Government Programmes

The decision to act or not act, and further how to act in the face of unknowns or uncertainties is the subject matter of the precautionary principle (PP). It is against this historical backdrop of unknowns in environmental governance that the present study on the precautionary principle was conducted.

The present framework for environmental governance provides a number of areas where precaution can and must be applied. In addition to these areas, the present report is the outcome of a descriptive study that shows the extent to which key elements of the precautionary principle are embedded in the specific case of two environmental laws related to coasts. The study examines key areas of the clearance continuum (law-making, clearance and monitoring) through a single broad question: To what extent is the approach of precaution embedded in decision-making under the CRZ Notification 1991 and the Water Act, 1974?

Sridhar attempted to examine this question on a continuum that examines a) the text of the law, b) the conditions under which projects are cleared or rejected and c) issues related to the monitoring of these conditions. The Asia and Pacific Workshop Report of the Precautionary Principle Project declared that there are both explicit and implicit uses of the precautionary principle. It states that there are some instances where the PP’s application is explicit and unambiguous whereas in other decisions the PP is implicit. They also raise an important point that to actually determine whether a decision was indeed precautionary or not (where it is not explicit) requires an examination of the context and motivations for decisions and management interventions.

This compendium by the Water and Sanitation Programme and the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India  presents case studies about the achievements and experiences of different situations, institutional models, community mobilisation approaches, supply chain management techniques, capacity building methods, convergence of various programmes, school sanitation, innovative approaches etc from different states and regions in the country.

After a decade of launching the Total Sanitation Campaign, India has seen significant successes in terms of the sanitation coverage, creating open defecation communities/GPs and solid and liquid waste management. Thousands of success stories have emerged across the country while still there are many challenges in making the entire rural India Nirmal and sustaining the changes achieved.

It is a compilation of ongoing, successful strategies piloted and upscaled by a range of development agencies in different parts of the country. The handbook is presented in four volumes under a common framework and focus on initiatives related to: participatory natural resource management; rural entrepreneurship development; use of information communication technology and institution development.

About 400 million rural poor reside in about 200 poorest districts of the country that constitute rainfed areas. Scientific research has revealed a vast untapped potential in rainfed agriculture where crop yields are lower than their potential by two to five fold. A large number of innovative projects and ideas have been tried to address this issue, although documentation has been uneven and fragmented. Drawing upon such experiences, the handbook points towards new vistas and untapped opportunities in meeting the challenge of enhancing food security with limited water resources and improving the carrying capacities of rainfed areas to match the rapidly increasing populations in these regions and elsewhere.

The workshop was structured in two sections. Research papers were presented from research institutes such as Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Central Soil & Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWRTI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), National Research Centre for Agroforestry (NRCAF), National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). This was followed by presentation of success stories by various States.

This document from the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka site is a bill to regulate, and control the development and management of groundwater and matters connected therewith. The document is divided into the following chapters:

Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Water Resources, inaugurated the first Consultation Meeting with the representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on review of the National Water Policy at Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute (WALAMTARI), Hyderabad. Speaking on the occasion he said that our National Water Policy should be truly a National Policywith full participation of all throughout the country. He called upon the elected representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to provide specific feedback on the centre’s role in water management from conflict resolution to co-operative development and on the ownership issue of groundwater. Shri Vincent H. Pala, Minister of State for Water Resources, briefed the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions about the consultation process undertaken by the Ministry of Water Resources for review of National Water Policy.

The Government of India’s 15-year old AIBP has come under much-deserved criticism for all-round non-performance. It was introduced to support states in "last mile" public irrigation projects, that is, projects which are nearly completed but whose full benefits can start flowing only after small, incremental investments are made. Yet, the AIBP has been used mostly for funding new projects.

These reforms have led to the establishment of Independent Regulatory Authorities (IRAs) in the water sector through the enactment of laws at the state level.

The River cleaning project is to the tune of US $ 1 billion (approximately Rs 4,600 crore) loan and credit that will form part of the Bank’s long-term support for cleaning the Ganga River. Two Biodiversity Conservation agreements are for a credit of US$15.6 million and US$8.14 million grant.

On this occasion, Sh Jairam Ramesh , Minister of State for Environment and Forest Minister said, “Two protected areas, one each in Uttarakhand and Gujarat, will put in place a complete new model of managing the protected areas while safeguarding the livelihoods of local communities. So far local community was looked as enemies of protected areas, but this has to be changed. We have to make local communities full partners in the protection and regeneration of these protected areas. These new models will be applied in other areas of the country.” Giving details of cleaning operations of last few years, the Minister said, “The objective of Ganga project is ‘by 2020 no municipal sewage and industrial effluent will be let into the river Ganga without treatment’. With the help from the World bank, we are taking a big step forward in achieving the Mission Clean Ganga”.

Soil is one of the basic natural resources that supports life on Earth. It is an ecosystem, which is a home to several living organisms, which make the soil alive and give it a good structure and texture.

A living soil ecosystem nurtures and nourishes plants by providing a healthy medium to take roots through a steady supply of nutrients. Use of chemical fertilisers disturbs the natural soil ecosystem and its indiscriminate use has resulted in the degradation of soil. A total neglect of ecological/organic fertilisation by policy makers, extension officers and farmers during the peak Green Revolution period has also added to the soil health crisis.

This report pools together scientific literature as well as farmers’ views on this issues as many a times, while studying issues related to soil health or while making policies related to it, the farmer, who is the most important stakeholder, is seldom consulted. The report has made an effort to rectify this grave inadequacy by including the farmer's perspectives in the academic processes like the social surveys, public hearings and workshops and in this final report. Every section of the report has a component from the existing scientific literature available and another one on the farmers’ opinion on the same area.