The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : `Revise national water policy'

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Saturday, Jul 10, 2004

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`Revise national water policy'

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, JULY 9. Water activists under the banner of the Rashtriya Jal Biradari have submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the convener of the United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi, seeking a revision of the existing National Water Policy. They have also suggested similar review of the water policies in various States.

The memorandum, an improvised version of the deliberations at the two- day "jal sammelan''(seminar on water) held in Delhi in the last week of June, has asked for community ownership of water as opposed to its trading, commercialization and treatment as a commodity. It advocates traditional systems and methods of water conservation and water use and declaration of ground water as a community resource. "The water policy should be guided by an awareness of the role that water plays on earth. The policy cannot overlook the health of the planet earth and other ecological and environmental implications of water use,'' the memorandum, which advocates a holistic approach in harnessing natural resources, observes.

The seminar was attended by representatives from 16 States including the Magsaysay award winner, Rajendra Singh, who is also the chairman of the Rashtriya Jal Biradari, environmentalists, Vandana Shiva, Sunita Narain, senior civil servant, K.J.Alphonse and the representatives of various environment and activist bodies including the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. "The national water policy should account for regional diversities. The States' policies should take cognizance of the regional differences,'' the document, which advises the new Government to go slow on World Bank and Asian Development Bank funded water projects, says. Large projects should be accepted only as the last resort and one should be wary of the water markets as well as "virtual water link'', it suggests.

The water activists, who had a year- long nation-wide "padyatra'' last year, are of the view that water development and management have to be left to the local communities. The process of water management has to be brought down to the gram sabha level so that there is proper decentralization, it suggests. The principle of "full cost recovery'', which is an important part of the economic reform prescription, can be applied to water when it is treated only as a commodity and not as "water for life'', it has been pointed out.

The memorandum also suggests measures to bridge the gap in the urban-rural divide over water and advocates a closer look into the requirements of women while formulating the water policy.

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