Help the community find solutions for its resource:
Rashtriya Jal Biradari asks Government

New Delhi: The two day National Water Convention organized by Rashtriya Jal Biradari (National Water Community) and Tarun Bharat Sangh concluded in the capital on June 26, 2004. The conference was the conclusion to the 18 month long Rashtriya Jal Yatra (National Water Awareness Campaign) undertaken by the two organizations. The yatra covered 144 river basins across 30 states of the country (including 17 water stressed states). The main objectives of the yatra were to understand regional issues related to water management, supply and its distribution and to create awareness about the National Water Policy, 2002.

Revival of the traditional water harvesting structures is the key to solving pertinent problems of drought and also floods – this is the key message to the government from the Jal Biradari.

The convention was well-attended by state level Jal Biradari NGOs from 16 states, representatives of the government and past policy makers. The issues brought forward at the convention have found audience in the government. Sh. Manmohan Malhoutra of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation assured the participants that “he would discuss the issues and concerns of the Biradari with the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.”

Drought proofing the Future

Ms. Sunita Narain of Center for Science and Environment (CSE), Delhi, set the tone of the conference by talking about the water crisis faced by the nation. She noted that “the most effective and sustainable solution to the water crisis lies in adopting rainwater harvesting techniques “.

Sh. D.R. Patil told the audience about how the drought-prone rain-fed areas in Karnataka are being drought-proofed. “Farm ponds and re-adoption of tree agriculture ensures water availability during dry months and also guarantees sustenance through low water consuming tree produce in the drought years” he said.  There exists a strong relationship between water scarcity and agricultural patterns it was therefore stressed that the water policy cannot be independent of agricultural guidelines.

Ms Vibha Gupta from Center of Science for Village (CSV), Wardha and Ms Amla Ruia of Maharashtra Jal Biradari stressed on research in water efficient (and not just land efficient) agriculture and emphasized the urgent need to promote bio-manure and bio-pesticides in place of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Applauding the Government’s vision

Participants lauded Dr. Manmohan Singh’s address to the nation on June 24, 2004 as setting the right priorities regarding water management for the new government. The absence of even a mention of the controversial Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) project was appreciated as a step in the right direction.

National Water Policy 2002 – A Pandora’s Box

Former policy maker, Ramaswamy Iyer, stressed the need to replace the ILR project task force with one on sustainable holistic water management. An integrated approach regarding land-use, water and forests is seen as an urgent need. K.J.Alphons emphasized the importance of having members related to integrated resource management in the National Advisory Committee, the Planning Commission and also in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha).

Different water privatization models being tried across the country were strongly criticized. Privatization of water supply in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh was criticized.

Devolution of Control – Need of the day

There are strong signals that the present government wants to devolve power and authority to the local agencies. The Jal Biradari participants consider this as an important need of the hour. The participants also suggested that responsibility of infrastructure upkeep by cooperatives of beneficiaries would be a positive step in giving ownership of water resources to the people. Biradari expressed concern on involving already highly politicized panchayat machinery in thisprocess.

Biradari lauded Mr. M. Mehta’s (Sr. Joint Commissioner, Ministry of Water Resources) statement regarding transfer of control to people through Voluntary Organizations. This was taken to mean that government understands the importance of NGOs and does not want to politicize water decentralization measures.  There was also a discussion on the role that Central and State ground water boards can play in improving prospects of success of water harvesting initiatives across the country. The Biradari requested the government to support initiatives for water conservation across the country and not act detrimental to their success.

Large-scale Projects – Indicators of large-scale devastation

Indiscriminate policy of the previous government to implement large-scale water projects in the name of flood control AND irrigation was criticized. Dams can either be used for irrigation (store water before rains) OR for flood prevention (kept empty before onset of rains) and NOT for both purposes simultaneously. It is therefore not a surprise that the number and duration of floods in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa have increased manifold in the past 50 years of India’s development. Assessment of earlier water projects is a MUST before taking up any large-scale activity in the future.

Urban Water Crisis – Detrimental to Rural Progress

Conference participants also recognized that rural and urban water crises are closely related. Techniques like rooftop rainwater harvesting should be promoted in urban centers to avert water crisis in cities without impacting rural areas. Ms. Vandana Shiva highlighted “the need to create awareness about water conservation amongst urban youth”.

Let Community take Care of its Resources

The Biradari demanded that water be considered a community resource, the water policy of 2002 be reviewed and a new water policy be evolved through a public dialogue with the Biradari. They stressed the need to create awareness about better agricultural practices in rural areas and rooftop rainwater harvesting techniques in urban regions.

Community control over local water bodies and national campaigns to revive traditional integrated resource management systems is a sustainable means of solving water problems of the country. The Biradari requested inclusion of people related to water, land-use and forests in the planning echelons to evolve integrated water management guidelines.