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Pumping up hopes the solar way
What will it take for the Haryana government to switch 7 lakh groundwater pumps to solar powered options so it can lower its energy footprint and contain losses in the energy sector? Posted on 28 Jan, 2016 03:29 PM

Haryana's agriculture sector uses seven lakh tubewells, most of which are connected to the grid as the state has a policy of providing highly subsidised electricity to farmers costing Rs. 6200 crore a year. As a result, groundwater exploitation is rampant.

Better incentives needs to be provided to farmers to use solar pumps for tubewells in Haryana
Government sets ambitious targets for MGNREGS
Policy matters this week Posted on 26 Jan, 2016 02:09 PM

Aiming for an outcome-oriented programme, Government sets ambitious targets for MGNREGS

Labourers building check dams under MGNREGS (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
UP Coca Cola plant in trouble again
News this week Posted on 26 Jan, 2016 02:03 PM

CPCB finds Coca Cola plant in Hapur pumping toxic water into a pond

Coca Cola bottling plant (Source: S. Subramanium via Hindu)
Alarm bells ring for Delhi’s groundwater
The city's old wells and baodis are running dry, and the Yamuna is getting more polluted by the day. Where is Delhi's water going to come from when groundwater levels are also dropping? Posted on 25 Jan, 2016 01:19 PM

Delhi, home to 16.75 million people, is in the grip of a major water crisis. Statistics by the Delhi Jal Board for the year 2011 suggest that the water deficit stands at about 250 million gallons per day with the supply being 830 million gallons per day.

Residents say they are forced to flout the groundwater extraction norms with illegal groundwater pumps in Narela in North-west Delhi due to insufficient and poor quality of water supplied.
Can recurring droughts in Maharashtra be offset by participatory groundwater management (PGWM)?
Three different methods using PGWM that resulted in better water management demonstrate that hydrogeology can become a catalyst for villages to come together to plan and achieve water security. Posted on 20 Jan, 2016 09:02 AM

Maharashtra is the fourth state following Karnataka, Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh to seek out relief from the Union government thanks to more than 15,000 of its villages across Marathwada and parts of Western Maharashtra reeling under drought in 2015 [1].

The role of PGWM to deal with droughts in Maharashtra (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Centre speeds up its Clean Ganga Mission
Policy matters this week Posted on 19 Jan, 2016 11:36 AM

Centre to involve public, private firms for urban sewage treatment and Ganga clean up 

Ganga river at Gadmukteshwar (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
11,000 acres lake land encroached in Bengaluru
News this week Posted on 19 Jan, 2016 11:29 AM

Panel finds Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and private builders responsible for 11,000 acres of lake land encroachment

Rachenahalli Lake in Bengaluru (Source: Sumetee Pahwa Gajjar)
The semi-arid regions of the Moyar-Bhavani basin
State sponsored policies and programmes must be sensitive to promote sustainable developmental activities in this already fragile social ecological system in Tamil Nadu. Posted on 17 Jan, 2016 10:56 PM

Today's rural poor operate in highly risky and uncertain environments. Grappling with multiple stresses like eroding natural resources, poor assets and increasing climate variability, they are constantly adjusting their lives and livelihoods--changing a crop grown, digging another well, or migrating to a nearby town.

Large population of scheduled caste, and other communities reside in or around protected areas of the basin.
Informal water markets in Chennai
A significant number of the urban poor purchase water from tankers and those that deliver water in plastic cans, bottles, sachets, etc, incurring a sizeable monthly expenditure on water purchases. Posted on 17 Jan, 2016 09:43 PM

In India, managing the current demand and planning for future water demand in urban areas is becoming a major challenge for urban water supply authorities. According to current figures by the World Health Organisation, 10% in urban areas in India still do not have access to improved water supply.

Water scarcity and informal water markets in urban India (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Why do farmers commit suicide in Marathwada?
Poor land holding capacity, lack of irrigation facilities and inability to repay loans taken for agricultural and personal use are some reasons for the pitiful state of many farmers. Posted on 17 Jan, 2016 09:11 PM

Marathwada, one of the most drought prone areas in Maharashtra, continues to be in the news over the last few months due to the severe agarian crisis that the region has been facing and the very high rates of farmers suicides.

Droughts in Marathwada (Source: India Water Portal)
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