Political

Forwarded to the Portal by Ewoud Kok, UNESCO-IHE ==== The UNESCO-IHE Partnership Research Fund announces an interdisciplinary post-doctoral research programme to investigate the many challenges of adapting to climate change from different water related perspectives.

National Water Academy (Khadakwasla, Pune, India) will conduct a three day “Introductory Program” for NGOs and media persons active in water and environment sector, from 28 to 30 July 2009.

(Jointly organised by Bangalore Environment Trust and ARGHYAM) On 4 July 2009 at 1430h at the RAMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE Accor

Image and Content Courtesy: Avinash Krishnamurthy, BIOME Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,

Meet Muniyappa and his team of well diggers. They have dug over a 150 wells with us in the last two years and perhaps more than a 1000 wells in their life time. While digging Muniswamy (or someone else in the team) is drenched in sweat and is bare chested. He climbs up and down the well which can be upto 40 ft deep on footholds 2 inches deep that he himself digs into the sidewalls of the wells. When he is deep down under, digging, and soil has to be hauled up, Srinivasu and Muniyappa are precariously perched on the side of the well pulling up the rope that holds the basket full of soil. And then once the well is dug, concrete rings (each weighing in the range of 75 Kg to 250 Kgs depending on the size of the well) are introduced down from the top with the help of the rope - and the sinews of Muniyappa, Srinivasu or Muniswamy. And during this process, Muniswamy virtually climbs in and out of the well for each ring that is introduced.

mmForwarded to the Portal by: Himanshu Thakkar, SANDRP

PROJECT PROMOTER IS CHAIRING ENVIRONMENT CLEARANCE COMMITTEE LETTER SENT TO ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: TEST FOR UPA'S CLAIMS ON GOVERNANCE

For over two years now, Mr. P Abhraham who is on the Board of several hydropower and dam companies has been chairing the Ministry of Environment and Forests' Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley and Hydropower projects. The committee, set up under the EIA Notification 2006 and EPA 1986, screens proposals for dams and hydropower projects for clearances at various stages. The committee also takes decisions on several very crucial policies governing the clearances for these projects. There is clear conflict of interest here between Abraham's role as director of companies and as this most crucial regulatory position in the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Over the past two years, there has been at least six occasions when a project of the companies where Abraham is a director has come for clearance before the committee he chairs. This is a completely unacceptable situation and a number of social and environment groups have written to the New Union Environment Minister to remove Abraham from this position, before the next meeting of the committee he chairs happens (it is scheduled for June 15-16, 2009).

Among many other power and dam companies, Abraham is on the Board of Lanco Infratech, GVK Industries Ltd, JSW Energy Ltd, PTC Ltd, Nagarjun Construction and Maharashtra Power Generation Company. Some of the projects from such companies that came up before the EAC that Abraham chairs over the last two years include the 3000 MW Demwe Hydropower project (Arunachal Pradesh), the 76 MW Phata Byung HEP (Uttarakhand), the 76 MW Rambara HEP (Uttarakhand), the 170 MW Bogudiyar-Sirkari Bhyol HEP (Uttarakhand), the 200 MW Mapang Bogudiyar HEP (Uttarakhand) and the 260 MW Kuther HEP (Himachal Pradesh). Abraham has been abstaining from the meetings whenever these projects came up before the EAC, but this is clearly not sufficient.

   CAREWATER's recent solicitation for comments on IWP blog (click here),  on their research study on dugwell recharge draws attention to a little-known programme of the government of India on decentralized groundwater recharge through the use of farmer d

December this year in Copenhagen the countries of the world are going to sign a treaty that will change our life as we know it. Their commitments today will affect our quality of life tomorrow.

This is a DVD made by a non-profit group that has been uploaded to the web where it could reach many more people and add visibility to your organisation's work. If you would like India Water Portal to do something similiar with your organisation's DVD , please mail us at portal@arghyam.org