Political

This paper by Centre for Studies in Social Sciences and Jadavpur University, aims at explaining the factors that determine private investment in groundwater irrigation in West Bengal. It also addresses the issues pertaining to institutional arrangements, particularly provision of facilities by the government. The study, largely empirical in nature, is based on data collected from surveys conducted in close to one thousand moujas (villages) spread across the major agro-climatic zones in West Bengal. It begins with a descriptive account of the changes in the agricultural scenario in West Bengal over the last thirty years. The research questions are discussed and the econometric methodology presented.

Integrated Hydrological Data Books are a compendium of important hydrological information of twelve non-classified basins (i.e., other than Ganga and Brahmaputra) consolidated at the national level by the Central Water Commission (CWC).

It covers basic hydrological data on gauge, discharge, silt, sedimentation and water quality collected on a regular basis by the CWC regional field offices, who document it in the form of a Water Year Book, Sediment Year Book and Water Quality Year Book. These along with the relevant land use statistics collected by the Ministry of Agriculture are integrated into this Data Book.

The information is of use to planners, researchers, policy makers and the public at large.

The report of the Expert Group on Ground Water Management and Ownership (2007) of the Planning Commission takes stock of the availability and use of groundwater and outlines the extent, causes and consequences of groundwater exploitation. It suggests the need for exploiting the untapped ‘static’ water, which if untapped creates stagnant conditions and over time provides the necessary time factor for the deterioration in quality. The rising demand for groundwater from agriculture has been attributed to the legal/regulatory regime governing groundwater and partly to the minimum support price policy and agricultural trade policy currently being followed.

Based on the recommendations contained in the Report of the Technical Committee chaired by Dr. C. H. Hanumantha Rao released in 1994, the Common Guidelines (1994) were issued by the Ministry of Rural Areas & Employment (now Ministry of Rural Development) and the watershed approach was adopted for implementation of all Area Development Programmes viz. DPAP, DDP, IWDP and the watershed component of the EAS w.e.f. 1^st April 1995. Taking the above into consideration, Government of India had constituted a Committee on Training under the Chairmanship of Shri V. B. Eswaran to go into all aspects of training under the Common Guidelines.

The report released in 1997, presents a review of the existing training arrangements for watershed development and suggests a system for organizing training for different level of functionaries. The need for detailed guidelines, to be prepared at the State level for this purpose is suggested. There is also a need for developing an institutional mechanism for providing training as soon as there are changes in the incumbent. Once a project is sanctioned, the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) should know the various tasks to be undertaken as regards training and the institutions to be approached for this purpose.  

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Organizer: International Water Management Institute

Eligibility: PhD in the field of hydrogeology/environmental/irrigation/civil engineering or a closely related water resources discipline.

Description:

The International Water Management Institute (www.cgiar.org) is a non-profit, scientific organization engaged in research and capacity building activities for developing countries. Our mission is to overcome poverty through the better management of land and water resources. Working with diverse partners and supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (www.cgiar.org), IWMI seeks to translate its research findings into actionable recommendations for policymakers, resource managers and poor rural communities. IWMI is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka and has regional offices in 12 countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. IWMI is one of the 15 research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

The Vaidyanathan Committee was set up by the Planning Commission, to review the existing water rate structure and the extent of subsidy in Government and Public Sector irrigation projects. It suggested the norms for fixing water rates, cost escalation on the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) component of economic water rates, conversion of volumetric supply of water rates from crop-wise and area-wise water rates for different agro-climatic zones. Based on these, it suggested organizational measures including a mechanism for efficient recovery ofeconomic water rates and operating controls for ensuring levy of appropriate irrigation water rates by the States. 

The study determines rates of sedimentation and estimates the useful life of Dal-Nagin lake situated in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir using radiometric techniques. In spite of various ecological problems the lake is the largest freshwater lake in India. It has four major sub-basins viz., Hazratbal, Bod Dal, Garibal and Nagin. The lake is fraught with the problem of growth of underwater weeds and increasing rate of sedimentation.

The study deals with the development of an operation policy for the Tawa dam. It adopts rule-curve based policy for conservation regulation of the dam developed for three levels viz. upper rule level, middle rule level (critical for irrigation) and lower rule level (critical for water supply and upstream use). The generated simulation model developed by the Water Resources System Group at the National Institute of Hydrology is used to simulate the system operation and to refine the rule curves.

The study deals with flood plain mapping in a part of Yamuna basin between Gangoh and New Delhi. A flood is a markedly high stage of flow in a river and may inundate adjoining lands, which is called the floodplain of a river. So, floodplain is land inundated by a flood of given frequency. Alternately it is also defined as flat land between valley walls.