Water Governance : Challenges and Prospects

The book is the first of its kind to deal with almost the entire swath of water resources assessment, development and sustainable management. The idea of the book crystallized during the long journey of the Editors on various facets of water issues in India and abroad during their extended association, at all levels with the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, as well as International Organizations dealing with water. Currently water-stressed, India is likely to become water scarce in not too distant a future. The global freshwater supply and its sustainable use for human consumption, and conservation of the ecosystem have never come under such a rigorous scrutiny before. The unplanned and reckless exploitation of this precious resource have led to a crisis situation, compounded by a real threat of climate change. This book is, therefore, timely and of particular relevance not only to India but the entire world.

The book contains 20 chapters, beside the lead article by the Editors. The chapters are contributed by the eminent professionals, researchers, academicians and civil society representatives having an in-depth understanding of the issues. The contents of the chapters have been chosen to represent all aspects of water. The assessment of water resources using satellite data and in-depth analyses of groundwater sector like, the Aquifer Mapping Programme initiated by Government of India, application of gravity satellite data to assess the resource build up, artificial recharge of aquifers and its contamination, are dealt with by eminent experts. The articles on sustainable management of water through good governance by community participation and involvement of civil society are placed. Flood management both through a basin level approach as well as by building resilience in vulnerable areas is discussed. Other critical issues like water bodies management, constitutional provisions, water governance andfinancial issues, hydro-power and need of research and development in this sector are also dealt with aptly. In view of emerging crisis and complexities in this sector the future pathways and the paradigm shift that is required in administrative and policy level is also discussed.

Dr. Amarjit Singh is from the Indian Administrative Service, and is a former Union Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. In this capacity he has been intimately connected with several national endeavors, such as the National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Programme, National Hydrology Project; Ganga Rejuvenation and Inter Linking of Rivers, to mention a few. He led the Indian delegation for talks on Indus with Pakistan on several occasions.

In his early career he served in various capacities the drought prone Saurashtra region of Gujarat and has experienced first hand the water woes of the people during rain deficient years. He worked closely with the World Bank for assistance for various health programmes and followed this up with a PhD at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. His research work was widely published in leading scientific journals. His work in Gujarat for promoting PPPs in the Health Sector was widely appreciated and in 2008 he was awarded the Prime Minister's Medal for excellence in Public Administration. He is a regular guest speaker at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie and other prestigious institutions like the NDC.

Dr. Dipankar Saha is former Member (Head Quarters), Central Ground Water Board, under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. He also acted as National Coordinator of National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme, the largest ground water mapping endeavor in the world, as Member Secretary Central Ground Water Authority. He is PhD on Ground Water Management from IIT-ISM Dhanbad and has authored more than 50 papers in International Peer Reviewed Journals, besides more than 25 national and state level reports. He is professionally trained on Applied Quaternary Geology by Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok and on Integrated Water Resources Management, by JICA, Tokyo. He has delivered many key note addresses in conferences and meetings in India and abroad, like World Bank at Kathmandu, International Atomic Energy Agency at Ho-Chi Minh City, and Vienna, World Water Week - Stockholm, India-UK Water Security Exchange- Wallingford, Oxfordshire. He has attended short time consultancy at IAEA Vienna and led the Government of India Delegation to Myanmar. He remained member of many high level National Committees and has Edited Co-edited 5 books/Journals, the recent one is Clean and Sustainable Groundwater in India by Springer. He is the recipient of National Geoscience Award - 2010 on Ground Water Exploration and Excellence in Ground Water conferred by International Association of Hydrogeologist - India Chapter in 2014.

Er. Avinash C. Tyagi, a 1973 graduate from University of Roorkee, India and a post graduate from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, has vast experience in dealing with various facets of water resources management starting from hydrologic observation to disaster risk management to inter-state water dispute resolution to contributing to the national and international policy making. He served as Commissioner of Policy Planning in Ministry of Water Resources in India before leading Water and Climate wing at World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as Director. He was instrumental in reviving the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), an international professional non-governmental organization, as its Secretary General. A leader in true sense, both at WMO and ICID he introduced and successfully implemented a host of internationally acclaimed initiatives.

Er. Tyagi, through his interaction with water, climate and disaster managers from various member countries of WMO and ICID, gained an intimate knowledge of issues related to water resources, climate change and disaster management in developing countries around the world and helped them through transfer of technology and capacity development. He interacted with policy makers, and ministers of many member countries. Er. Tyagi is an ardent advocate of multi-disciplinary collaboration for resolving complex development challenges, and in continuing dialogue among various stakeholders and community participation in the water sector.