Seminar on ‘Water Basin Management’: Organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and the International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), at the VIF, New Delhi, 29-30 Nov 2017

Opening Remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Sh. Trivendra Singh Rawat, Sh Dhirendra Singh, former Home Secretary, distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the beginning, I would like to thanks the Hon’ble CM, our Chief Guest to take time from his busy schedule to participate in this Conclave on River Basin Management. This conference is a result of the collaboration between the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), a leading scientific, technical, international organization devoted to the vision of “Sustainable agriculture water management’ and facilitating sustainable rural development”.

Water security is key to sustainable development. It is closely linked with food, health, environmental, and economic security issues. Together, these issues impinge upon national security. Since, many rivers are trans-boundary rivers, water security is also on the bilateral and international diplomatic agenda. The health of our rivers is linked closely with the impact of climate change on our environment and eco-systems. These issues are interlinked and need to be treated holistically.

This is a truly an interdisciplinary conference in which diverse aspects of Integrated Water management are discussed. Several ministries and agencies of the Central Government as well as, Academic Institutions, State Governments, and NGOs have come together on a common platform. River Basin Management is one of the important approaches identified by the experts in dealing with the water crisis that our country is slipping into. This approach has succeeded in many parts of the world. There is no reason why this cannot succeed in India.

The European Union has had a Water Framework Directive since 2000. The member countries have followed up with their own laws and regulations. EU’s approach is based on promoting sustainable water use, improvement of the aquatic environment, reduction in pollution of ground water and mitigating the effects of floods and draughts. A key aspects of the approach is to achieve ‘good surface water status’ and ‘good ground water status’. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) model in USA and Mahavelli Authority in Sri Lanka have been successful models.

In India, we have the experience of the Damodar Valley Corporation, which has helped preserve environment and ecosystem. But, we have still a long way to go in realizing Integrated Water Resource Management. This is evident from the fact that many of our rivers have dried up, others are drying up. Pollution has made the waters of our rivers unfit for human consumption. We have spent thousands of crores of rupees on river cleaning projects over the years but to no visible impact.

We can learn from the experience of other countries. Many have succeeded in restoring and rejuvenating their rivers through integrated water management approaches. There are several examples in Europe where the Danube, once highly polluted, has been rejuvenated. I understand that, there is an ongoing cooperation between India and Australia on water management. We can learn from the successes and mistakes of others.

The key underpinning of River Basin Management approach is integrated development of river basins. As late Ramaswamy Iyer renowned water expert, noted many years ago, a truly integrated holistic planning for a basin or sub-basin will involve inter disciplinary planning involving land use and water use, and integrating all developments from local rain water harvesting to mega projects. Mr. Iyer also noted that in India, water resource planning has largely tended to be on the basis of the discrete and individual projects. This cannot be called a proper river basin planning.

In India the institutional framework for water management is defined by the National Water Policy of 2012, the National Environment Policy, 2006, the River Boards At 1956, and CWC’s guidelines for preparation of River Basin Master Plan. Despite these institutions, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has failed to materialize. This conference will discuss some of the challenges in implementing the IWRM. The Concept note identifies the several areas of concern namely constitutional provisions and their limitations, the need for stronger political will to resolve interstate water disputes and the narrowly focused project oriented approach.

The main session of the conference will cover legal framework, hydro-power development, food security, and waste water management. In the last session, recommendations emerging from the four main sessions will be presented. The closing session will be devoted to discussing the Way Forward.

We hope to bring out a report on the Conference including the recommendations that might emerge. This will help generate public debate on integrated water resources management issues.

Thank you!