Planning Commission (Government of India)

This report by the Task Force, constituted by the Planning Commission, Government of India in April, 2008, is an outcome of the need expressed by the Prime Minister of India for a fresh analysis of the problems of the hill states and hill areas of the country in a manner that suggests that these areas do not suffer in any way on account of their peculiarities.

Opinions have been expressed that the pace of development of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has been slow when compared to the rest of the country. At the same time, its fragile nature and difficulty of taking up conventional development initiatives has not been appreciated. In this report, arguments have been presented recommending reshaping of policies to bring in the “mountain perspective” for the IHR, in the national planning. Emphasis has also been laid on developing norms for good governance and for harnessing social capital at the grassroots.

Report of steering committee on drinking water supply and sanitation for tenth five year plan

Planning commsision releases september 2007 report of the expert group on "Ground Water Management and Ownership". The report looks primarily at the problem of rural depletion of groundwater and looked into the feasibility and necessity of changing groundwater law.

The terms of reference of the working group are as follows -

A report for the Planning Commission presents the water policy and action plan for the year 2020 for the country. The goals  put forward in the policy are such as would do justice to all users of water and yet would be practical and achievable. At present it is the central and state governments that play the key role in the management of water resources. The policy proposed, on the other hand, seeks to involve all the people at the level of the local communities so that they can conserve, develop and manage the water resource at the local level itself.

The September 2007 report of the Expert Group on "Ground Water Management and Ownership" of the Planning Commission is available from the Commission. The report looks primarily at the problem of rural depletion of groundwater and feasibility and necessity of changing groundwater law.