presiding over the agreement between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers to destroy some 46 lakh trees, Panna Tiger Reserve, Ken River, Bundelkhand and also downstream Banda district. All to export water from Bundelkhand to Upper Betwa basin. All this in the name of pushing the mindless project called Ken Betwa River Link Project. Why is the government pushing this destructive project, a Rs 38 000 Crore proposition? The answer to that question is in that question: it is a Rs 38 000 Cr proposition!
There is still some hope though for the people of Panna, Banda and Bundelkhand if there is any respect for the law of the land. This is because the project does not have final forest clearance and the conditions of the stage I forest clearances are not implementable. The Wild Clearance of the project is challenged by the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, following a petition. The Environment Clearance to the project has also been challenged before the National Green Tribunal. Let us hope there is sufficient respect for the law of the land, to ensure that the project does not go ahead even with the agreement signed. But a key propriety question arises is, should the prime minister endorse a project that does not have all the statutory clearances and legal challenge to whose clearances are before the judiciary?
But the prime minister’s advocacy for rainwater harvesting on the same also loses a lot of its credibility, seeing that he is presiding over this destruction that goes totally against the central message of harvesting rain where it falls, when it falls.
Continue reading “DRP NB 22 March 2021: PM presiding over proposal for destruction of 46 lakh trees, Bundelkhand & Panna Tiger Reserve on World Water Day?”The second part of positive water developments of India on WWD 2021 highlight water conservation efforts by villagers, farmers, citizens, state governments. The first part with ten most remarkable stories can be seen here.
This compilation has four sections. The first one covers zone wise the efforts by communities, organizations. The second section has Inspiring Individual Initiatives. Third part has stories related to efforts of returned migrants during lockdown, under the MNAREGA. The Fourth Section has some steps taken by state governments in exploring local alternatives to meet potable and irrigation water demands. Some additional water reports in the same context are given at the end.
Continue reading “World Water Day 2021: Positive Water Stories-2”The annual World Water Day (WWD) event has been taking place since 1993 on March 22. The theme for 2021 WWD is Valuing Water. The limited fresh water sources and associated eco-system are increasingly being exploited and threatened on the planet.
While big, centralized projects have been failing in every respect including meeting the growing demand apart from causing bigger ecological crisis, there are small but significant and successful efforts by communities and individuals making a difference by restoring, conserving, efficiently utilizing the available water sources thus valuing the water in true sense. This compilation presents the ten such remarkable stories from India to celebrate the WWD2021.
Continue reading “World Water Day 2021: Ten Positive Water Stories from India”The Supreme Court order asking for fresh environment clearance and fresh Environment Impact Assessment for the Peripheral Ring Road project in Bengaluru is remarkable and most welcome, even though it is not directly related to water issues. The order is relevant since we have yet to find what can be called an honest Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for River Valley Projects and yet the MoEF’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley Projects happily clears ALL the projects that come their way, even with most fraudulent EIAs. We are hoping against hope that this apex Court judgement will be a precursor to many such orders and judgements and general warning against fraudulent EIAs and EACs. We hope it is not too much to ask that the EIA be an honest effort and the EAC that does not reject fraudulent EIAs should also be dumped and members black listed. We hope we have such orders from the judiciary soon.
The theme for the World Water Day 2020 is ‘Water and Climate Change’. The changing climate has disrupted the water cycle in a number of ways.
The rural areas in India have facing increasing water crisis due to mismanagement, top down government projects, unequal distribution of available resources and now also climate change. However there are several individuals, groups and government initiatives that have led improvement in the situation. We have presented positive water stories from farmers and urban India in earlier WWD 2020 articles. This last compilation in the series presents the positive water actions reported from different rural areas of country in past one year, beginning with top five positive water stories. Continue reading “World Water Day 2020: Positive Stories from Rural India”
The theme for World Water Day 2020 is ‘Water and Climate Change’. Indeed the changing climate has been altering the earth weather system including disrupting the water cycle.
Urban areas in India are facing increasingly severe water crisis due to mismanagement of available resources, urban flooding due to blockage and encroachments of drainage channels, pollution of water sources on account of increasing solid and liquid waste. However, there are individual, civil society group and government efforts which have been helping ameliorate the situation with rain water harvesting, pond revival, wells restoration among others. Here is a compilation of positive urban water stories from for World Water Day 2020.
Continue reading “World Water Day India 2020: Top Positive Urban Stories”
The theme for World Water Day 2020 is ‘Water and Climate Change’. Indeed the changing climate has been altering the weather system in multiple ways. Extreme weather events like flash floods, intense heat, prolonged droughts, intense cold spells striking different parts of the world are increasingly being linked to the climate change. Changing water cycle is a major consequence. The farmers are among the most affected, facing all kinds of water problems including droughts, scarcity, flooding, hail storms, cyclones, unseasonal rains and pollution.
Several initiatives are being taken by the farmers, civil society groups to find right solutions to the water challenges, many of which have brought positive changes. Here we have compiled some such positive water options from the past one year. We hope this can encourage us to look for such community driven water options.
Continue reading “World Water Day India 2020: Top Positive Stories from Farmers”
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