News and Articles

The proceedings of the Consultation on “Emerging Water Regulatory Frameworks and Related Reforms in Water Governance in Karnataka” that was held on 02 September 2009 at Bangalore. Please do send us your comments.

In continuation with our efforts within Karnataka we have taken up two initiatives:

1. Review of the ongoing reform processes in Urban Water Governance, with a special focus on the establishment of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Council.
2. Preparation of a general reader on water governance in the form of a booklet with a special focus on regulatory reforms in Karnataka, available both in Karnataka and Kannada (targeted at non-academic audiences such as NGO's and CSO's).

Attached is an assesment report of the status in Mahbubnagar district created by a team of civil society representatives. The report makes reference to a networking effort of civil society organisations in order to co-ordinate their efforts, and the team promises to continue to survey the situation and make periodic reports.

The following reports are from interactions organized in and around the Kosi Basin on the initiative of the Barh Mukti Abhiyan in alliance with local organizations. Reports from the interactions offer an unique window to the continued effect of the Kosi deluge and also the current local concerns in the field.

Ministry of Urban Development has approved  467 projects with  total cost of  Rs.50,340 crores under Urban Infrastructure Governance (UIG), Sub-Mission –I of  Jawaharlal Nehru National  Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) so far.

Image & Content Courtesy: SANDRP

In fifteen years from 1991-92 to 2006-07 (the latest year for which figures are available), there is been absolutely no addition to net irrigated areas by canals from Major and Medium Irrigation Projects as per official data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture, based on actual field data from states. From April 1991 to March 2007, the country has spent over Rs 130 000 crores on Major and Medium Irrigation Projects with the objective of increasing canal irrigated areas.But the official data shows that this whole expenditure of over Rs 130 000 crore has not led to addition of a single ha in the net irrigated area by canals in the country for the whole of this fifteen year period. In fact the areas irrigated by such projects have reduced by a massive 2.44 million ha during this period.

Chidambaram is the taluk headquarters, located at about 250 km south of Chennai on east coast road [ECR] in Cuddalore district of Tamilnadu. It is a coastal taluk having three panchayat unions, Keerapalayam, Melbhuvanagiri and Portonovo. Chidambaram is the most important pilgrim center of the country, and is blessed with the Lord Nataraja temple. The temple town is also known as Bhuloka Kailash and Lord Nataraja, a cosmic dancer, represent the ‘Aakash’ form which is one among the ‘Pancha Boothas’. 

Though this temple town is blessed with such historically important temple, the Nature has cursed Chidambaram area with brackish water, which is also one among the ‘Pancha Boothas’. The total aerial extent of this taluk is 649 square km and the most part of the taluk is confined between the rivers Vellar and Kollidam, which is a distributary of the river Cauvery. Some few lakhs years back the Kollidam river might have flown even north of Chidambaram town and might have receeded subsequently southwards to the present position. Due to this invasion, the entire area might have been changed as marshy lands and mangrove forests. The salinity of ground water may be attributable to the fluvio marine origin sediments, which might have been deposited during this paleo invasion by the river and due to the back water flow. Chidambaram is about 15 km west of sea shore and the mean sea level is 5.1 metres. Geologically this taluk is a sedimentary terrain and the eastern parts are covered by the quaternary unconsolidated formations of clay, black clay, soils, alluvium, silts, kankar and laterites of recent to sub recent age and the western parts by the tertiary formations of Mio-Pliocene age represented by litho units - sand stones, grits, clays with lignite seams and pebble beds.

A map of the affected areas can be seen at this URL

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/(db900SID)/LPAA-7WKB6S/picture/0.84?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif

and is also attached to this blog entry

The below is a brief summary of the events:

OVERALL SITUATION

Heavy rains due to depression in the Bay of Bengal and low pressure from the Arabian Sea from Sep tember 29 to October 2 have caused flash floods in north Karnataka and the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, affecting nearly two million people and claiming 210 lives. In Karnataka, 15 districts are affected and 161 people have nearly tw millionperished. In Andhra Pradesh, five districts were hit by the flash flood and 49 people have lost their lives. However, of the two million, 1.4 million people affected are from Andhra Pradesh.

Oxfam India has sent teams to survey and gauge the situation in flood affected areas. They point out that as these are mostly arid areas, they are particularly ill-prepared to deal with floods.

Read the full article here:  http://bit.ly/OME0a

The TERI Corporate Awards for Environmental Excellence is an Award given in recognition of corporate leadership efforts towards environmental management and sustainable initiatives. The objective is to encourage and provide momentum to innovative environmental initiatives. This year the award was given to National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC)in recognition for its contribution towards the environment. But a number of persons and organisations, including Senior Supreme Court lawyer Shri Prashant Bhushan (Ph: 09811164068) and a detailed study by South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP) a letter objecting the award to NHPC was sent to the jury of TERI.

Image & Content Courtesy: ENVIS

The ENVIS Centre in the KSCSTE is preparing a database on environmental experts of Kerala. The primary goal of the Expert Database is to provide access to environmental expert information in order to help stakeholders solve environmental problems and participate in environmental issues. A secondary goal is to promote cross-sector networking and information exchange between environmental experts from other states.

To develop the Expert Database, Environmentalists who are from Kerala are requested to fill & Submit the form given below and/or forward the form to others.

Click here to fill online form.