22 National Water Policy 2012

Dr. Shruti Goyal

Learning Outcomes

To understand the concerns regarding management of water resources.
To compare the National Water Policy of 1987, 2002 and 2012.
To understand the salient features of the National Water Policy-2012.

Introduction

Water is a prime natural resource, a basic human need and a precious national asset. Water in the oceans covers about three-fourth of earth’s surface. According to the United Nations estimates, the total amount of water on earth is about 1400 million cubic kilometer. However the fresh water constitutes a very small proportion of this enormous quantity. About 2.7 per cent of the total water available on the earth is fresh water of which about 75.2 per cent lies frozen in Polar Regions and another 22.6 per cent is present as ground water. The rest is available in lakes, rivers, atmosphere, moisture, soil and vegetation. What is effectively available for consumption and other uses is a small proportion of the quantity available in rivers, lakes and ground water. Thus water is a scarce natural resource because most of the water is not available for use. In addition to this, the spatial distribution of water is highly uneven.

India sustains nearly 18% of the world’s population but is endowed with just 4% of global water resources. In addition to shortage of usable water and uneven distribution over time and space, there are other challenges like droughts, floods, pressure of the growing population on water, re-ceding water table and conflict of water among different user groups. Water is essential for the existence of human and animal life. It is also required for maintaining ecological balance am,nd for economic and developmental activities in the country. Thus, there a need of proper planning, sound management and equitable use of water resources.

Water policies in India

In March 1983, National Water Resources Council was set up by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister. The National Water Resources Council adopted the “National Water Policy- 1987”.

In 1990, the Government of India constituted National Water Board with Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources as Chairman. Chief Secretaries of all the States / UTs, Secretaries of concerned Union Ministries and Chairman of the Central Water Commission were the members of this Board. The Board was constituted in order to review the progress of implementation of the National Water Policy of 1987. This resulted in a revised policy known as the “National Water Policy-2002”. Thereafter, a need was felt for further revision in the policy. This resulted in the formation of “National Water Policy 2012”.

The reasons for the revision of the policy are the changing needs and change in the perspective of water resources planning, change in water allocation priorities etc. The perspective for water resources planning for the National water Policy of 1987 and 2002 was national whereas in 2012 policy there is an integrated perspective considering local, regional, state and national context. In the water policy of 1987 and 2002 there was standardized national information system whereas in 2012 policy the focus is that all water related data should be integrated with well-defined procedures and formats to ensure online up-dation and transfer of data to facilitate development of database for informed decision making in the management of water. The water policy of 1987 and 2002 talked about establishment of appropriate organizations for the planned development and management of a river basin as a whole. However, the policy of 2012 envisages that there is a need for comprehensive legislation for optimum development of inter- state rivers and river valleys and to enable establishment of basin authorities with appropriate powers to plan, manage and regulate utilization of water resource in the basins. In the policy of 1987 and 2002, drinking water was accorded the highest priority followed by irrigation, hydro-power, navigation, industries, etc. In the policy of 2012 safe drinking water and sanitation are defined as pre- emptive needs followed by high priority allocation for other domestic needs (including needs of animals), achieving food security, supporting sustenance agriculture and minimum eco-system needs. Similarly, there are differences as far as flood management, water use efficiency and water pricing etc. are concerned.

Reasons for the passage of water policy 2012

Large parts of the country have become water stressed. Rapid growth in demand of water due to population growth, urbanization and changing lifestyle pose are posing serious challenges to water security.
Issues related to water governance have not been addressed adequately.
There is wide temporal and spatial variation in availability of water which may further increase.
Access to safe water for drinking and other domestic needs still continues to be a problem in many areas. Further, access to water for sanitation and hygiene is more serious problem.
Although groundwater is a community resource but it is still perceived as an individual property.
There are inter-regional, inter-State, intra-State, and also inter-sectoral disputes in sharing of water.
Natural water bodies and drainage channels are being encroached upon and diverted for other purposes.
Water pollution is growing at a catastrophic rate.
There is low consciousness about the overall scarcity and economic value of water.
There is lack of adequate trained personnel for scientific planning and water management.
A holistic and inter-disciplinary approach at water related problems is missing. Water resources projects are being planned and implemented in a fragmented manner.
The public agencies in-charge of taking water related decisions tend to take these on their own without consultation with stakeholders.
The water resource availability and quality is changing.
Grossly inadequate maintenance of existing irrigation infrastructure results in wastage and under-utilization of available resources. Thus, there is a widening gap between irrigation potential created and utilized.

Objective of Water Policy of 2012

The objective of the National Water Policy 2012 is:

to take cognizance of the existing situation;
to propose a framework for creation of a system of laws and institutions; and
to prepare a plan of action with a unified national perspective.

Principles to be followed while planning, development and management of water resources

Planning, development and management of water resources need to be governed by common integrated perspective considering local, regional, state and national context.
Principle of equity and social justice must inform use and allocation of water.
There should be intensive participation in the decision making and regulation of water resources. Further, there should be transparency and accountability in decision making.
Water needs to be managed under public trust doctrine as a common pool community resource.
Water is essential for sustenance of eco-system and therefore minimum ecological needs should be given due consideration.
While allocating water, safe water for drinking and sanitation should be considered as pre-emptive needs followed by high priority allocation for other basic domestic needs (including needs of animals).
River basin should be considered as the basic hydrological unit for planning.
There is need to focus on demand management. For this, an agricultural system which economizes on water use needs to be evolved there is need to avoid wastages.
Water quality and quantity are interlinked and therefore there is need to impose penalties in order to reduce pollution and wastage.
The impact of climate change on water resources availability must be taken into account while making water management related decisions.

Salient features of the Water policy 2012

Water is an extremely important resource which is scarce. There are many concerns regarding water management. Planning and development of water resources need to be governed by national perspectives. In view of this the National Policy of 2012 was framed. The salient features of the policy are:

Water is a prime natural resource, a basic human need and a precious national asset. Planning, development and management of water resources need to be governed by national perspectives.
There is need to draft national water framework law.
Awareness about water scarcity should be fostered.
A well developed information system for water related data at national/state level should be established with a net-work of data banks and data bases integrating and strengthening the existing central and state level agencies.
Water resources available to the country should be brought within the category of utilizable resources to the maximum possible extent.
Non-conventional methods for utilization of water such as through inter-basin transfers, artificial recharge of ground water and desalination of brackish or sea water as well as traditional water conservation practices like rainwater harvesting, including roof-top rainwater harvesting need to be practiced to further increase the utilizable water resources. Promotion of frontier research and development in a focused manner for these techniques is necessary.
Water resources development and management will have to be planned for a hydrological unit. Appropriate river basin organizations should be established for the planned development and management of the river basins.
Water should be made available to water short areas by transfer from other areas including transfer from one river basin to another after taking into account the requirements of the areas/basins.
Planning of water resources development projects should be for multi-purpose with an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach having regard to human and ecological aspects including those of disadvantaged sections of the society.
In the allocation of water, priorities should be given as follows
- for drinking water,
- irrigation,
- hydro-power,
- ecology,
- agro-industries and non-agricultural industries, o Navigation and other uses.
- The exploitation of groundwater should be regulated with reference to recharge possibilities and consideration.
Adequate emphasis need to be given to the physical and financial sustainability of existing water resources facilities.
There is need to ensure that the water charges for various uses should be fixed such as to cover at least the operation and maintenance charges initially and a part of the capital costs subsequently.
Management of the water resources for diverse uses should incorporate a participatory approach by involving users and other stakeholders along with various governmental agencies in an effective and decisive manner.
Private sector participation should be encouraged in planning, development and management of water resources projects for diverse uses, wherever feasible.
Both surface water and ground water should be regularly monitored for quality. Effluents should be treated to acceptable levels and standards before discharging them into natural streams. Minimum flow should be ensured in the perennial streams for maintaining ecology.
Efficiency of utilization should be improved in all the diverse uses of water and conservation consciousness promoted through education, regulation, incentives and disincentives.
Land erosion by sea or river should be minimized by suitable cost-effective measures. Indiscriminate occupation and economic activity in coastal areas and flood plain zones should be regulated.
Needs of drought-prone areas should be given priority in the planning of project for development of water resources. These areas should be made less vulnerable through various measures.
The water sharing / distribution amongst the states should be guided by a national perspective with due regard to water resources availability and needs within the river basin.
Training and research efforts should be intensified as an integral part of water resources development.

Water Framework Law

The National Water policy of 2012 emphasizes that there is a need to evolve a National Framework Law for water management. This law must recognize water not only as a scarce resource but also as a sustainer of life and ecology. It must recognize that water needs to be managed as a community resource by states under the public trust doctrine so that food security, livelihood and equitable and sustainable development for all are achieved. The existing Acts like the Indian Easements Act, 1882 etc. that give proprietary rights to a land owner on groundwater under his land rather than treating it as a community resource need to be amended.

Adaptation to climate change

Climate change is likely to increase the variability of water resources affecting human health and livelihoods. Therefore, there is a need to enhance capabilities of local communities so they can adopt climate resilient technological options to increase the availability of water. The different adaptation strategies are:

Increasing water storage in the forms of soil moisture, ponds, ground water, small and large reservoirs
Better demand management of water through the adoption of compatible agricultural strategies and cropping patterns and improved water application methods such as land leveling and drip/sprinkler irrigation.
Stakeholder participation in land-soil-water management with scientific inputs from local research and academic institutions to evolve different agricultural strategies, reduce soil erosion and improve soil fertility.
Planning and management of water resource structures such as dams, flood embankments and tidal embankments.

Enhancing water available for use

The availability of water is limited but the demand of water is increasing rapidly due to growing population, rapid urbanization, rapid industrialization and economic development. Therefore, availability of water for utilization needs to be augmented to meet increasing demands of water. The policy suggests the following ways to augment the water available for utilization:

Rainfall needs to be used directly and inadvertent evaporation of water needs to be avoided.
Aquifers need to be mapped to know the quantum and quality of ground water resources. Local communities should be involved in this process. This may be periodically updated.
Declining ground water levels in over-exploited areas need to be arrested by introducing improved technologies of water use and encouraging community based management of aquifers. Additionally, artificial recharging projects should be undertaken so that extraction is less than recharge.
Inter-basin transfers of water from surplus basins to deficit basins/areas need to be encouraged not merely for increasing production but also for meeting basic human need and achieving equity and social justice.
Integrated watershed development activities with groundwater perspectives need to be undertaken to increase soil moisture, reduce sediment yield and increase overall land and water productivity. Existing programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act may be used by farmers to harvest rain water using farm ponds and other soil and water conservation measures.

Demand Management and Water Use Efficiency

There is need to use water efficiency. The policy suggests a number of methods to promote and incentivize the efficient use of water. The methods are:

Systems to benchmark water use such as water footprints (total volume of water used in an area to produce goods and services) and water auditing (assessment of water use), should be developed.
Project appraisals and environment impact assessment for water uses, particularly for industrial projects should include analyses of water footprints.
Recycle and reuse of water, including return flows, should be the general norm.
Water needs to be saved during irrigation. Methods to encourage water saving are aligning cropping pattern with natural resource endowments, micro irrigation (drip, sprinkler, etc.), automated irrigation operation, and evaporation-transpiration reduction. Canal seepage water can also be recycled through conjunctive ground water use.
Small local level irrigation through small bunds, field ponds, agricultural and engineering methods for watershed development need to be encouraged.
Users of water should be involved in monitoring the pattern of water use if it is causing problems like unacceptable depletion or building up of ground water, salinity, alkalinity etc.

Water Pricing

The water pricing should be governed by following principles:

The water charges should preferably/as a rule be determined on volumetric basis. Such charges should be reviewed periodically.
The principle of differential pricing may have to be retained for the pre-emptive uses of water for drinking and sanitation and high priority allocation for ensuring food security and supporting livelihood for the poor. After this the water should be allocated and priced according to economic principles.
A Water Regulatory Authority should be established in each state. The authority shall be responsible for fixing and regulating the water tariff system and charges to be levied.
Recycle and reuse of water should be incentivized through a properly planned tariff system.
Water Users Associations (WUA) should be given statutory powers to collect and retain a portion of water charges, manage the volumetric quantum of water allotted to them and maintain the distribution system in their jurisdiction.
The over-drawal of groundwater should be minimized by regulating the use of electricity for its extraction.

Conservation of River Corridors, Water Bodies and Infrastructure

Conservation of river corridors, water bodies and infrastructure should be undertaken in a regulated and scientifically planned manner through community participation.
Encroachments and diversion of water bodies and drainage channels must not be allowed. Wherever such diversions have taken place, they should be restored.
Pollution of sources of water and water bodies should not be allowed. Water bodies should be periodically inspected by a third party and stringent punitive action should be taken against persons responsible for pollution. It is more important to ensure that the pollution does not reach ground water because ground water cleansing is more difficult.
Legally empowered dam safety services need to be ensured in the centre as well as states.

Project Planning and Implementation

Considering the existing water stress conditions and the likelihood of further worsening situation, water resource projects should be planned as per the following efficiency benchmarks:

All clearances, including environmental and investment clearances, required for implementation of projects should be made time bound to avoid the economic losses incurred due to delays in implementation.
To avoid time and cost over-runs, concurrent monitoring at project, state and central levels should be undertaken for timely interventions.
All components of water resource projects should be executed closely after they are planned so that intended benefits start accruing immediately and there is no gap between potential created and utilized.
Local governing bodies such as panchayats, municipalities, corporations etc. should be involved in the planning of projects.

Management of Flood and Drought

While efforts should be made to avert water related disasters like floods and droughts, a greater emphasis should be on preparedness for floods and droughts. Emphasis should also be placed on rehabilitation of the natural drainage system.

Strategies should be used to and improve soil and water productivity to manage droughts.
Revetments (walls), spurs, embankments, etc. should be constructed on the basis of morphological studies to prevent soil erosion.
Flood forecasting should be expanded to the rest of the country and modernized using real time data acquisition system.
Operating procedures for reservoirs should be evolved and implemented so as to have a flood cushion and reduce trapping of sediment during flood season.
Protecting all areas prone to floods and droughts may not be practicable and therefore frequency based flood inundation maps should be prepared to evolve coping strategies. Communities should be involved in preparing an action plan for dealing with floods/droughts.
Emergency action plans should be prepared for sudden and unexpected flood related disasters.

Water Supply and Sanitation

There is a need to remove the large disparity between stipulations for water supply in urban areas and in rural areas.
Efforts should be made to provide improved water supply in rural areas with proper sewerage facilities.
Least water intensive sanitation and sewerage systems with decentralized sewage treatment plants should be incentivized.
Urban and rural domestic water supply should preferably be from surface water in conjunction with groundwater and rainwater.
Reuse of urban water effluents from kitchens and bathrooms, after primary treatment, in flush toilets should be encouraged, ensuring no human contact.
In urban and industrial areas, rainwater harvesting and de-salinization should be encouraged to increase availability of utilizable water.
Urban water supply and sewage treatment schemes should be integrated and executed simultaneously. Water supply bills should include sewerage charges.
Subsidies and incentives should be implemented to encourage the recovery of industrial pollutants and recycling, which are otherwise capital intensive.

Institutional Arrangements

There should be a forum at the national level and state level to evolve consensus, co-operation and reconciliation on issues relating to water.
A permanent Water Disputes Tribunal should be established at the centre to resolve disputes expeditiously.
The paths of arbitration and mediation may also to be tried in dispute resolution.
Communities should participate in the management of water resource projects and services. State governments or local authorities can encourage the private sector to become a service provider through public private partnerships.
Integrated Water Resources Management should be the main principle for planning, development and management of water resource.
Appropriate institutional arrangements for each river basin should be developed to collect and collate all data on regular basis.
Appropriate institutional arrangements for each river basin should also be developed for monitoring water quality in both surface and ground waters.
States should be encouraged and incentivized to undertake reforms and progressive measures for innovations, conservation and efficient utilization of water resources.

Trans-boundary Rivers

Efforts should be made to enter into international agreements with neighboring countries on a bilateral basis for exchange of hydrological data of international rivers on real time basis.
Riparian (along the banks of rivers) states should be consulted during negotiations about sharing and management of water of international rivers keeping national interests in mind.

Database and Information System

All hydrological data other than those classified should be put into the public domain.
A National Water Informatics Centre should be established to process hydrological data regularly from all over the country.
More data about snow and glaciers, evaporation, tidal hydrology and hydraulics, river geometry changes, erosion etc. needs to be collected.
All water related data should be maintained online to facilitate informed decision making in the management of water.

Research and Training Need

Continuing research and advancement in technology shall be promoted to address issues in the water sector in a scientific manner. Innovations in water resources sector should be encouraged, recognized and awarded.
Grants should be given to states to update technology, design practices, and planning and management practices.
An autonomous centre for research in water policy should be established to evaluate impacts of policy decisions and evolve policy directives.
To meet the demand of skilled manpower in the water sector, regular training and academic courses in water management should be promoted.
A national campaign for water literacy needs to be started for capacity building of stakeholders in the water sector.

Implementation of National Water Policy

The National Water Board should prepare a plan of action based on the National Water Policy, as approved by the National Water Resources Council and monitor its implementation. State water policies should also be drafted/revised in accordance with this policy.

Conclusion

Water is a precious Natural Resource, a basic human need and a very important national asset. The National Water Policy of 2012 seeks to address issues such as the scarcity of water, inequities in its distribution and the lack of a unified perspective in planning, management and use of water resources. There is need of paradigm shift in the management of water resource from purely engineering works to systems that incorporate traditional practices, local materials and are manageable and maintainable by local communities and other strategies of like nature.

you can view video on National Water Policy 2012

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http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/NationalWaterPolicy/NWP2012Eng6495132651.pdf