Lifting and Extraction

This EPW paper studies the various forms of resistance against the construction of Polavaram dam, and notes that the main feature of the struggles has been the involvement of people’s organisations due to the failure of traditional as well as statutory bodies, representatives and regional leadership of mainstream political parties.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)organised the Water India conference, around the theme “Transforming the municipal and industrial water landscape - Issues, challenges and opportunities".

India is the largest user of groundwater resources in the world. It is estimated that approximately 230 cubic kilometers per year is used annually, this is more than a quarter of the total world consumption from this resource.

It is in this context that this World Bank report looks at the reasons for this quantum of groundwater usage.

The report delves into socio-economic and political reasons and looks at policies which inadvertently promote so much extraction. The report also analyses various attempts to manage this resource. These attempts range from government and international agency efforts directed to grassroots mobilisations. Finally the report comes out with suggestions to deal with this crisis.

Building bye-laws are a set of standards used to regulate various facets of a building everything from its design to its safety features. In these 'Model Building Bye-Laws', the Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO) under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has created a guide for State Governments, Urban Local Bodies, Development Authorities to help them play a more effective role in enforcing the implementation of the master plans.

It argues that while the consequences of negative groundwater draft have mostly been viewed as an ecological disaster, the externalities of groundwater depletion pose greater concern for socio-economic equity in the access to this resource.

1. Meaning of Ground Water

• Water located beneath the ground surface.

 Groundwater is stored in and moves slowly through layers of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers. Aquifers typically consist of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone.

This report by Aligarh Muslim University and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) deals with groundwater flow modelling and aquifer vulnerability assessment in Yamuna–Krishni sub-basin of Muzaffarnagar district. For evaluation of the groundwater resources and for minimizing the error of estimation, the system has been evaluated through aquifer modelling where water balance is established using partial differential equation of groundwater flow and is solved with boundary and initial boundary conditions.

It was the kick-off event of an ambitious project to find solutions to the groundwater crisis in Gujarat, funded by the PepsiCo Foundation. More details of the project will follow this overview post.

Gujarat and the Mehsana region, India Source: Columbia Water Center

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.