In India, water governance is characterized by a multi-tier legal structure. Under the Constitution of India, the subject of “Water” is primarily a State subject, but the Union holds significant regulatory powers over transboundary resources.
- State List (List II, Entry 17): States have the power to legislate on water supplies, irrigation, canals, drainage, embankments, water storage, and water power.
- Union List (List I, Entry 56): The Central Government is empowered to regulate and develop inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest.
- Article 262: Provides the constitutional mechanism for the adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys. Under this, Parliament enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
- Public Trust Doctrine: A legal principle established by the Supreme Court of India holding that the state is the trustee of all natural resources (including water) meant for public use.
Institutional Architecture of Water Management
Water governance in India is managed through several specialized bodies that handle technical, regulatory, and policy aspects.
Central Level Institutions
- Ministry of Jal Shakti: Formed in 2019 by merging the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. It serves as the apex body for policy formulation.
- Central Water Commission (CWC): A premier technical organization responsible for the control, conservation, and utilization of surface water resources, flood control, and dam safety.
- Central Ground Water Board (CGWB): The national apex body for groundwater management, responsible for monitoring water levels and assessing the dynamic groundwater resources of the country.
- Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA): Constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, it regulates and controls groundwater development through a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC) regime for industries and infrastructure.
Specialized Statutory Bodies
- National Water Development Agency (NWDA): Established in 1982 to carry out feasibility studies for the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) projects.
- National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD): Implements the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) focused on improving water quality in polluted river stretches through interception and diversion of sewage.
National Water Policy (NWP) Evolution
The National Water Policy provides the roadmap for sustainable water management. The most recent version (2012) is currently under revision by the Mihir Shah Committee to address climate change and declining per capita availability.
| Feature | National Water Policy 2012 Key Highlights |
| Water Hierarchy | Prioritizes drinking water, followed by agriculture, ecology, and industries. |
| Pricing Mechanism | Recommends setting up an independent Water Regulatory Authority in each state to determine water tariffs. |
| Management Unit | Advocates for the “Basin/Sub-basin” as the basic unit for planning water resources. |
| Climate Change | Emphasizes the need for enhancing storage capacity and promoting water use efficiency to tackle climate variability. |
Major Legislative Frameworks and Acts
- The Easements Act, 1882: Historically, this act linked groundwater rights to land ownership, a major hurdle in modern groundwater regulation.
- Dam Safety Act, 2021: Provides an institutional architecture for the surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of specified dams to prevent dam-failure related disasters.
- Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974: Created the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to prevent and control water pollution and maintain the wholesomeness of water.
Decentralized Governance and Community Participation
Modern governance emphasizes the shift from “Government-led” to “Community-led” management.
- Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM): This involves the transfer of management responsibilities of irrigation systems to Water User Associations (WUAs). Currently, several states have enacted PIM Acts to empower farmers in water distribution and tax collection.
- Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY): A ₹6,000 crore scheme focused on community-led sustainable groundwater management. It uses “Water Security Plans” prepared at the Gram Panchayat level.
- Pani Panchayats: A community-based water management model, successfully pioneered in Maharashtra and Odisha, emphasizing equitable water sharing regardless of land ownership.
Challenges in Indian Water Governance
- Fragmentation: Multiple agencies (CWC, CGWB, CPCB) often work in silos, leading to uncoordinated surface and groundwater management.
- Inter-State Disputes: Conflicts over rivers like the Cauvery, Krishna, and Yamuna often stall major irrigation projects and lead to prolonged legal battles.
- Data Gaps: Lack of real-time, digitized data on water flow and extraction makes evidence-based policy formulation difficult.
- The “Silo” Problem: Urban water supply, rural irrigation, and industrial pollution are often treated as separate issues rather than parts of a single hydrological cycle.
Factful Trivia for UPSC Prelims
- Composite Water Management Index (CWMI): Released by NITI Aayog, it ranks states on their water management performance across several themes.
- Mihir Shah Committee Report: Recommended the merger of CWC and CGWB into a single entity called the National Water Commission (NWC) for integrated management.
- Falkenmark Indicator: A measure of water stress; India is considered “water stressed” as its per capita water availability has fallen below 1,700 cubic meters.
- Israel-India Cooperation: A strategic partnership focused on implementing “Water Attachés” and developing advanced desalination and wastewater recycling governance.
- Heliborne Survey: A modern technology used by the Ministry of Jal Shakti for rapid high-resolution aquifer mapping in arid and semi-arid regions.