PLANNING COMMISSION, WORKING GROUP ON WATER GOVERNANCE FOR THE TWELFTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (2012-2017)

The Working Group on Water Governance was tasked with reviewing national and international experience on reforms in the governance of water; suggesting a blueprint for reforms in India so that we arrive at an institutional framework that facilitates setting up of diverse regulatory bodies 1) to help determination and enforcement of environmentally sustainable limits on the surface and ground water that may be withdrawn from the water resources of river basins 2) to enable holistic and statutory water planning within each of our river basins in a participatory manner, involving stakeholders (especially PRis/ULBs) to improve water security for all users and optimize social, economic and environmental outcomes 3) to help determine and ensure that the basic requirements of drinking water and of the environment are met in a transparent manner 4) to enable resolution of conflicts across uses, users and States; Delineating the contours of a transparent and participatory process of water tariff determination in each water sector; Suggesting a blueprint of legal reforms for both surface water and groundwater; Suggesting the most appropriate coordination mechanism across departments; to break down silos and ensure holistic view of the unitary hydrologic cycle.