Arunachal Pradesh water resources management authority bill (2006)

Arunachal Pradesh water resources management authority bill (2006) provides for the establishment of the Arunachal Pradesh water resources management authority to regulate water resources within the state of Arunachal Pradesh, facilitate and ensure judicious, equitable and sustainable management, allocation and utilisation of water resources, fix the rates for use of water for agriculture, industrial, drinking and other purposes and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Chairperson, the Members and special invitees of the Authority shall be appointed as follows:

• the Chairperson shall be a person who is or who was of the rank of Chief Secretary or equivalent thereto,
• one Member shall be expert from the field of water resources engineering,
• one Member shall be expert from the field of water resources economy,
• five special invitees as prescribed one from each river basin Agency area, who are having adequate knowledge, experience or proved capacity in dealing with the problems relating to Engineering, agricultural, drinking water, industry, law, economics, commerce, finance or management for assisting the authority in taking policy decisions.

The powers, functions and duties of the authority are underlined, notable ones being:

• to determine the distribution of entitlements for various Categories of Use and the equitable distribution of entitlements of water within each Category of Use on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed;
• to determine the priority of equitable distribution of water available at the water resource project, sub-basin and river basin levels during periods of scarcity;
• to establish a water tariff system, and to fix the criteria for water charges at sub-basin, river basin and State level after ascertaining the views of the beneficiary public , based on the principle that the water charges shall reflect the full recovery of the cost of the irrigation management , administration, operation and maintenance of water resources project.

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