Policies, Laws and Regulations

Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in India are made to cough up about Rs 9,000 million as bribe to avail basic and need based public services. The TII-CMS India Corruption Study 2007 focused on BPL households, mostly in rural India. The coverage of this study includes all parts of the country. The study, like the earlier ones is based on CMS-PEE model where the scope is not only limited to perceptions about corruption in general, but perception in specific context of a service and, more importantly, actual experience of paying bribe by BPL households in availing one or more of the 11 selected public services. Depending on frequency of interaction, the eleven services are divided broadly into "basic services" (PDS, Hospital Service, School Education (up to 12th), Electricity Service and Water Supply Service) and "need based services" (Land Records / Registration, Housing Service, Forest, NREGS, Banking Service and Police Service (traffic and crime). This round of India Corruption Study 2007 is designed and conducted by Centre For Media Studies(CMS) in collaboration with the Transparency International India (TII). The CMS methodology for the study involved household level sample survey, exit interviews at service delivery outlets, discussions with the concerned "service providers"in each case and observations on display of information at the service delivery points. Read more on the Corruption Study's take on the Water Supply Services in India

South Africa: New Water Management System in Cape BuaNews (Tshwane) 5 December 2007 Cape Town The City of Cape Town is introducing a new water demand management system for its residents. It consists of a water management device, which is installed in residents' houses, and a central control team in the City administration that regulates the functioning of these devices with the help of a computer set up. "This system will help our customers to save water and to manage their monthly water bills, and it will help the city to manage debt," the city council said. It will also help residents to identify any leaks and have them fixed, instead of running up a huge water bill and then being unable to pay.

From: http://www.assams.info/2007/09/draft-for-assam-water-policy-rejected.html Addressing a press meet after the consultancy, secretary of Jal Biradari, NE chapter, A K Goldsmith said, '' Many of the participants want the draft policy to be rejected outright and have termed it anti-people since it has fail

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.