Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

In this lecture, the author makes connections between the concepts of certainty and uncertainty and draws parallels between these and the scientific or the positivist approach and the phenomenalist approach. The author argues that the excessive emphasis on certainty, which is an inherent assumption of the scientific approach embraces reductionism, compartmentalisation and has been the principle underlying all disciplines such as developmental economics.

Arghyam, a civil society organisation working on water issues since 2005, has participated in drinking water programmes involving State Governments since its inception, either directly or by partnering with local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

This publication documents Arghyam's and its partners' collective experiences in participating in these Government programmes and puts forward key learnings and challenges.

The various programmes include - Sachethana, a school rooftop rainwater harvesting programme, and Suvarnajala, a flouride mitigation programme, both in Karnataka; Pani Thiye Panjo, a decentralised drinking water management programme in Gujarat; and Mazhapolima, an open-well recharge programme in Kerala.

Guest Post: Amrtha Kasturi Rangan, Arghyam

“When a State Government instead of itself undertaking a work, if it allows an agency like the petitioner Company by substantially funding them to undertake such work which is essentially that of a municipality, no one can say that such work of the petitioner company as a private activity. On the other hand, it is very much a public activity over which public interest can generate”.

Judgement in WP NO. 9794 of 2008 and M.P. Nos. 1 and 2 of 2008

The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 was enacted to ensure transparency and accountability. As per the Act any citizen can write and ask for information from a “public authority”.  The Act also requires that public authorities make information about themselves available to the public – mandatory disclosure.

From its time of enactment, there have been several challenges in operationalizing the RTI Act. A progressive civil society has constantly challenged hesitation and delay in providing information. Several ambiguities have required judicial intervention to interpret the letter and the spirit of the Act. Here we look at the success of widening the scope of accountability to include private agencies who partner with the government under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Article and Picture Courtesy: American Academy of Water Resources Engineers

John J. Cassidy, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAE, Hon.D.WRE, of Walnut Creek, California, and Mukuteswara Gopalakrishnan Hon.D.WRE, of New Delhi, India and the Secretary General of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) were recently elected the nineteenth and twentieth Honorary Diplomates of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. The Honorary Diplomate status is AAWRE's highest honor given to an individual. Since the founding of AAWRE in October 2004, twenty individuals have received the Honorary Diplomate, Water Resources Engineers (Hon.D.WRE) status from the Academy.

Honorary Diplomate status is only granted to outstanding individuals who meet one or more of the following criteria: has attained a position of eminence in the water resources engineering profession, has made a singular noteworthy achievement or sustained noteworthy contributions to the advancement of the water resources engineering profession, or has rendered outstanding service over a sustained period of time in the field of water resources and to the work of the Academy.