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The paper describes the emergence of multiple economies of water in India's capital Delhi, using a neo-Polanyian approach of instituted economic process. It analyses the systems of provision, distribution, appropriation and consumption of water, and the formation of scales of these economies of water. The paper systematically compares and analyses the spatially divided and partially overlapping economies of water in the planned colonies and slum-designated areas in the city. It describes the dynamics of growth and stagnation of the different economies of water within the waterscape of the capital and its implications for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a prolonged agrarian impasse, agricultural production in West Bengal, India, grew at an unprecedented rate in the 1980s, a process in which the expansion of groundwater irrigation played an important role. The growth of groundwater irrigation and agricultural production, however, decelerated from the early 1990s. This paper argues that the deceleration in groundwater irrigation development in West Bengal since 1995 is primarily attributed to the adoption of different regulatory policies in two ways: directly, through controlling the overall installation of tubewells or decelerating tubewell electrification; and indirectly, through high electricity pricing for water use in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implications of technology - the design of canal irrigation - for irrigation management reform. With reference to two different design systems in Indian irrigation - shejpali and warabandi - it shows that the potential for reform varies with the design of canal irrigation. Three approaches to canal irrigation reform are discussed - pricing, market creation and irrigation management transfer. The paper argues that academics and policy-makers need to be conscious of the implications of design for irrigation reform proposals. This calls for a move away from conventional approaches to irrigation management reform to a more inter-disciplinary perspective in which discussions on technology have been mainstreamed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the 'patchwork adaptability' of low-income residents living in south-eastern Bangalore in India to demonstrate the socially embedded ways that city dwellers patch their water supply gaps. Drawing upon site visits and semi-structured interviews in three neighbourhood enclaves, the discussion highlights how residents cope with difficult and water-insecure contexts despite the municipality's resource governance failures. While we encourage appreciation of the remarkable resilience that low-income populations in Bangalore exhibit, the evidence lays bare the need for more government support to help low-income residents navigate water insecurity in ways that require less time-intensive labour and social networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an integrated policy framework for groundwater, based on Indian conditions, that identifies four policy types that target depletion, recharge, contamination and treatment. Socio‐economic implications and income inequalities are discussed with special reference to a case study in South India. The sustainability indicators considered in this paper have not shown positive signs especially groundwater level, quality, and distribution of income among different categories of farmers. An integrated watershed based policy package covering both structural and nonstructural policies is suggested in this paper for achieving groundwater sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmetered electricity supply to agriculture has given rise to a unique and invidious water–energy–food nexus in India. Metering of agricultural consumers has been suggested as a way to break the nexus, but most states have not been able to meter farmers due to their opposition . The only exception is the state of West Bengal. Using primary data from a household survey conducted in 2010 when the metering process was still underway, this paper argues that farmers’ support for metering in West Bengal can be explained in terms of the economics of groundwater use and politics surrounding agriculture and groundwater in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural and water development in the Krishna basin in south India has led to a progressive over-commitment of water resources. Based on a historical water accounting (1955-2004), this paper shows that upstream water development is the main cause for declining water availability in the lower Krishna basin (Andhra Pradesh state). But Andhra Pradesh's own policies of water resources development are also key in understanding the process of over-commitment observed in the region. To slow down basin closure (little or no discharge to the ocean), there is a need for formal and adaptive water allocation mechanisms that can internalize social and environmental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dawn of 21st century is a gloomy picture for future generations of India because of increasing water scarcity, which is often fabricating threats of water conflicts. Water is a critical shared resource, and its flow is not restricted to any political boundaries. This necessitates peaceful sharing of water resources both within and among countries. Sharing water is a complex task in most cases in the present era of water conflicts. India, which relished its past fame as water prosperous country, today is moving towards becoming a water stressed nation due to rapid population upsurges and unequal distribution. The demand for water has tripled at a time when the supply of water services is inefficient with socio-economic diversities. Poverty has already become a constant threat for the economy, and water should not add to it. The development policies in India including water resources tend to give primacy to economic cost, disregarding environmental and social cost. This has aggravated tensions further. Considering the existing water-sharing treaties and arrangement with neighbors and suggesting sustainable measures to prevent conflicts and tackle water scarcity is a big challenge for researchers and Indian policy makers today. This is mainly because along with India its neighbors also share the common problems of poverty, population rise, and water stress. A peaceful sharing thus becomes complex many times and hence conflicts in many cases become obvious phenomena. This paper thus intends to comprehend in conceptual terms the extent to which the prevalent water sharing among India and its neighbors is peaceful and whether the water scarcity and population rise in India intensifies the chances for water conflicts. In doing this, it tries to start by addressing the water problems. This paper has concentrated much on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Meghna Basins (GBB), which is the thirteenth largest river basin in the world, densely populated, and shared with a number of neighbors. The current debates opposing plans to link rivers of the Ganga basin and Brahmaputra Barak with water deficient regions such as western and southern India in order to handle drought and floods and water scarcity, in a broad sense, develops insecurities in the minds of rational people on the chances of water conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of studies on remote sensing data for water management and governance increases, few articles reflect on their application in practice. This article shares learnings from the application of Water Accounting Plus (WA+) in a federal river basin in India. WA+ was applied to the Cauvery basin to contribute to solving transboundary water-sharing issues by providing a source of transparent data obtained through reproducible methods. By analysing how WA+ results and methodology were received, we show how data and models are also political and question the assumption that more data automatically lead to more equitable decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rituals of riparian communities are frequently linked to the flow regimes of their river. These dependencies need to be identified, quantified and communicated to policy makers who manage river flows. This paper describes the first attempt to explicitly evaluate the flows required to maintain the cultural and spiritual activities in the upper Ganga River basin. Riparian dwellers and visitors were interviewed and the responses analyzed to obtain an overview of the needs and motivations for cultural flows. The approach enhances the overall concept of environmental flow assessment, especially in river basins where spiritual values ascribed to rivers are high. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper shows how multidisciplinary research can help policy makers develop policies for sustainable agricultural water management interventions by supporting a dialogue between government departments that are in charge of different aspects of agricultural development. In the Jaldhaka Basin in West Bengal, India, a stakeholder dialogue helped identify potential water resource impacts and livelihood implications of an agricultural water management rural electrification scenario. Hydrologic modelling demonstrated that the expansion of irrigation is possible with only a localized effect on groundwater levels, but cascading effects such as declining soil fertility and negative impacts from agrochemicals will need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting up water users' associations (WUAs) and involving them in the management of delivery systems is an important innovation in improving the performance of public irrigation systems. Most Indian states are in a great hurry to turn over management of “below-the outlet” systems to WUAs. Yet the crucial link between the work done by the institutional organizers who set up these WUAs, the efficacy of the WUAs and the eventual performance of the irrigation systems remains unexplored. This paper attempts to explore this link. It shows that overdrive in the formation of WUAs may reduce their institutional sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For nearly 50 years a relatively stable Indus Water Treaty (IWT) moderated competition for the Indus water between Pakistan and India. Rising demand for water in each nation could unsettle this stable relationship, as foreshadowed by the involvement of a third party during 2005-2007 for the first time in the treaty's history. This paper discusses Pakistan and India's experience in the context of other international shared rivers. For the benefit of their people, Pakistan and India could coordinate unilateral development and resolve issues rather than defer them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles which examine the problem of increasing water scarcity worldwide. Sharing of river waters between India and its neighbors; Organizational problems of water distribution in Uzbekistan; Analytic framework for understanding out-stream flows in any catchment or region; Water resources management.

States have signed hundreds of treaties and protocols over their shared rivers. Many of these agreements established commissions to implement the accords and maintain cooperation. Consistent with this expectation, the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty established the Joint Water Committee (JWC). Through a comparison of the JWC with the Permanent Indus Commission, established to manage the Indus River between India and Pakistan, the paper argues that the JWC has been only somewhat effective. To account for the source of effectiveness it is necessary to consider the capabilities vested in commissions. Commissioners can fulfil their tasks when they communicate directly, hold regular meetings, monitor the river's development and possess conflict resolution mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of translating normative water laws and principles into an objective and operational framework for equitable apportionment of water is indeed challenging. In this study, a multi-criterion based cooperative approach is used, which seeks to address the notion of 'fairness' through proportional entitlements. The paper presents an application of this approach in order to derive a 'fair allocation' of water for three competing co-basin states of the Cauvery River Basin (Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu) in South Peninsular India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been renewed interest during recent times in the impact of irrigation development on rural poverty. For long, researchers asked whether irrigation development reduces the poverty of irrigators. However, the question being asked now is: does investing in irrigation — rather than in other public works — help reduce rural poverty in a region? Using Government of Gujarat's 1997 census of Below Poverty Line (BPL) households as well as the Village Amenity Survey of the same year, this paper explores the interplay between irrigation development and rural poverty in 177 predominantly rural talukas, which is an administrative unit with a population of around 100,000-150,000 people, of Gujarat state in western India. Our analysis shows that for the design of poverty-targeting programs, two variables have the highest appeal: primary education infrastructure and improved land productivity through irrigation. It also suggests that, over the long run, irrigation benefits far transcend the command areas of irrigation systems. As a result, irrigation impact studies focused at farm or command area level seriously underestimate overall livelihood impacts of irrigation development. This is because intensively irrigated areas act as magnets that attract rural poverty from their surround, especially from other dry areas. Population pressure on farm lands thus tends to get redistributed according to the carrying capacity of farm lands. Across 177 predominantly rural talukas of Gujarat, we find: a) an inverse relationship between land use intensity and land-man ratio; and b) as land productivity (output/hectare of net sown area) declines, output per rural person declines too, but far more slowly than would have been the case without the "magnet effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the regional symposium entitled 'Water for Human Survival,' which was organized by the International Water Resources Association held in New Delhi, India. Participants of the conference; Focus of the papers; Issues that emerged during the discussions.

Locally nuanced community-based shallow groundwater management interventions have proven important in saline and sodic monsoonal regions. A mixed methods approach characterizes achievement of regeneration of the formerly degraded socio-ecological system of Laporiya village in the semi-arid Salt Lake region of Rajasthan state (India), with a focus on locally adapted chauka systems. Local people are key participants and agents as well as principal beneficiaries of innovative nature-based management interventions. Technological innovations and governance are adapted to environmental processes and local livelihood priorities, resisting imposed engineered solutions. Findings are transferrable to dryland areas facing similar challenges of declining water and livelihood security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a case study of farmers in India we examine the relationship between drip irrigation subsidy policies, farmer adoption and technological choice. We examine changes in the subsidy design and the implications that these have for farmers. We show how the negotiation of multiple interests influences the kind of technology promoted and the design of the subsidy programme. This creates barriers to adoption, particularly for relatively resource-poor farmers. For these famers, the relative advantages of low-cost alternative technologies appear to be significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding water issues as problemsheds addresses the narrowly water-centred framing of watershed and basin-focused water research and policy. In a critical realist approach problemshed also serves to identify the context-specificity of water knowledge, by navigating between the extremes of positivist generalization and interpretivist local specificity and bridging the divide between academic and applied research by identifying the structural similarity in their problem framing. Problemshed is operationalized by situating it in critical realism's structures-mechanisms-events ontology, and by drawing on realist evaluation's context-mechanism-outcome configurations. I use large-scale canal irrigation in India to illustrate how this is done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a contingent valuation survey, this research identifies villagers' willingness to pay towards the operation and maintenance of water treatment plants in 11 villages in Maharashtra with existing facilities. Preferences were elicited using three different payment mechanisms: a monthly fee, labour (time) contributions, and a pay-per-container mechanism. There was little support for the pay-per-container scheme (51% stated positive willingness to pay for this option), but the communal mechanisms were more popular (86.7% and 87.3%). We conclude that the long-term viability of water treatment in Maharashtra is weak, as few scenarios provide adequate revenue to properly operate and maintain the infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the global history of a rights-based approach to nature and then focuses in on whether conferring legal rights on the River Ganga (Ganges) in India would help in its management or on the contrary produce a conflict between human rights and the right of nature. Finally, it considers the legal perils of articulating a universal right of a river by comparing the Ganga and Whanganui cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the achievements and activities of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) of the United States. IWRA has achieved considerable landmarks in the year 2005. The Association has leaped forward despite major water disasters in the world starting with South Asian Tsunami and the major damage of Hurricanes in the United States and the persistent drought in Africa. The Association has also completed the 12th World Water Congress in New Delhi, India. Around 500 participants from 50 countries attended the conference. They presented some 200 papers and key note addresses focusing on the contemporary water issues of the day. In this conference, the members of the Association added several special sessions to highlight specific regional water issues of interest to all the participants. It was a learning experience for all the participants. The occasion was accompanied by an excellent dose of cultural events and surrounded with traditional Indian hospitality. Apart from the New Delhi conference IWRA has sponsored and co-sponsored several events in the United States, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Egypt, China and elsewhere to strengthen the dialogue on water issues across the world.

The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty dividing the rivers of the Indus system between India and Pakistan has continued to  function through two wars and numerous political tensions. Nevertheless, given mounting pressures on the Indus’ waters due to population growth, climate change and mismanagement, many call for  abandonment or renegotiation of the treaty. This article situates these criticisms within the quantitative literature analyzing river treaties to demonstrate that the same critiques are applicable to many treaties. Comparative analysis also reveals that while some of the treaty’s weaknesses can be addressed, important structural obstacles render certain of its deficiencies difficult to correct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the impact of the tensiometer on the consumption of groundwater and electric power in paddy cultivation in Indian Punjab, and its subsequent economic benefits. We find that compared to the continuous flooding method, the tensiometer-based application of irrigation reduces water and power consumption by 13%, cutting variable costs by 7% without any yield penalty. If 30% of the paddy area is irrigated following tensiometer-based schedules, then the state could save a total of 0.67 million ha m of water and 1516 million kWh of electric power in 2010-2025, with aggregate economic benefits of US$ 459 million. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the research on climate change adaptation in rapidly urbanizing developing regions focuses primarily on adaptation or resilience as the goal, assumes that climate change is the major stressor, and focuses on the household or the city as the unit of analysis. In this article, we use findings from two rapidly urbanizing sub-basins of the Cauvery River in southern India (the Arkavathy and Noyyal sub-basins) to argue for a broader analytic and policy framework that explicitly considers multiple normative concerns and stressors, and uses the entire watershed as the unit of analysis to address the climate-water interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on a case from the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan to examine whether drip irrigation saves water. Drip irrigation is being promoted to preserve groundwater and enhance resilience to climate change. However, the article finds that in the absence of regulations over groundwater abstraction, farmers acquire drip irrigation to intensify production rather than to conserve water. This occurs in a political and economic context where farmers are incentivized to do so, further exacerbating groundwater overdraft. The article concludes with a discussion of drip irrigation's impact on farmers' livelihoods and its implications for groundwater policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, the government of Bihar revived 34 non-functioning public tubewells using solar panels. The performance of 16 of these wells over 12 months was tracked and analyzed using data from tubewell operators and 240 farmers. Access to affordable irrigation from solar pumps led to a 9–10% increase in productivity of rice and wheat. Furthermore, in a severe drought, farmers could grow paddy in the entire area irrigated by solar pumps, when nearly 40% of other land was left fallow. Solar pumps can help increase crop productivity, reduce the cost of irrigation, and make agriculture more resilient to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The official data on slums and basic urban services are important sources for Indian planners and policy makers. With regard to national and international benchmarks they are consulted in order to identify and target those in need of development schemes. This article takes a closer look at the official definitions and numbers and raises questions about their reliability and their comprehensiveness. By comparing these statistics with findings obtained during fieldwork undertaken between 2011 and 2014 in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad questions emerge concerning the effectiveness in helping the most marginalized sections of society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Efforts to reverse groundwater depletion in hard-rock regions by enhancing aquifer recharge with valuable surface water present complex challenges and trade-offs related to upstream–downstream interactions and equity. Here, groundwater modelling is used in combination with economic valuation techniques to assess the effectiveness of alternative supply and demand measures under different climate change scenarios in an upper sub-basin of the Krishna River basin in India. It is found that aquifer recharge provides benefits for the sub-basin that are not apparent at the basin scale. Water recharged or crops selected in upper catchments should aim to generate economic benefits that outweigh losses faced downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors document evolving attitudes, policies and roles of stakeholders in wastewater and faecal-sludge management in India, China and Ghana. In each country there is momentum for expanding not just access to sanitation at the household/community levels, but also for greater treatment and safe end-of-life management of human excreta. Governments are increasingly looking to engage the private sector, but models of engagement that make a compelling business case and instil confidence in cost recovery will have to emerge before the private sector takes an active role in wastewater and faecal sludge treatment in low-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at the changes in water balance in the Gorai River Catchment in the Bangladesh delta before and after operationalization of Farakka Barrage. Results show that inflow into the catchment has decreased, but major changes in land use within the catchment have also impacted runoff. Model scenarios demonstrate that although increasing inflow from upstream is the most effective method to increase dry season flows into the delta, reduction in cultivation of water-intensive crops would provide an alternative solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A GIS-based Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is used to assess the impacts of climate change on the hydrological regime of the Cauvery river basin. First, the impact of changes in land-management practices on water availability under present conditions is modelled. Then, the same analysis is carried out under the future climatic scenarios. Finally, annual and monthly precipitation variability is compared under present, as well as future, climate-change scenarios. The results indicate an intensification of the hydrological cycle in the future climate-change scenario that appears to be significant on an annual basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the conflict between India and Pakistan upon their independence in 1947, India sought to use the Indus River to rehabilitate millions of refugees, reconstruct the economy, and facilitate post-conflict peacebuilding in Punjab. But this drew on the only freshwater available to Pakistan. The World Bank's mediation averted further conflict through the Indus Waters Treaty and the construction of hydrological infrastructure in order to subsidize post-conflict peacebuilding. The treaty established a commission and conflict-resolution mechanisms to manage disputes of the development of the Indus. Pakistan is using these mechanisms to address the current Kishanganga Project dispute with India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basins of the Indus and Ganges rivers cover 2.20 million km2 and are inhabited by more than a billion people. The region is under extreme pressures of population and poverty, unregulated utilization of the resources and low levels of productivity. The needs are: (1) development policies that are regionally differentiated to ensure resource sustainability and high productivity; (2) immediate development and implementation of policies for sound groundwater management and energy use; (3) improvement of the fragile food security and to broaden its base; and (4) policy changes to address land fragmentation and improved infrastructure. Meeting these needs will help to improve productivity, reduce rural poverty and improve overall human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developing world cities have seen the emergence of informal markets where private tanker truck operators transport water extracted from peri-urban wells to urban consumers. This study adopted a systems-modelling approach to analyzing the informal tanker market in India. The results indicate that the demand for tanker supply was caused by lack of groundwater availability in private wells as well as unreliable piped supply. The study shows that two groundwater factors are relevant: depth to water and aquifer productivity. Together, these could explain the difference in spatial, temporal and consumer-specific variations in tanker dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study shows that the recent diesel price hike had an insignificant impact on irrigation costs incurred by diesel well owners in eastern India. Further, analysis of the farming enterprises of diesel well owners and water buyers from both diesel and electric wells confronted with a differential cost of irrigation water showed that farmers would be able to cope with a very high rise in irrigation costs through irrigation efficiency improvements and allocating more area to crops that give higher returns per unit of land and water. By doing this, they are able to maintain the farm returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and fieldwork techniques are combined in an attempt to identify groundwater potential zones in the hilly terrain of the Pavagarh region. The various thematic maps prepared for delineating groundwater potential zones are lineament density, drainage density, digital elevation model (DEM), slope map and land use/land cover (LULC). A multi-criteria evaluation technique (MCE) is used to investigate a number of choice possibilities and evaluate suitability according to the associated weight of each factor. A map is obtained which shows the classification of the area into good, moderate and low groundwater potential zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of water table data for Punjab from 1979-98 revealed that the declining water table area in the northeast decreased by 28% and increased by 8% in the southwest; it remained almost constant in the central zone. Net groundwater balance was positive in the northeast and southwest zones but was negative in the central zone. From the point of view of the future use of groundwater, the northeast and southwest zones are relatively safe while the central zone is the worst hit and needs immediate remedial measures to control the fast-receding water levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic value of water should be markedly higher in water-scarce regions than in water-rich regions. Similarly, then the incremental return per unit of land should be higher where land is scarcer. These hypotheses are tested by comparing the situation in western Punjab, which is land-rich and naturally water-scarce and eastern Uttar Pradesh which is land-scarce and water-rich. Our regression analysis shows that every extra unit of water diverted for agriculture generates more economic surplus in western Punjab while every extra unit of land put under cultivation generates more economic surplus in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Hence, transfer of water from a water-rich, land-scarce region to a water-scarce, land-rich region for agriculture might result in the realization of higher economic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal contamination and accumulation of sediments, silts, and organic matter in lakes are of great concern worldwide. Idol immersion activity, a religious practice, is responsible for adding pollution load in the water bodies in India. The immersion of idols of Indian gods like Lord Ganesha and the god Durga during Ganesha Utsav and Nav Ratris festivals is one of the major sources of contamination of fresh water bodies. In the water of Shahpura Lake, we observed a marked elevation in pH, hardness, chromium, cadmium and lead after the immersion of idols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the report of the XIIth World Water Congress of International Water Resource Association. The Congress was held in New Delhi in India during November 22-25, 2005. Around 500 participants from various countries made their presence at the Congress. It was inaugurated by Santosh Mohan Dev, Union Minister of India for Water Resource. The theme of the Congress was "water for sustainable development-towards innovative solutions." The theme was sub-divided in nine topics. The topics include integrated water resources management, water infrastructure development, economics and financing of water, water governance and water security and risk management. This part of the report covers mainly the views from politicians, policy makers, decision makers, lead institutions and lead thinkers around the world. While inaugurating the Conference Dev highlighted India's main water concerns including the development of water infrastructure. He also stressed the need for integrated water resources management including measures for conservation and rainwater harvesting to recharge the groundwater, increasing water efficiency and the creation of storage capacity.

Roof water harvesting is being widely promoted as a panacea for the growing drinking water crisis in India and many underdeveloped and developing countries. This article analyzes the scope, physical feasibility, and economic viability of roof water harvesting systems across classes and under different physical and socioeconomic situations. This article argues that roof water harvesting systems (RWHS) are not alternative to public systems in urban and rural areas of regions receiving low rainfall. Hydrological opportunities for RWHS are very poor in urban and rural areas. The systems offer very little scope in ensuring domestic water security for urban housing stocks of low- and middle-income groups. At the same time, they offer tremendous potential for independent bungalows having large roof area. However, their physical feasibility is very poor in urban areas. Their economic viability as a supplementary source of domestic water supply seems to be poor in urban areas, when compared to augmenting the supplies from the existing public systems. The incredibly low rates charged for domestic supplies by urban water utilities and government subsidies for RWHS would only lead to the urban elite increasing their access to water supplies, while the burden on water utilities would remain unchanged. This will lead to greater inequities in access to water supplies. At the same time, in rural areas with dispersed populations and hilly areas, RWHS may be economically viable as a supplementary source to already existing public water supply schemes. But as its impacts are not likely to be uniform across classes, government subsidies are not desirable. In hilly regions receiving high rainfalls, government investment for community water supply schemes could be replaced by heavy subsidies for installation of RWHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural water supply sector in India experienced significant changes over the last three decades. Emergence of modern technologies, such as bore wells and deep tube wells, accelerated the coverage of rural areas with safe drinking water. Traditional water harvesting systems were gradually neglected and centralized water management was systematically promoted. The control and ownership shifted from people to government, reducing the communities as mere end-users. Central and state governments funded entire costs of water supply without any cost recovery from community. The impacts of modernization are being felt now. The supply-driven approach of water supply departments and inefficient management of key resources are resulting in poor service delivery. Over-exploitation of groundwater is resulting in the re-emergence of water-scarce villages. This situation necessitated reforms in the sector that promotes people's ownership and management of resources. Studies indicate that the performance of sector reform pilot projects being implemented in 63 districts of India is not very impressive. A national increase in reforms will be successful when micro-level diversity and innovations are preserved while introducing uniformity at the macro-level. The two case studies on successful microlevel models of NGOs offer valuable lessons for a nation-wide scale-up of reforms. Re-emergence of water scarce habitations, a supply-driven approach in service delivery, the absence of community participation and cost recovery, and problems in scaling-up reforms are the primary issues identified. The three essential strategies for long-term success of the reforms and sustainability of water supply systems are: a holistic approach to water management, direct community participation in resource management, and appropriate community institutional structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the importance of water management, the impact of climate change in South Africa, and the operation of reservoir systems in India.

This article focuses on New Delhi, India declaration adopted during the XIIth World Water Congress of International Water Resources Association (IWRA). The Congress was organized by the IWRA in association with the Indian Regional Committee of IWRA and the Central Board of Irrigation and Power of India. The duration of the Congress was from the November 22-25, 2005. The declaration stated that water should be conserved, protected and developed because it is the engine of economic growth, a pillar of sustainable development, an unquestioned fundamental requirement to alleviate poverty and a basic need for every form of life on the planet. The declaration called upon the leaders of the world to place water infrastructure development on the top of the agenda to address and reverse the trends of decades of decline in financial allocation by governments and financial institutions. Before adopting the declaration the Congress raised attention to the implementation of integrated water resources management, focused in particular on the aspects of water efficiency, the importance of stakeholder participation and small-scale adapted solutions in water resources management.