Imperative of National Water Grid Authority to revolutionise the agricultural sector and the Indian economy
Fervent plea to Policy-makers and Socio-Political leadership of the nation
I request you to make a historic announcement which will benefit the present and future generations and offer an infrastructure for reviving the sick agricultural sector by creating command areas of irrigation in every part of the nation assuring water supply on a 24X7, 365-days of the year-basis.
The desired announcement is the constitution of a National Water Grid Authority, declaring water as a national asset. The constitution of National Water Grid Authority has to be done by an Act of Parliament. If needed, Supreme Court’s opinion can be obtained if concurrence from the States is required for such an enactment or if a Constitutional amendment is necessary to nationalize every river or if Entry 56 of Central List is wide enough to treat every river as a potential inter-state river, given the trend of constituting new states periodically.
This one move alone has the potential to create 60,000 km. of national water way saving precious foreign exchange for import transport diesel fuels, make available 9 crore acres of additional wet lands with assured irrigation to 9 crore poor families and create a potential for quadrupling agricultural production from the present level of 250 m. tonnes per annum. With assured water supply and effective soil health management, India can become a granary of the world to mitigate world hunger. A bonus will be the disbandment of Inter-state water dispute tribunals by declaring separate River Basin Management groups irrespective of current or future provincial boundaries.
The following aspects are briefly outlined in this note:
1. Legal issues regarding the rights/consent of States and permissions/clearances required
2. Organisation required for creating a National Water Grid
3. Whether NWGA can be public-private exercise
4. Total estimated cost
5. Composition of experts required to work out a DPR
6. Period of implementation
Background and Execuitive summary
It is time to create a National Water Grid Authority (NWGA) and realize the Grid with an extreme urgency to make every river a jeevanadi and to reach water to everyone of the 6 lakhs villages to create 9 crore acres of additional wet land with assured round-the-clock irrigation available on tap for four crops per year and 60,000 km. national waterways.
The NWGA can be put in place on the lines of Konkan Railway Corporation as a self-financing enterprise issuing Brahmaputra and Sarasvati Bonds without involving the central treasury.
Legal issues regarding the rights/consent of States and permissions/clearances required
I request you to announce that a bill will be introduced for enacting National Water Grid Authority Act.
The justification is as follows:
Entry 56 of List I of Seventh Schedule provides that "Regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest".
India is union of States. The constitutional provisions in respect of allocation of responsibilities between the State and Centre fall into three categories: The Union List (List-I), the State List (List-II) and the Concurrent List (List-III). Article 246 of the Constitution deals with subject matter of laws to be made by the Parliament and by Legislature of the States. As most of the rivers in the country are inter-State, the regulation and development of waters of these rivers, is a source of inter-State differences and disputes. In the Constitution, water is a matter included in Entry 17 of List-II i.e. State List. This entry is subject to the provision of Entry 56 of List-I i.e. Union List.
In case of disputes relating to waters, Article 262 provides:
• Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter-State river or river valley.
The Constitution provides for declaring inter-state rivers as national assets and the NWGA should be a central agency with full powers for land acquisition and distribution in coordination with the agencies dealing with issues such as soil health cards and land use management. The NWGA has to implement the Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers drawn up by NWDA after 25 years of study and should also be given the responsibility for constructing the Saagara Maala (National Water Way) and integrating all water management aspects including desalination of seawater for supplying water to the coastal regions and regulations related to maintaining the groundwater tables and increasing the forest cover to 30% of land area.
In this perspective, the declaration of 14 rivers as national assets is a welcome first step in resolving the water supply situation in the nation (Annex A). The nation is endowed with the resources of the world’s largest water tower, the Himalayas. Using the surplus flood waters of Brahmaputra alone, everyone of the rivers south of the Vindhya mountains can made into a perennial river, to provide for 24/7 supply of water on tap or on putting on a switch for a bore pump. This can be done if we set up a National Water Grid as Britain has done during its Canal Age with a network of canal waterways preceding the industrial revolution. NWDA has provided the framework for setting up this Grid.
Annex B details Measures to avoid Inter-state water wars and water management options for the World’s Greatest Water Tower (Himalayas). This annex places in perspectives the geo-political imperative of instituting entities such as NWGA to ensure that the riparian rights of the nation are effectively enforced, while avoiding inter-state conflicts. Four appendixes are attached:
Appendix 1: Cultural and national significance of archaeological projects in north-west Bharat
Appendix 2: Contour Canal along Sahyadri Ranges for augmenting water harvesting for rain-shadow regions and uplands of Deccan Plateau
Appendix 3 The Indus Waters Treaty
Appendix 4: One reason why China should be forced out of Tibet: China's evil designs on Brahmaputra
The kind of organisation required for implementation: National Water Grid Authority
The National Water Grid Authority (NWGA) will be the nodal agency will be responsible for
1) creating and maintaining a National Water Grid to reach water – from every source, that is glaciers, rivers, lakes, swamps, groundwater aquifers, desalinated seawater -- to every village of the nation through an effective interlinking of the nation’s tanks and lakes, contribute to enhancing the forest cover and creating a National Water Way to complement the Indian Railway transport system; and
2) and acting as a regulatory authority to ensure the sustainability and integrated use of sea-surface-underground water resources and economical, cost-efficient-effective use of water as a national asset, as a vital developmental resource of the Nation while ensuring the supply of uncontaminated, potable water to every household.
NWGA will work in close coordination with the Union Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation, Groundwater Departments at the Centre and the States, and all Panchayati Raj Institutions who will be share-holders and stake-holders in NWGA.
NWGA will also work in close collaboration with private enterprises engaged in water management to act as economic multipliers all along the new waterways and irrigation channels which will be created across the length and breadth of the nation.
NWGA will set up decentralized sub-units at the district, panchayat parishads at taluk levels to grant approvals for development of wells and tube-wells for sustainable use of groundwater resources and reaching water for every farm, household and industrial use.
Build-operate-transfer
• NWGA will build, operate and transfer the waterways, water reservoirs/tanks/lakes and irrigation channels to the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
NWGA will be an implementing agency on the lines of the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. which was incorporated on 19 July 1990 a broad gauge railway line along the west coast of India connecting Roha (in Maharashtra, near Mumbai) in the North to Mangalore in the South and for raising the necessary finance for the project from the market. The Project was envisaged under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) concept for the first time in India where KRCL shall build the railway line, operate the same and transfer the railway line to the Indian Railways after discharging the liabilities. The line was commissioned on 26.01.1998. The autonomy provided to this Corporation enabled the completion of the remarkable engineering project in record time, despite hurdles created during land acquisition processes.
Water Management through Regulation
• NWGA will be a regulatory agency for effective and cost-efficient use of water a national asset.
On the same lines, and incorporating the provisions similar to those incorporated in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 No. 24 of 1997, a National Water Grid Authority Act should be passed by the Parliament, to build the National Water Grid, operate the same and transfer the Grid to the Ministry of Water Resources together with provisions for raising the necessary finance for the Grid from the market, inclusion of the Panchayati Raj institutions as share-and-stake holders of NWGA and provisions for private-public sector partnership. The key components of the functions of the NWGA should be: 1. settlement of people displaced and offering appropriate compensation as part of the Grid operations; 2. distribution of 9 crore acres of additional arable wet land created by the grid to the designated beneficiaries, prioritizing the distribution to the economically poor sections of the nation. http://www.trai.gov.in/trai_act.asp
Whether NWGA can be public-private exercise
NWGA to be effective has to be a public-private enterprise to ensure that the fundamental right of every citizen for water is guaranteed.
As discussed in the details of the NWGA responsibilities and functions in the previous paragraphs, NWGA has to be composed of representatives from every State Government, and include every Panchayati Raj Institution as a share-and-stake-holder. Participation of Private enterprise has to be ensured for financial participation without impacting on the central or state exchequers by the issuance by Indian financial institutions such as SBI, LIC, NABARD, other Nationalised Banks, private sector banks of Sarasvati and Brahmaputra Bonds to finance the mandate given to NWGA. Private enterprise has a phenomenal opportunity to act as economic multipliers along the watereways and irrigation channels to ensure provision of urban facilities in rural areas and bring about a revolutionary transformation in the lives of the rural people. Corollary legislations will be called for to empower the Panchayati Raj Institutions transferring responsibilities from the State List to the Panchayati Raj Schedule List in the Constitution for items such as irrigation channels, wells and bore-wells for use of groundwater resources and operation of sea-water desalination plants in villages close to the coastal areas. or desalination plants on brackish water rivers such as Luni (Lavanavati) river n Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Total estimated cost
A major component of the National Water Grid is the number of Himalayan and Peninsular links identified by National Water Development Agency (NWDA) as the Perspective Plan. These river links have to be treated as National Water Assets and become an integral part of the Grid which will ensure that these links effectively recharge the water availability in lakes and tanks, identify desalination plant requirements and commission them all along the coastline and on brackish waterbodies such as Luni river and maintain groundwater table at sustainable levels all over the nation.
NWDA’s Perspective Plan was estimated in 2004 to cost Rs. 5,36,000 crores which represents an investment of about 2% of the GDP over a 10-year period. This investment has to be generated from the financial system without impacting the Govt. of India or State Government budgets. The only funding requirement from the exchequer will be in the initial capital investment in NWGA as a Public Enterprise.
Many plan items related to large-scale and small-scale irrigation projects, command area of irrigation, water distribution projects such as the Rajiv Gandhi Jal pariyojanas should be transferred to the control of NWGA for effective coordination and dovetailing into the Water Grid.
The overall costs for the NWG are expected to be a capital investment of the order of Rs. 6,00,000 crores over a ten year period.
Composition of experts required to work out a DPR
A vital component of the NWGA is the imperative of a Himalayan Glacier Management Group which should become a sub-set of NWGA. Since Himalayas constitute the World’s Greatest Water Tower growing every day (by the upliftment of Himalayas by about 1 cm. every year), management of the glaciers is a vital requirement. Until a multi-national Authority is constituted to manage this Water Tower (on the lines of the Mekong Delta authority), India should take the lead in setting up such an Authority on the India portion of the Himalayan ranges by drawing upon the expertise of glaciologists, geologists, seismologists, hydrologists and irrigation engineers.
NWDA, which is operating as a Cooperative on the lines of C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) should be converted into a sub-agency of NWGA and mandated to complete the detailed project reports within a period of 24 months drawing upon the technical expertise from ISRO, IITs and Central and State Government agencies currently involved in water and irrigation projects.
Members of the National Agricultural Commission, Members of Transport Ministry responsibility for inter-modal-transport systems coordination and experts in Command Area of Irrigation should be co-opted in advisory panels of NWGA.
Current members of River Dispute panels and commissions should be co-opted as legal advisory panels of NWGA.
Every Panchayati Raj Institution should be a member of the NWGA to act as Peoples’ Assembly to ensure effective participation of the people in the programs of NWGA.
To ensure transparency in NWGA operations, Public Grievance and Remediation processes should be in place on the lines enunciated in the Environmental Protection Act and Wildlife Protection Act.
State Government agencies involved in rehabilitation and resettlement of people, in ensuring increase in forest cover should be co-opted as Social panel members of NWGA to avoid the types of problems encountered in implementation of projects such as Narmada dam. The costs involved for such rehabilitation and to ensure forest cover should be made integral part of the Water Grid cost estimations and detailed project formulations.
Padma Vibhushan Sreedharan has shown what can be achieved on Konkan railway or on Delhi metro with meticulous planning and involvement of people in a development project. Using this model, NWGA should upon the nation’s expertise from all Management Institutes and Institutes of Technology and other premier Agricultural institutions, Engineering and universities involved in hydrology systems.
Period of implementation
The NWG should be put in place in 7 years’ time PLUS a 3 year grace period during the transfer period of the Build-operate-transfer process.
The NWGA Act should provide for the capital investments immediately from the Central exchequer and the entire cost of the setting up and operation of the Grid should be underwritten by the Govt. of India. When the facilities of waterways and irrigation channels are transferred to the Panchayati Raj Institutions, adequate budget support should be ensured by GOI by direct transfer of money from the Centre to these institutions which should operate a local savings bank account to be jointly signed by the President and Secretary of the respective Grama or Taluk Panchayat Samitis who are stake-holders of the Grid. Such support will be necessary until the Panchayati Raj Institutions become self-financing entities. To start with, water should be supplied as a free resource and any water charges or levies should be decided upon only by the Panchayati Raj Institutions with the consent of the citizens of the Panchayat.
(Note: In this note, Panchayati Raj Institutions refer not only to Grama Panchayats, Taluk Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Panchayat Parishads but also to Municipalities and Corporations in the urban sector of the nation).
Annex A: Rivers as national assets
Govt. to declare 14 river projects as national assets
New Delhi (PTI): With an aim of improving irrigation and enhancing power generation capacity, the Centre on Thursday decided to declare 14 river projects as national assets for which it would provide as much as 90 per cent funds.
The proposal, cleared by the Union Cabinet, would benefit West Bengal, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The projects to be covered include Teesta Barrage (West Bengal), Shahpur Kandi and Second Ravi Vyas Link (both in Punjab), Bursar and Ujh Multipurpose Project (J & K), Gyspa project (HP), all of which have international ramifications and are of strategic importance.
Renuka (HP), Lakhvar Vyasi (Uttarakhand), Kishau (HP/Uttarakhand) which are on Yamuna basin, are important from the perspective of Commonwealth Games besides drinking water and environmental aspects, Water Resources Minister, Saifuddin Soz, told reporters here.
Noa-Dehang Dam Project and Upper Siang (both in Arunachal Pradesh), Kulsi Dam Project (Assam), Gosikhurd (Maharashtra) and Ken Betwa (MP) would also be covered.
Terming it as a "landmark" decision, he said that some rivers needed to be treated specially as national projects.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/002200802080351.htm
Four states set to sign river linking pacts
Move by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is a welcome change in govt focus, experts say
Siddhartha Sarma
New Delhi: The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra are poised to sign three new agreements to link their rivers in an attempt to harvest surplus water for irrigation and drinking purposes, and address shortages in some of the states.
The so-called river linking schemes are part of an ambitious national river linking project, or RLP, and they are being overseen by the Union ministry of water resources. However, experts say the decision to sign agreements such as these reflects a change in focus of RLP, from linking geographically distant rivers to more realistic projects.
Three agreements to link rivers are in the pipeline (Graphic)
RLP was conceived by the National Democratic Alliance government in 2003 and envisaged connecting 30 rivers across India—14 rivers in north India and 16 in peninsular India. The government believed that this would help irrigate 37 million hectares of land, generate 34 million MW of electricity, control floods, and prevent drought.
Since then, experts have said it is not feasible to link divergent river systems. And states have bickered on the contours of the project. That makes the three agreements that will be signed significant.
The first of these could be signed between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and will link the rivers Parbati and Kalisindh to Chambal.
“The two states have approached a consensus on linking the rivers and the boundary issues involved,” and will soon sign an agreement, said a water resources ministry official who did not wish to be identified.
According to officials at the National Water Development Agency, or NWDA, an autonomous society under the government that carries out surveys and makes plans regarding water bodies and irrigation, the project will divert surplus waters of two rivers, Parbati and Kalisindh, to the Gandhisagar (in Madhya Pradesh) and Rana Pratap Sagar (in Rajasthan) dams across the Chambal river.
“The water from these two rivers will irrigate areas around the link canals and at the Kota barrage in Rajasthan. The water saved in the Chambal by using the water from these rivers will be used in the drought-prone areas of the upper Chambal,” said an NWDA official who did not wish to be identified.
According to the feasibility report discussed by the two state governments, the length of the link to Rana Pratap Sagar dam will be 243km.
Similarly, Gujarat and Maharashtra are also on the verge of concluding their discussions on two river linking projects. One of them is the Damanganga-Pinjal project.
This link, say planners, will divert surplus waters from Bhugad and Khargi Hill reservoirs in Damanganga basin, Gujarat, to Pinjal dam, set up across the river Pinjal in the Vaitarna basin north of Thane, Maharashtra. When completed, the link will supply 909 million cubic metres of water to Mumbai.
“Two link tunnels will transmit the water. The tunnel from Bhugad to Khargi Hill will be 17km long, and the tunnel from Khargi Hill to Pinjal reservoir will be 25km long,” the NWDA official said.
Both state governments have informed the Union government that since the tunnels will be underground, it will not involve displacement of inhabitants. In addition, Gujarat and Maharashtra have also ironed out the details of linking the rivers Par, Tapi and Narmada and will sign an agreement on this shortly.
NWDA has so far prepared 14 feasibility reports, including these three.
It is also close to finalizing the detailed project report, or DPR, of the Ken-Betwa link between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. This was the first ever river linkage project in the country but was delayed because of differences between the two states. The two governments had signed an agreement in 2005 for linking the basins of the two rivers through a 230km canal.
DPR is a document which outlines the finer details of projects and is the final step before work on the project begins. Work on the Ken-Betwa link is expected to begin later this year.
In 2005, analysts had said that the Ken-Betwa link did not make sense as the Ken didn’t have surplus water. That has changed now, said the NWDA official.
Experts view these developments as a shift by the Union government away from linking geographically distant river systems—an idea floated when the river linking issue first emerged—to more realistic projects such as linking adjacent river systems.
“Linkages like the Damanganga-Pinjal project are very interesting. These are very pr-oximate water bodies and surplus water can be diverted to the reservoirs planned as part of the project,” said Dinesh Kumar Mishra, an expert on irrigation systems and floods, and head of Barh Mukti Abhiyan, a non-governmental organization.
“This is a realistic project and so is the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal. These are a far cry from the wild theories about linking northern and southern rivers. However, each project approved or signed by the states in the future must be carefully studied to see if the rivers or basins involved are suitable for these linkages,” he added.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/27224443/Four-states-set-to-sign-river.html
Annex B: Measures to avoid Inter-state water wars and water management options for the World’s Greatest Water Tower (Himalayas)
June 2008
S. Kalyanaraman,
Former Sr. Exec., Asian Development Bank,
Sarasvati Research Centre, 3 Temple Avenue, Chennai 600015 kalyan97@gmail.com
Inter-state water wars in Asia (home to over 2 billion people) became inevitable once China was allowed to occupy Tibet for two principal reasons: 1) to station nuclear-tipped missiles on the Roof of the World at a height of 17,000 ft. to shoot down San Francisco or Delhi or London, like killing flies on the streets from top floor of a World Trade Centre; 2) to divert the Waters of Brahmaputra (Tsangpo) river to wet the Gobi desert in a desperate bid to create additional cultivable land for the hungry Chinese.
Contrasted with this is the experience of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and the resultant building of dams of Sindhu (Indus) River system, dams like the Bhakra-Nangal, Pong dam on Beas which have helped create a Harike reservoir to feed the reborn River Sarasvati upto Sabarmati river in Gujarat as part of a National Water Grid.
A third nightmare relates to the negative growth rate of a populous region called Bangladesh. The principal reason for this negative growth rate is the devastation caused by annual floods on the Meghna-Brahmaputra-Padma river basins.
The extraordinary potential for increased command area of irrigation in India with a consequent beneficial possibility of quadrupling agricultural production with upto four crops per year to feed the entire world adds another dimension to this vice formed by 1) water wars which will be created by China; 2) water table management including management of the aquifers in cooperation with Pakistan; and 3) flood control measures in Bangladesh to render this neighbour of India move on the path of development.
The centre-piece of this frightening challenge and remarkable opportunity is the Greatest Water Tower of the World, the Himalayas stretching from Teheran in Iran to Hanoi in Vietnam over an arc of 2,600 kms. and a width of 400 kms. The most remarkable feature about this Water tower is that it is a growing reservoir, growing at the rate of 1 cm. every year (due to plate tectonics) with precipitation condensing into snow and ice in the heights between 7,000 to 21,000 feet. Glaciologists like Dr. VMK Puri estimate that this Water Tower will continue to service the mighty river systems emanating from around the Manasarovar Glacier (Mt. Kailas) for the next 15,000 years and beyond even skipping the next ice age. The Water Tower is a great divide between the regions in Europe/Asia subject to the impact of glacial/ice age and the continuous available of vegetation cover south of the Water Tower (Himalayas).
The management of the waters from this Water Tower will constitute the centre-piece of strategic food security for the most populous regions on the globe – India and China. It is cost-effective and economical to harness the alluvium of India to grow food grains not only for India, but also for China; rather than try to convert Gobi desert into a wet land which is a virtual impossibility. All the hydropower produced from Brahmaputra will not be adequate to lift up the waters into the Gobi desert.
Some vignettes of the potential for a National Water Grid (a dream dreamt by that great hydrological engineer Arthur Cotton of Dawaleshwaram Anicut fame near Rajahmundry on the River Godavari) are presented. A NWG in India is possible because of the unique topographic formations. Skirting the vindhyas it is possible to move the flood waters of the Brahmaputra upto Kanyakumari. Similarly, the rain waters wasted into the Arabian Sea from the Sahyadri mountain regions (Western Ghats of India) can be tunneled through to double the quantum of water flowing through the peninsular river systems. In fact, it is possible to covert all the rivers of India into jeevanadi (perennial rivers) creating 9 crore acres (35 million hectares) of wet land with assured command area of irrigation with a potential for 4 crops every year freeing the farmer from the vagaries of the monsoons which have so far maintained a secular regularity. There may be meteorological chances caused global warming. It is time to start thinking of desalinating sea water for drinking water supply to the coastal towns and cities using a nuclear power plant on a floating barge (technology proven by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre), increase forest cover from 11 percent to 30 percent , create navigable waterway/s to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, create a network of tanks, swamps and lakes, ensure the maintenance of the groundwater table, ensure a minimum flow in river systems at all times as an ecological balance imperative, prevent the emergence of cartels controlling water resources, converting a free-good into a marketed commodity, and prevent the emergence of water-dogs preventing access to water to the poor people or tenant farmers.
On a global, strategic plane, the hegemony of China should be kept under check by breaking it up into ethnic communities and help India emerge as a nuclear-power state to maintain nuclear balance, given the situation of the illegal occupation of Tibet. It is in this context, Free Tibet becomes a first step in preventing inter-state water wars.
A very simple, ethical principle should govern water management. If the poor man cannot be moved to the mountain, move the mountain to the poor man. Make water available at the turn of a tap where the settlements of people are. If dams are the way to make this happen, do it. If there is an alternative for carrying pots of water on heads of water-carrying women from Himalayas to Kanyakumari, do it. The opponents of dams indulge in hyperbole little realizing that the Green Revolution of the 1980’s was made possible only because irrigation systems introduced the technology of water management reducing dependence on rain-fed agriculture. It is no mean achievement for India that while the population grew from 33 crores in 1951 to 100 crores in 2008, everyone is fed without depending upon PL-480 types of food doles. The farmers have made this possible thanks to irrigation systems. This is a cause for celebration. Even if the population increases to 400 crores, the nation’s soil has the capacity to feed them all and with something to spare, if only water availability can be ensured 24X7, 365 days of the year. A blue revolution is waiting to happen, after the inter-state water waters are negated.
National Water Grid Authority in India will be a desirable first step to create tirthasthanas in a civilization which reveres sacred water-bodies as divinity in action. NWG is dharma in action; dharma defined by the twin tenets of abhyudayam (welfare) and nihs’reyas (an aatman personally relating to the supreme divine). Technologies must be designed to keep the River Ganga, for example, flowing perennially without trying to block it up and creating water pools imparing the sacredness of the waters. Surely, the ecosystems can coexist with projects to satisfy human desires and needs.
This NWG Authority can be complemented by a trans-national set up such as a Himalayan Water Tower Management Authority. This is possible if the experience of the Mekong delta projects can be replicated on the Great Water Tower of the World. A good step has been taken by setting up a World Glacier Inventory based in Switzerland and an International Commission for Snow and Ice.
The plea of this monograph is for setting up a Himalayan Water Tower Management Authority.
Imperative of a National Water Grid for Bharatam, that is India
The following stark statistics should make one pause and evaluate the imperative of increasing the irrigated area in the alluvial land of Bharatam, that is India.
Population 33 crores (1951) 100 crores (2001)
Agri.Prodn 65 m. t. (1951) 200 m. t. (2001)
Irrigated area 22.6 m.ha. (1951) 90 m. ha. (2001)
Alluvial land is available in India to increase the irrigated area to 175 m. ha. The interlinking of rivers alone will yield an additional 35 m. ha. of land with assured irrigation.
35 m. ha. = 9 crore acres of land (1 ha. = 2.5 acres)
This is one measure to increase the land under 3 crop cultivation and save the dying Krishna and Kaveri rivers and reach water to the unreached.
With increased availability of water and maintenance of soil health, productivity of land also can be increased from the present 2.5 tons/ha to 3 tons/ha in irrigated land; from 0.75 tons/ha to 1 ton/ha in non-irrigated land.
If these 9 crore acres of land are distributed to 9 crore poor families, the village India will progress and India can become a developed nation by 2020 with increased per capita income and employment opportunities (apart from land ownership).
Satellite view of the interlinked system of lakes in Peninsular Bharat
The topography of the land is such that water run-offs generally tend southwards. Thus, it is possible to move Brahmaputra flood waters to Kanyakumari only through gravity flows (involving lift of about 300 ft. for part of the flows only at Inchampalli on Godavari river).
Mhm = Million hectare metres
This is a good sample of the nature of the monsoon systems in India which are unevenl
y distributed in space resulting in rain-shadow regions. In a time dimension also, precipitation (rainfall) occurs only during the monsoon periods for a few months of a year; about 75% of the rainfall occurs in just 120 hours or 5 days of a year necessitating storage systems and distribution systems to use these 5 days’ supply for the remaining 360 days of a year and to reach water to the unreached areas (such as the uplands on Western and Eastern ghats) and unreached people.
Table 1 River basin and average water availability per sq. km. (MHM –Million hectare metres)
River Basin Water resources av MHM Land area covered sq.km. Water availability (mhm) per one lakh sq. km.
Ganga 52.5 8,61,452 6.09
Brahmaputra 53.7 1,94,413 27.68
Godavari 11.05 3,12,812 3.54
Krishna 7.81 2,58,948 3.02
Kaveri 2.14 81,155 2.64
Subarnarekha 1.24 29,196 4.27
Mahanadi 6.69 1,41,580 4.74
Pennar 0.6 55,213 1.09
Narmada 4.6 98,796 4.65
West-flowing Tapi to Tadri 8.74 55,940 15.63
West-flowing Tadri to Kanyakumari 11.35 56,177 20.20
This table shows that there is NOT enough land available in Brahmaputra River Basin and the regions west of Western Ghats, to optimally use the water resources. This table also shows the vital importance of Ganga River basin which supports a land area of 8.61 lakh sq. kms. This river basin is the largest alluvial plain the world and it should be ensured that there is no water deficiency in this river basin since a large percentage of the country’s population is dependent upon agricultural activities in this basin.
This calls for treating the water resources of the nation as a national resource and the National Water Grid should provide for an optimal balancing of water supply to meet the demand for water resources in all parts of the nation.
Water resources: Supply situation
Brackish and fresh water resources combined:
Seawater 97.475%
Glaciers 1.725%
Groundwater 0.775%
Rivers, tanks, swamps 0.025%
Freshwater resources only:
Glaciers 68%
Groundwater 31%
Rivers, tanks, swamps 1%
The National Water Grid design will take into account the balancing of supply resources by the following measures:
1. Seawater will be desalinated for meeting the demand for drinking water requirements of large people settlements (cities, towns) along the 7,500 coastline of the nation.
2. Glacial waters will be optimally regulated into ALL river systems and tanks of the nation to provide for:
a. Recharging of the groundwater table
b. Converting all river systems into perennial rivers
c. Providing for three crop cultivation round the year
d. Afforestation to increase forest cover from 11% to 30%
3. Groundwater tables will be maintained at an optimal level as a water safety-net in cases of failures of regular monsoons; this will be accomplished by a network of percolation tanks.
4. Rainwater harvesting will be intensified in uplands to increase the forest cover
5. Water will be reached into the marusthali desert, salty marshes of Rann of kutch and semi-arid zones of Vidarbha, Telengana, Rayalaseema and Ramanathapuram and also water-deficit urban settlements in Kerala and in the upland districts such as Coimbatore, Erode, Pollachi, Kollegal with optimal cropping patterns of forests, halophytes (salt-resistant crops), plantations, grasslands.
The attached table shows that there will be minimal environmental impacts (which can be alleviated) and minimal resettlements of people involved in the Peninsular Water Grid and that the feasibility studies on the Grid have reached a stage when the special vehicle for implementation, a Peninsular Water Grid Corporation (on the lines of Konkan Railway Corporation) can be announced immediately. This will be to implement the commitment included in the Common Minimum Program about the Peninsular Water Grid.
The work on National Water Grid should be progressed by creating a National Water Grid Corporation (under 256 of the Central List of the Constitution which provides for the Centre to take up projects involving interstate river basins) and by announcing a Himalayan River Delta project in cooperation with Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. The National Water Grid gains urgency also 1) to stem the negative growth rates recorded in Bangladesh; 2) slow pace of developmental activities in northeastern states of India, principally due to the recurrent floodings in the Padma-Meghna-Barak basins; 3) imperative of accelerating the hydroelectric projects on Mahakali-Karnali-Sharada (25,000 MW power potential) to provide economic resources to the land-locked nation of Nepal by sale of electric power to India and to provide additional electricity resource flows into the National Power Grid.
At the Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project in Kalpakkam. S.R. Jayaraman, Project Engineer (Civil), is seen. Use of semi-permeable membrane and pressurised sea-water
3-D Satellite radar topography
*Superimpose GIS data, to expedite choice of optimal waterways
*To monitor waterflows
Available from NASA for the globe, 90m. resolution
Details are in the Appendix in two parts:
1. Integrated Water resources management: National Water Grid
2. Contour canal along the Sahyadri mountain ranges
Appendix 1
Integrated Water resources management: National Water Grid
In his address to the Planning Commission in October 2006, Hon’ble Prime Minister has underscored the importance of water resources for rejuvenating agricultural sector and the development of rural Bharat.
After the Pokhran nuclear explosion on May 11, 1998, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre conducted tests to assess the impact of the explosions
on the quality of water in the area around. These tests, interalia, revealed that the
water in the area was potable, about 8,000 to 14,000 years old, came from the
Himalayan glaciers and was being slowly recharged through aquifers from
somewhere in the north. Separately, the Central Ground Water Commission dug
a number of wells on and along the dry bed. Out of 24 wells dug, 23 yielded
potable water.
Ministry of Water Resources (National Water Development Agency) set up in 1982 has over the last 24 years and engaging the expertise of hundreds of scientists and engineers have drawn up a Perspective Plan for the development and harnessing of water resources and equitable distribution throughout the country. An undertaking was also given
in the Supreme Court, “an affidavit dated 5th May, 2003 has been filed by Mr.BP Pandey, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, annexing thereto the resolution dated 13.12.2002 constituting a Task Force, time table for interlinking of rivers, other resolutions nominating part time and full time members of the Task Force and few other documents. It seems that in last about four months three meetings of Task Force have been held on 6th January, 2003, 27th March, 2003 and 28th April, 2003. In the last meeting the first Action Plan as per Government Resolution was considered and adopted. Now as per Action Plan-I the schedule for impelementation is 10 years from the start. It stipulates that the work on the links can be started from 2007. It is envisaged to be completed by say end of 2016.” http://nwda.gov.in/indexmain.asp?linkid=95&langid=1
Four links are indicated in the map (Feasbility Reports have been completed for Links 4 and 5): Link 4: Ghagra-Yamuna; 5. Sarda-Yamuna; 6. Yamuna-Rajasthan; 7. Rajasthan-Sabarmati. These links constitute the rejuvenation of the drainage system in North-west Bharat by expanding the contributions made by Rajasthan Nahar (people refer to this as Sarasvati Nahar according to a tower set up at Mohangarh, 55 kms. west of Jaisalmer along the Nahar) to meet the water supply needs of the region of over 20 crore people. This is a crucial component for the greening of the desert and increasing the forest cover in the region.
What steps are proposed to be initiated by the Government pursuant to the undertaking given to the Supreme Court and the Common Minimum Program of UPA government which includes an item called ‘Peninsular Water Grid’, to create a National Water Grid Authority on the lines of the Konkan Railway Corporation to promote joint sector and peoples’ participation to put in place a National Water Grid with integrated water-shed management projects?
Contour canal along the Sahyadri mountain ranges
Farmers’ suicides in many parts of the country are a national concern. The situation in many rain-shadow regions of the nation is very acute with uncertainties related to the availability of water for drinking purposes and for irrigation. Water is a vital component to realize the dream of India Vision 2020.
Many west-flowing rivers run about 100 kms. West of the Western Ghats and discharge rapidly into the Arabian Sea. This rapid discharge impedes the forest development and maintenance of ecological balance. The waters which discharge into the sea are almost equal to the total quantity of water which flows through the east-flowing rivers.
Engineer Pandurang Todkar had presented to a number of authorities including Hon’ble Sushil Kumar Shinde ji, a project to construct a contour canal along the Sahyadri ranges (Western Ghats) to meet the water resource needs of the rain-shadow region of the western Deccan Plateau while improving the forest cover along the western slopes of Sahyadri ranges. This project should be made an integral component of the National Water Grid project has the potential to add 30 million hectares of irrigated land on both sides of the Sahyadri ranges.
Source: http://www.mowr.gov.in/resource/swresource.htm
Basinwise Surface Water Potential Of The INDIA
Sl.
No. Name of the River Basin Average annual potential in river cu.km/yr Drainage area (Sq. km.)
1. Indus (up to Border) 73.31 321289
2. a) Ganga 525.02 861452 +
b) Brahmaputra Barak & Others 585.60 236136+
3. Godavari 110.54 312812
4. Krishna 78.12 258948
5. Cauvery 21.36 81155
6. Pennar 6.32 55213
7. East Flowing Rivers Between Mahanadi & Pennar 22.52
8. East Flowing Rivers Between Pennar and Kanyakumari 16.46
9. Mahanadi 66.88 141589
10. Brahmani & Baitarni 28.48 39033
11. Subernarekha 12.37
12. Sabarmati 3.81 21674
13. Mahi 11.02 34842
15. Narmada 45.64 98796
16. Tapi 14.88 65145
18. West Flowing Rivers of Kutch, Sabarmati including Luni
From Tapi to Tadri
from Tadri to Kanyakumari
15.10
87.41
113.53 76508
Total 1869.35
Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Pennar account for a total drainage area of 708128 sq. km. with a total water flow of 216.34 cu. km. per year. Compared to these figures, the west-flowing rivers south of Kutch aaccount for a drainage area of 76508 sq. km. with a total water flow of 215.04. The water available for harvesting from the west-flowing rivers is thus almost equal to the water flow in east-flowing major Peninsular rivers and can be effectively used for forestation of the Sahyadri ranges and the uplands of the Deccan Plateau as well as for augmenting the irrigated area of land east of Sahyadri ranges in the entire southern Bharat peninsula.
It is therefore essential to focus on water-harvesting of Sahyadri Range rainfall by constructing the contour canal and other projects to equitably make available water resources for the water-starved regions of the country. These have to become integral parts of the National Water Grid together with desalination projects using nuclear powered plants taken on barges and boats all along the 6500 km. long coastline of Bharat to make available drinking water to the populated coastal cities, towns and villages while improving the lives of the fishermen through aquatic industries and to meet the needs other people of the coastal region.
NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES AT A GLANCE
S. No. Items Quantity (Cu.Km)
1. Annual Precipitation Volume (Including snowfall) 4000
2. Average Annual Potential flow in Rivers 1869
3. Per Capita Water Availability (1997) 1967
4. Estimated Utilizable Water Resources 1122
(i) Surface Water Resources 690 Cu.Km.
(ii) Ground Water Resources 432 Cu.Km.
About 65 percent of fresh water resources of Bharat come from Himalayan glaciers. Glaciologist Dr. VMK Puri has estimated that one glacier, Gangotri can service the river of the size and flow of Ganga for the next 15,000 years. One estimate is that the accumulation of glacier-waters is larger than the discharge through melting from the over 1500 glaciers of Himalayas, thus making Himalayas which is dynamically growing by 1 cm. every year the greatest water tower of the world and can meet the needs of water resources of Bharat. It is possible to make every river a jiva nadi, a perennial river by creating the National Water Grid.
What are the implementation plans and schedules for the National Water Grid, including the creation of the Contour Canal along the Sahyadri Ranges?
National Water Grid Authority Act
Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. was incorporated on 19 July 1990 a broad gauge railway line along the west coast of India connecting Roha (in Maharashtra, near Mumbai) in the North to Mangalore in the South and for raising the necessary finance for the project from the market. The Project was envisaged under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) concept for the first time in India where KRCL shall build the railway line, operate the same and transfer the railway line to the Indian Railways after discharging the liabilities. The line was commissioned on 26.01.1998. The autonomy provided to this Corporation enabled the completion of the remarkable engineering project in record time, despite hurdles created during land acquisition processes.
On the same lines, and incorporating the provisions similar to those incorporated in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 No. 24 of 1997, a National Water Grid Authority Act should be passed by the Parliament, to build the National Water Grid, operate the same and transfer the Grid to the Ministry of Water Resources together with provisions for raising the necessary finance for the Grid from the market, inclusion of the Panchayati Raj institutions as share-and-stake holders of NWGA and provisions for private-public sector partnership. The key components of the functions of the NWGA should be: 1. settlement of people displaced and offering appropriate compensation as part of the Grid operations; 2. distribution of 9 crore acres of additional arable wet land created by the grid to the designated beneficiaries, prioritizing the distribution to the economically poor sections of the nation. http://www.trai.gov.in/trai_act.asp
The Constitution provides for declaring inter-state rivers as national assets and the NWGA should be a central agency with full powers for land acquisition and distribution in coordination with the agencies dealing with issues such as soil health cards and land use management. The NWGA has to implement the Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers drawn up by NWDA after 25 years of study and should also be given the responsibility for constructing the Saagara Maala (National Water Way) and integrating all water management aspects including desalination of seawater for supplying water to the coastal regions and regulations related to maintaining the groundwater tables and increasing the forest cover to 30% of land area.
Govt. to declare 14 river projects as national assets
New Delhi (PTI): With an aim of improving irrigation and enhancing power generation capacity, the Centre on Thursday decided to declare 14 river projects as national assets for which it would provide as much as 90 per cent funds.
The proposal, cleared by the Union Cabinet, would benefit West Bengal, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The projects to be covered include Teesta Barrage (West Bengal), Shahpur Kandi and Second Ravi Vyas Link (both in Punjab), Bursar and Ujh Multipurpose Project (J & K), Gyspa project (HP), all of which have international ramifications and are of strategic importance.
Renuka (HP), Lakhvar Vyasi (Uttarakhand), Kishau (HP/Uttarakhand) which are on Yamuna basin, are important from the perspective of Commonwealth Games besides drinking water and environmental aspects, Water Resources Minister, Saifuddin Soz, told reporters here.
Noa-Dehang Dam Project and Upper Siang (both in Arunachal Pradesh), Kulsi Dam Project (Assam), Gosikhurd (Maharashtra) and Ken Betwa (MP) would also be covered.
Terming it as a "landmark" decision, he said that some rivers needed to be treated specially as national projects.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/002200802080351.htm
http://hinduthought.googlepages.com/fourstates.pdf
Four states agree on 3 river linking project
It is time to create a National Water Grid Authority and realize the Grid with an extreme urgency to make every river a jeevanadi and to read water to everyone of the 6 lakhs villages to create 9 crore acres of additional wet land with assured round-the-clock irrigation available on tap for four crops per year. Can the Authority be put in place on the lines of Konkan Railway Corporation as a self-financing enterprise issuing Brahmaputra and Sarasvati Bonds without involving the central treasury?
kalyan
Posted: Wed, Feb 27 2008. 10:44 PM IST (Livemnt.com)
Four states set to sign river linking pacts
Move by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is a welcome change in govt focus, experts say
Siddhartha Sarma
New Delhi: The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra are poised to sign three new agreements to link their rivers in an attempt to harvest surplus water for irrigation and drinking purposes, and address shortages in some of the states.
The so-called river linking schemes are part of an ambitious national river linking project, or RLP, and they are being overseen by the Union ministry of water resources. However, experts say the decision to sign agreements such as these reflects a change in focus of RLP, from linking geographically distant rivers to more realistic projects.
Three agreements to link rivers are in the pipeline (Graphic)
RLP was conceived by the National Democratic Alliance government in 2003 and envisaged connecting 30 rivers across India—14 rivers in north India and 16 in peninsular India. The government believed that this would help irrigate 37 million hectares of land, generate 34 million MW of electricity, control floods, and prevent drought.
Since then, experts have said it is not feasible to link divergent river systems. And states have bickered on the contours of the project. That makes the three agreements that will be signed significant.
The first of these could be signed between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and will link the rivers Parbati and Kalisindh to Chambal.
“The two states have approached a consensus on linking the rivers and the boundary issues involved,” and will soon sign an agreement, said a water resources ministry official who did not wish to be identified.
According to officials at the National Water Development Agency, or NWDA, an autonomous society under the government that carries out surveys and makes plans regarding water bodies and irrigation, the project will divert surplus waters of two rivers, Parbati and Kalisindh, to the Gandhisagar (in Madhya Pradesh) and Rana Pratap Sagar (in Rajasthan) dams across the Chambal river.
“The water from these two rivers will irrigate areas around the link canals and at the Kota barrage in Rajasthan. The water saved in the Chambal by using the water from these rivers will be used in the drought-prone areas of the upper Chambal,” said an NWDA official who did not wish to be identified.
According to the feasibility report discussed by the two state governments, the length of the link to Rana Pratap Sagar dam will be 243km.
Similarly, Gujarat and Maharashtra are also on the verge of concluding their discussions on two river linking projects. One of them is the Damanganga-Pinjal project.
This link, say planners, will divert surplus waters from Bhugad and Khargi Hill reservoirs in Damanganga basin, Gujarat, to Pinjal dam, set up across the river Pinjal in the Vaitarna basin north of Thane, Maharashtra. When completed, the link will supply 909 million cubic metres of water to Mumbai.
“Two link tunnels will transmit the water. The tunnel from Bhugad to Khargi Hill will be 17km long, and the tunnel from Khargi Hill to Pinjal reservoir will be 25km long,” the NWDA official said.
Both state governments have informed the Union government that since the tunnels will be underground, it will not involve displacement of inhabitants. In addition, Gujarat and Maharashtra have also ironed out the details of linking the rivers Par, Tapi and Narmada and will sign an agreement on this shortly.
NWDA has so far prepared 14 feasibility reports, including these three.
It is also close to finalizing the detailed project report, or DPR, of the Ken-Betwa link between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. This was the first ever river linkage project in the country but was delayed because of differences between the two states. The two governments had signed an agreement in 2005 for linking the basins of the two rivers through a 230km canal.
DPR is a document which outlines the finer details of projects and is the final step before work on the project begins. Work on the Ken-Betwa link is expected to begin later this year.
In 2005, analysts had said that the Ken-Betwa link did not make sense as the Ken didn’t have surplus water. That has changed now, said the NWDA official.
Experts view these developments as a shift by the Union government away from linking geographically distant river systems—an idea floated when the river linking issue first emerged—to more realistic projects such as linking adjacent river systems.
“Linkages like the Damanganga-Pinjal project are very interesting. These are very pr-oximate water bodies and surplus water can be diverted to the reservoirs planned as part of the project,” said Dinesh Kumar Mishra, an expert on irrigation systems and floods, and head of Barh Mukti Abhiyan, a non-governmental organization.
“This is a realistic project and so is the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal. These are a far cry from the wild theories about linking northern and southern rivers. However, each project approved or signed by the states in the future must be carefully studied to see if the rivers or basins involved are suitable for these linkages,” he added.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/27224443/Four-states-set-to-sign-river.html
Appendix 1: Cultural and national significance of archaeological projects in north-west Bharat
Jagmohan's open letter to Prime Minister on Saraswati civilization
(www.hindustantimes.com)
A search for our lost cities: Letter to PM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1692583,0035.htm
A search for our lost cities
May 7, 2006
Dear Dr Manmohan Singh-ji,
This pertains to a special project, which I had conceived when I was working as Culture and Tourism Minister. The project, I thought, would have enlarged the dimensions of tourism, provided new insight into the origin of our civilization, and attracted a number of scholars and archaeologists to study the unexplored layers of our past. Unfortunately, it has since been given up.
Through this letter, I am approaching you with the request to intervene and ensure that the project is viewed in the right perspective and revived. I give below a brief backdrop of the project and the course that it intended to follow. From the point of view of culture, the project was named as “A search For Lost Cities, A Lost Civilization and A Lost River”, and from the tourism point of view it was titled, “Travels Around Lost Cities, A Lost Civilization and a Lost River”. The river was Sarasvati and the civilization was the one known as Harappan/Indus-Sarasvati.
There were five major objectives that the project sought to achieve: 1) To undertake extensive excavations of the Harappan settlements in the basin of the now dried-up Sarasvati, and build archaeological museums at the sites. 2) Set up small tourist-cent res nearby. 3) Establish documentation-cum-multidisciplinary research units with attached pavilions, showing 5,000 years of Indian civilization through large panelphotographs, 3-D models etc. 4) Make the newly created complex attractive for residents of the neighboring towns and villages. 5) Open at each of the cent res, a small window to the visitors.
The significance lay in the attempt to provide clear answers to some crucial questions, which I will answer one by one:
Was there an Aryan invasion?
It has been propagated by Western scholars and their Indian disciples that between 1,500 to 1,000 BC, there was an invasion of India by light-skinned nomadic tribes, the Aryans, which gave birth to the Vedic civilization of India. But this hypothesis has no legs to stand upon. The study of Colin Renfrew, a noted archaeologist at Cambridge University, not only debunks the theory propounded by Mortimer Wheeler but also points at the similarities between the Aryan Vedic civilization and the Harappan one. Nor can the theory of invasion/migration provide answers to pertinent questions like: How come the ‘Aryans’, who showed strong attachment to lands, did not carry with them the memories of their previous homeland and nurse no nostalgia about their past? Is it not clear that the
Rig-Vedic expressions like ‘sabha’, ‘samiti’, ‘samrat’, ‘ranjan’, ‘rajaka’, which indicate the existence of organized assemblies and rulers of different ranks, are relevant not to the nomadic invaders, but to the advanced urban society of the Vedic Aryans who were indigenous inhabitants of Harappan settlements? Was not the evolution of chariot more likely in the flat lands of North India rather than in the uneven terrain of the Central Asia?
The last nail in the coffin of the invasion/migration theory has been hammered in by the recent genetic studies, conducted by scientists in Calcutta with foreign scientists. They analyzed the Y-Chromosomes of 936 men and 77 castes, and referred to the work of the international research teams that found that the earliest modern human arrived in India from Africa, trudging along the Indian Ocean coast about 60,000 years ago. They concluded: “Our findings suggest that most modern Indians have genetic affinities to the earlier settlers and subsequent migrants and not to central Asians or ‘Aryans’, as they are called”.
Nature of Civilization
When, in 1922, the Harappan civilization was discovered, only two major settlements — Mohenjo-daro and Harappa — had been excavated and that too partially. On this basis, views were formulated about the origin of these advanced urban civilizations. It was given out that its roots lay in Mesopotamia. Subsequent excavations of more Harappan sites have shown that these views and assertions were made without adequate evidence. John Reader, a noted scholar of anthropology and geography, has pointed out that emergence of cities and civilizations in six widely separated places around the world — Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, China, Central America and Peru — was spontaneous and none resulted from contact with one another. Excavations carried out by a French team, headed by Jean-Francois Jarrige, during the last 15 years, at Mehrgarh, Pakistan, have pin-pointed the beginnings of civilization in India and shown that Indus-Sarasvati civilization had no moorings in Mesopotamia or any civilization outside India. It has been rightly observed: “The people in Mehrgarh tradition are the people of India today”. There are similarities between the social and religious practices of the Harappan people and the people of present-day India. For example, the spiralled bangles of the type found around the figurine of the Harappan dancing girl can still be seen on the arms of women in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, etc. Again, as was the case with Harappan women, ‘sindoor’ is applied by married women of Hindu families. Some other common features of the two periods are: the practice of worshipping trees, putting of Svastika symbol at the entrance of the houses etc.
Did Sarasvati exist?
There is ample evidence that supports the view that river Sarasvati once existed. Literary: The Rig Veda mentions the Sarasvati about 50 times, describing it as “the best mother, the best river, the best goddess”. The famous Nadi-stuti hymn mentions a set of rivers, including Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati and Sutudori (Sutlej) and places Sarasvati between Yamuna and Sutlej. Its origin is indicated in the hymn that says: “Purest among all rivers and vibrant, the Sarasvati moves on from the mountains to the ocean, manifesting immense riches of the world…” She is also called the seventh “Indus Mother”. Ancient literature also talks of when Sarasvati began to decline. The Mahabharata, the Aitareya and the Satapatha Brahamana refer to its disappearance in the desert.
Archaeological: In 1872, C.F. Oldham and R.D. Oldham undertook a detailed survey of the area where the Sarasvati and its tributaries were said to be flowing in earlier times. They concluded that it was once fed by the Sutlej and the Yamuna, and that it disappeared after the westward movement of the former and eastward movement of the latter.
Geological: A group of scientists led by V.M.K. Puri and B.C. Verma, made a detailed study of the areas from which Sarasvati could have originated. They observed: “This river was in existence during the upper Pleistocene period as it was fed by glaciers that had descended to much lower limits in Garhwal Himalaya than the present day level due
to the influence of Pleistocene Ice Age.”
Hydrological: After the Pokhran nuclear explosion on May 11, 1998, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre conducted tests to assess the impact of the explosions on the quality of water in the area around. These tests, interalia, revealed that the water in the area was potable, about 8,000 to 14,000 years old, came from the Himalayan glaciers and was being slowly recharged through aquifers from somewhere in the north. Separately, the Central Ground Water Commission dug a number of wells on and along the dry bed. Out of 24 wells dug, 23 yielded potable water.
If all that I have said is viewed in entirety, this is the picture that will emerge: the period 6,500-3,100 BC saw the growth of pre-Harappan/Indus-Sarasvati civilization, corresponding broadly to the times when the Rig Veda was composed; that during the period 3,100 to 1,900 BC, the Harappan/Indus- Sarasvati civilization prevailed and these were the times when the hymns of four Vedas were composed; and that 1,900 to 1,000 BC was the time of the late Harappan/Indus-Sarasvati civilization which saw the decline and ultimate disappearance of the surface water of the Sarasvati, forcing the people to move eastward towards the Gangetic plain.
While the puzzles of archaeology and ancient Indian history cannot be resolved with certainty, particularly with regard to Harappa where the script has not so far been deciphered, it could be stated with a fair degree of accuracy that the Harappan/Indus-Sarasvati civilization was born and brought up on the soil of India and its people and Vedic people were one and the same. A lot of additional work needs to be done to unravel a number of features of one of the most significant civilizations of the ancient world. Hundreds of sites in the basin of now the submerged Sarasvati need to be excavated. It was this need that the special project intended to meet.
This would also be of huge benefit to the tourism sector. I request you to recommence the special project. I am confident that the project, if implemented in the spirit it was conceived, would show new facets of India’s past, new initiatives of her present and new visions for her future.
Yours sincerely,
Jagmohan
Appendix 2: Contour Canal along Sahyadri Ranges for augmenting water harvesting for rain-shadow regions and uplands of Deccan Plateau
A monsoon dream
ATUL DEULGAONKAR
A novel plan to harvest the excess rainwater on the Konkan side of the Sahyadri and take it across the hills to benefit the drought-prone central Maharashtra attracts attention.
THE Konkan region, which falls on the Sahyadri range, is the Cherrapunji of Maharashtra. It occupies a mere 10 per cent of the State's total area but receives an annual rainfall of 4,000 mm. On the other side of the Sahyadri is central Maharashtra, which is in the rain shadow area and gets only 400 to 800 mm of rain annually. As per the report of the Maharashtra Water Commission, about 1,680 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of excess rainwater received in the Konkan flows into the sea, while adjoining areas experience drought-like conditions.
This disparity prompted the take-off of a watershed development movement in Maharashtra in the 1970s. Anna Hazare and the late Vilasrao Salunke showed the way as far as rainwater harvesting was concerned and and thereby inculcated water literacy in the State.
The principles enunciated by Anna Hazare and the technology of CCT (continuous contour trenches) is gaining acceptance in Ahmednagar district. Both non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government agencies are promoting them. As many as 23 million trees have been planted over 25,000 km of contours in Ahmednagar and Dhule districts.
Hiware Bazaar, a small village in Ahmednagar district, is the talk of the State now. Until 1989, Hiware Bazaar was infamous for crimes and infighting. Land was barren and migration was on the rise. But after Popat Pawar, a post-graduate in commerce, became the head of the village pancahayat, things started changing. He motivated the youth and told them: "If Ralegan, a village in our own district, has risen to an ideal level it is because of its residents. We too can move on the path of prosperity. The choice is ours." Inspired youth collectively decided to ban free grazing, felling of trees and liquor vending. With the help of the State Agriculture and Forest Departments, a massive CCT programme was undertaken on 450 hectares. The government grant was Rs.66 lakhs while the contribution from the villagers in the form of shramadan (voluntary labour) was Rs.21 lakhs. As many as seven lakh trees were planted. Life in the village blossomed once soil erosion and water runoff were arrested.
As per a government survey made in 2003, more than a decade ago Hiware Bazaar had 168 of its 180 families living below the poverty line. Now not one of its 210 families faces poverty. Hiware Bazaar has all the characteristics of an ideal village - active self-help groups, biogas plants, dairy development and community farming. Many awards have been showered on Hiware Bazaar. In 1997, it won the National Productivity Award for dryland farming. The Maharashtra government honoured it with the best village award for cleanliness and sanitation in 2001. Popat Pawar was felicitated on a number of occasions for his innovative leadership. He was chosen to attend the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan.
"We have been able to use every drop of rainwater because of CCT. It is a very low-cost and efficient method of rainwater harvesting and does not require any steel or cement, construction or structure. Studies have shown that with CCT 60-80 per cent of the total rainwater received will percolate. We decided that this rainwater is public property and that nobody should overuse it. You can dig wells but borewells are prohibited. That is why we were self-sufficient in water in 2002-03 when we received only a 200 mm rainfall. Any handpump here would give you water. We live a community life and that is the reason why we are all happy," says Popat Pawar.
TEN years ago, Pandurang Todkar, a Sectional Engineer in the State Irrigation Department, came up with a novel idea to divert excess rainwater off the Sahyadri hills along a continuous contour canal in the eastward direction. This canal, 6 metres wide and 5 m deep and 1,000 km long and situated on the western side of Sahyadri at a height between 550 and 600 m (from mean sea level) could store a day's rainwater in a 5,000 sq km catchment area (where the average rainfall is 4,000 mm in 120 rainy days). Todkar's plan also considers the fact that the levels of eastern rivers originating from the Sahyadri are in that range. So it need not store water for more than 24 hours. The water stored in the canal would be discharged to eastern rivers through tunnels and canals along natural contours. In this way the eastern rivers originating from the Sahyadri can be interlinked by continuous contours. As water flows with gravity, about 500 tmcft water will be available to acutely water-short Maharashtra. Major dams in the State - such as Jayakwadi near Paithan, with a capacity of 102 tmcft and Bhima near Indapur, with a capacity of 110 tmcft - can be used to full capacity. A proper gradient between the canal and the tunnel would enable the production of hydroelectric power. The project would irrigate an additional 30 million ha of land (1 tmcft irrigates 6,000 ha).
Bringing excess water from the Konkan region to the rest of Maharashtra has always been on the agenda of water experts. One idea mooted was to reduce the height of the Sahyadri hills, which arrests rain clouds from entering the rest of Maharashtra from the Konkan. The minimum and maximum widths of the Sahyadri are 0.5 km and 40 km, while the minimum and maximum heights are 600 m and 1,646 m respectively. The total length of the Sahyadri is 700 km. A reduction of height by one metre means brutal deforestation and tremendous excavation. Another dam on such steep terrain means yet another Sardar Sarovar project.
Hence the Todkar option of a 1,000-km long canal on the Sahyadri, a 400-500 km long canal for joining rivers, and four or five tunnels 1,500 to 5,000 m long is much simpler. The Sahyadri range is full of basalt rocks. The canal would control floods in the Konkan and also supply water to the water-deficient areas. Todkar estimates the total cost of the scheme to be around Rs.1,500 crores; and that it will require two to three years to complete it.
For the past 10 years Todkar has been explaining his `watering Maharashtra scheme' to engineers, bureaucrats, politicians, and agricultural experts at all levels. Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and water expert Vijay Anna Borade, among others, have appreciated the scheme. Irrigation Minister Ajit Ghorpade was so impressed that he went to Nagpur this January with Todkar to check the technical feasibility of the concept with the help of remote sensing and GIS (geographical information systems). "Technically, it is an excellent idea. The financial aspects of the project are under scrutiny. The government is seriously considering it," said Ghorpade.
``I am convinced that this scheme would benefit the entire State. But top-level engineers seem hesitant to accept an idea coming from the junior level. So they initially ignored it, later they questioned the feasibility of the initiative. They hiked the project cost by eight to 10 times to prove that it was financially non-viable. The tendency here is to prefer billion-dollar projects, even if they cannot be completed, to low-cost and implementable ones,'' regrets former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. He suggested working out a small demonstration project.
A simple water conservation scheme that Todkar designed and proposed involves a 5-km-long canal on natural contour near Latur. When one kilometre of the canal's entire length was built at a cost of Rs.1.2 million, it helped conserve 60,000 cubic metres of water last year and irrigate 100 ha of drought-prone areas (as opposed to Rs.10 million to build percolation tanks to irrigate 100 ha). Enthusiastic people were rushing to see this novel type of dam, which raised the water level of wells and tanks in the area.
Agricultural scientist Prof. B.K. Dhonde, a national award winner for contour marker, who has trained forest officers in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, says: "Natural contour is the ideal method for river linking. Cement and steel consumption would be minimal. The Krishna and Godavari basin development projects have reached a standstill for want of huge financial resources. Small and yet very attractive contour canal is a fantastic alternative. It should be used everywhere in the country to collect water from hilly terrain - especially water going to the sea on the west coast can be diverted to southern India which is facing a severe water crisis."
Ghorpade has announced that the State government would arrange a scheme to divert excess water from the Konkan to the rest of the State. The ground reality is that four years of drought in the State has made people furious. They will feel good only when they become water-secure.
A serious debate on this method of rainwater harvesting at the national level is the need of the hour.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2114/stories/20040716003111200.htm
Appendix 3: The Indus Waters Treaty
Taken from http://www.stimson.org/print.cfm?SN=sa20020116300
Historical context
The partition of the Indian subcontinent created a conflict over the waters of the Indus basin. In 1951, David Lilienthal wrote an influential article in Colliers magazine suggesting that the World Bank use its good offices to bring India and Pakistan to an agreement over how to share and manage the river system. The President of the World Bank, Eugene R. Black, agreed to act as a conduit of agreement between the two states. Finally, in 1960, after several years of arduous negotiations did an agreement take form. Even today, the Indus Waters Treaty is the only agreement that has been faithfully implemented and upheld by both India and Pakistan. Following the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, several high profile commentators in India suggested that the treaty should be scrapped, though the Indian government made no intimations that it was considering such a move. [For further information...]
Abridged Text of Indus Waters Treaty (Signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960)
The Government of India and the Government of Pakistan, being equally desirous of attaining the most complete and satisfactory utilisation of the waters of the Indus system of rivers and recognising the need, therefore, of fixing and delineating, in a spirit of goodwill and friendship, the rights and obligations of each in relation to the other concerning the use of these waters and of making provision for the settlement, in a cooperative spirit, of all such questions as may hereafter arise in regard to the interpretation or application of the provisions agreed upon herein, have resolved to conclude a Treaty in furtherance of these objectives, and for this purpose have named as their plenipotentiaries:
The Government of India: Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, and The Government of Pakistan: Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, H.P., H.J., President of Pakistan, who, having communicated to each other their respective Full Powers and having found them in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles and An
Article II
PROVISIONS REGARDING EASTERN RIVERS
All the waters of the Eastern Rivers shall be available for the unrestricted use of Inida, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Article.
Except for Domestic Use and Non-Consumptive Use, Pakistan shall be under an obligation to let flow, and shall not permit any interference with, the waters of the Sutlej Main and the Ravi Main in the reaches where these rivers flow in Pakistan and have not yet finally crossed into Pakistan. The points of final crossing are the following: (a) near the new Hasta Bund upstream of Suleimanke in the case of the Sutlej Main, and (b) about one and a half miles upstream of the syphon for the B-D Link in the case of the Ravi Main.
Except for Domestic Use, Non-Consumptive Use and Agricultural Use, Pakistan shall be under an obligation to let flow, and shall not permit any interference with, the waters (while flowing in Pakistan) of any Tributary which in its natural course joins the Sutlej Main or the Ravi Main before these rivers have finally crossed into Pakistan.
All the waters, while flowing in Pakistan, of any Tributary which, in its natural course, joins the Sutlej Main or the Ravi Main after these rivers have finally crossed into Pakistan shall be available for the unrestricted use of Pakistan: Provided however that this provision shall not be construed as giving Pakistan any claim or right to any releases by India in any such Tributary.
There shall be a Transition Period during which India shall (i) limit its withdrawals for Agricultural Use, (ii) limit abstractions for storages, and (iii) make deliveries to Pakistan from the Eastern Rivers.
The Transition Period shall begin on 1st April 1960 and it shall end on 31st March 1970, or, if extended under the provisions of Part 8 of Annexure H, on the date up to which it has been extended. In any event, whether the Transition Period shall end not later than 31st March 1973.
During the Transition Period, Pakistan shall receive for unrestricted use the waters of the Eastern Rivers which are to be released by India in accordance with the provisions of Annexure H. After the end of the Transition Period, Pakistan shall have no claim or right to releases by India of any of the waters of the Eastern Rivers. In case there are any releases, Pakistan shall enjoy the unrestricted use of the waters so released after they have finally crossed into Pakistan: Provided that in the event that Pakistan makes any use of these waters, Pakistan shall not acquire any right whatsover, by prescription or otherwise, to a continuance of such releases or such use.
Article III
PROVISION REGARDING WESTERN RIVERS
Pakistan shall receive for unrestricted use all those waters of the Western Rivers which India is under obligation to let flow under the provisions of Paragraph (2).
India shall be under an obligation to let flow all the waters of the Western Rivers, and shall not permit any interference with these waters, except for the following uses, restricted in the case of each of the rivers, The Indus, The Jhelum and The Chenab, to the drainage basin thereof: (a) Domestic Use; (b) Non-Consumptive Use; (c) Agricultural Use, as set out in Annexure C; and (d) Generation of hydro-electric power, as set out in Annexure D.
Pakistan shall have the unrestricted use of all waters originating from sources other than the Eastern Rivers which are delivered by Pakistan into The Ravi or The Sutlej, and India shall not make use of these waters.
Except as provided in Annexures D and E, India shall not store any water of, or construct any storage works on, the Western Rivers.
Article IV
PROVISIONS REGARDING EASTERN RIVERS AND WESTERN RIVERS
Pakistan shall use its best endeavors to construct and bring into operation with due regard to expedition and economy, that part of a system of work which will accomplish the replacement, from the Western Rivers and other sources, of water supplies for irrigation canals in Pakistan which, on 15th August 1947, were dependent on water supplies from the Eastern Rivers.
Each Party agrees that any Non-Consumptive Use made by it shall be made as not to materially change, on account of such use, the flow in any channel to the prejudice of the uses on that channel by the other Party under the provisions of this Treaty.
Nothing in this Treaty shall be construed as having the effect of preventing either Party from undertaking schemes of drainage, river training, conservation of soil against erosion and dredging, or from removal of stones, gravel or sand from the beds of the Rivers: Provided that in executing any of the schemes mentioned above, each Party will avoid, as far as practicable, any material damage to the other Party.
Pakistan shall maintain in good order its portions of the drainages mentioned below with capacities not less than the capacities as on the Effective Date: (i) Hudiara Drain, (ii) Kasur Nala, (iii) Salimshah Drain, (iv) Fazilka Drain.
If Inida finds it necessary that any of the drainages mentioned in Paragraph (4) should be deepened or widened in Pakistan, Pakistan agrees to undertake to do so as a work of public interest, provided India agrees to pay the cost of the deepening or widening.
Each Party will use its best endeavors to maintain the natural channels of the Rivers, as on the Effective Date, in such condition as will avoid, as far as practicable, any obstruction to the flow in these channels likely to cause material damage to the other Party.
Neither Party will take any action which would have the effect of diverting the Ravi Main between Madhopur and Lahore, or the Sutlej Main between Harike and Suleimanke, from its natural channel between high banks.
The use of the natural channels of the Rivers for the discharge of flood or other excess waters shall be free and not subject to limitation by either Party, and neither Party shall have any claim against the other in respect of any damage caused by such use. Each Party agrees to communicate to the other Party, as far in advance as practicable, any information it may have in regard to such extraordinary discharges of water from reservoirs and flood flows as may affect the other Party.
Each Party declares its intention to operate its storage dams, barrages and irrigation canals in such manner, consistent with the normal operations of its hydraulic systems, as to avoid, as far as feasible, material damage to the other Party.
Each Party declares its intention to prevent, as far as practicable, undue pollution of the waters of the Rivers which might affect adversely uses similar in nature to those to which the waters were put on the Effective Date, and agrees to take all reasonable measures to ensure that, before any sewage or industrial waste is allowed to flow into the Rivers, it will be treated, where necessary, in such manner as not materially to affect those uses: Provided that the criterion of reasonableness shall be the customary practice in similar situations on the Rivers.
The Parties agree to adopt, as far as feasible, appropriate measures for recovery, and restoration to owners, of timber and other property floated or floating down the Rivers, subject to appropriate charges being paid by the owners.
Except as otherwise required by the express provisions of this Treaty, nothing in this Treaty shall be construed as affecting existing territorial rights over the waters of any of the Rivers or the beds or banks thereof, or as affecting existing property rights under municipal law over such waters or beds or banks.
Article V
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
In consideration of the fact that the purpose of part of the system of works referred to in Article IV (1) is the replacement, from the Western Rivers and other sources, of water supplies for irrigation canals in Pakistan which on 15th August 1947 were dependent on water supplies from the Eastern Rivers, India agrees to make a fixed contribution of Pounds Sterling 62,060,000 towards the costs of these works.
The sum of Pounds Sterling 62,060,000 shall be paid in ten equal installments on the 1st of November of each year.
Each of the instalments shall be paid to the Bank for the credit of the Indus Basin Development Fund to be established and administered by the Bank.
These financial provisions shall not be construed as conferring upon India any right to participate in the decisions as to the system of works which Pakistan constructs or as constituting an assumption of any responsibility by India or as an agreement by India in regard to such works.
Except for such payments as are specifically provided for in this Treaty, neither Party shall be entitled to claim any payment for observance of the provisions of this Treaty or to make any charge for water received from it by the other Party.
Article VI
EXCHANGE OF DATA
The following data with respect to the flow in, and utilisation of the waters of, the Rivers shall be exchanged regularly between the Parties: (a) Daily guage and discharge data relating to flow of the Rivers at all observation sites. (b) Daily extractions for or releases from reservoirs. (c) Daily withdrawals at the heads of all canals operated by government or by a government agency, including link canals. (d) Daily escapages from all canals, including link canals. (e) Daily deliveries from link canals.
Article VII
FUTURE CO-OPERATION
The two Parties recognize that they have a common interest in the optimum development of the Rivers, and, to that end, they declare their intention to co-operate, by mutual agreement, to the fullest possible extent.
Article VIII
PERMANENT INDUS COMMISSION
India and Pakistan shall each create a permanent post of Commissioner for Indus Waters, and shall appoint to this post, as often as a vacancy occurs, a person who should ordinarily be a high-ranking engineer competent in the field of hydrology and water-use. Unless either Government should decide to take up any particular question directly with the other Government, each Commissioner will be the representative of his Government for all matters arising out of this Treaty, and will serve as the regular channel of communication on all matters relating to the implementation of the Treaty, and, in particular, with respect to (a) the furnishing or exchange of information or data provided for in the Treaty; and (b) the giving of any notice or response to any notice provided for in the Treaty.
The status of each Commissioner and his duties and responsibilities towards his Government will be determined by that Government.
The two Commissioners shall together form the Permanent Indus Commission.
The purpose and functions of the Commission shall be to establish and maintain co-operative arrangements for the implementation of this Treaty and to promote co-operation between the Parties in the development of the waters of the Rivers.
The Commission shall determine its own procedures.
Article IX
SETTLEMENT OF DIFFERENCES AND DISPUTES
Any question which arises between the Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Treaty or the existence of any fact which, if established, might constitute a breach of this Treaty shall first be examined by the Commission, which will endeavor to resolve the question by agreement.
If the Commission does not reach agreement on any of the questions mentioned in the Paragraph (1), then a difference will be deemed to have arisen, which shall be dealt with by a Neutral Expert. If the Neutral Expert has informed the Commission that, in his opinion, the difference should be treated as a dispute, then a dispute will be deemed to have arisen.
As soon as a dispute to be settled has arisen, the Commission shall, at the request of either Commissioner, report the fact to the two Governments, as early as practicable, stating in its report the points on which the Commisssion is in agreement and the issues in dispute, the views of each Commissioner on these issues and his reasons therefor.
Either Government may, following receipt of the report, or if it comes to the conclusion that this report is being unduly delayed in the Commission, invite the other Government to resolve the dispute by agreement.
A court of Arbitration shall be established to resolve the dispute.
Article X
EMERGENCY PROVISIONS
If, at any time prior to 31st March 1965, Pakistan should represent to the Bank that, because of the outbreak of large-scale international hostilities arising out of causes beyond the control of Pakistan, it is unable to obtain from abroad the materials and equipment necessary for the completion, by 31st March 1973, of that part of the system of works referred to in Article IV (1) which related to the replacement referred to therein, (hereinafter referred to as the replacement element) and if, after consideration of this representation in consultation with India, the Bank is of the opinion that (a) these hostilities are on a scale of which the consequence is that Pakistan is unable to obtain in time such materials and equipment as must be procured from abroad for the completion, by 31st March 1973, of the replacement element, and (b) since the Effective Date, Pakistan has taken all reasonable steps to obtain the said materials and equipment and has carried forward the construction of the replacement element with due dilligence and all reasonable expedition, the Bank shall immediately notify each of the Parties accordingly. The Parties undertake that in being so notified, they will forthwith consult together and enlist the good offices of the Bank in their consultation, with a view to reaching mutual agreement as to whether or not, in light of all circumstances prevailing, any modifications of the provisions of this Treaty are appropriate and advisable and, if so, the nature and the extent of the modifications.
Article XII
FINAL PROVISIONS
This Treaty consists of the Preamble, the Articles hereof and Annexures A to H hereto, and may be cited as "The Indus Waters Treaty 1960."
This Treaty shall be ratified and the ratifications therof shall be exchanged in New Delhi. It shall enter into force upon the exchange of ratifications, and will then take effect retrospectively form the first of April 1960.
The provisions of this Treaty may from time to time be modified by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two Governments.
The provisions of this Treaty, or the provisions of this Treaty as modified under the provisions of Paragraph (3), shall continue in force until terminated by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two Governments.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty and have hereunto affixed their seals.
Done in triplicate in English at Karachi on this Nineteenth day of September 1960.
[Signed:]
For the Government of India:
Jawaharlal Nehru
For the Government of Pakistan:
Mohammad Ayub Khan
Field Marshal, H.P., H.J.
For the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development:
W. A. B. Iliff
Appendix 4: One reason why China should be forced out of Tibet: China's evil designs on Brahmaputra
http://cpmindia.blogspot.com/2008/03/one-reason-why-china-should-be-forced.html
One reason why China should be forced out of Tibet: China's evil designs on Brahmaputra waters
If China touches Brahmaputra waters, India should declare all-out war on the imperialist China. Now, people should know why China annexed Free Tibet in 1950. Let us hope that there are patriotic Indians who will not countenance another stab in the back after Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai. It is shocking that CPM should be supporting China in the ongoing genocide in Tibet, couched as 'people's war'. Who are the people at war?
India, together with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal has historic, Riparian rights under international law for the Brahmaputra waters. The history dates back to the written records of the Mahabharata (circa 4th millennium BCE). China cannot play with these established norms of inter-state relationships and the fundamental right to water by every citizen of the world.
Brahmaputra jitters from China project
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (Kolkata, Telegraph, 31 March 2008)
New Delhi, March 30: Hints have emerged from China that it may be gearing for a project on the Brahmaputra that threatens drought in India’s Northeast, environment experts and Indian officials claim.
Delhi, however, has decided to ignore the developments and instead volunteered to pay Beijing for help in avoiding floods in the region, government sources here said.
China, despite official disclaimers, has long been suspected of planning to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra — which originates in southwest Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo or Tsangpo —to its thirsty northwest.
Experts have warned that such a project could trigger an ecological disaster in India’s Northeast and Bangladesh.
In recent weeks, a flood of technical articles has appeared in China backing the diversion plan, indicating Beijing is setting the stage for the project, Indian officials said. They said the Chinese government had also built an airstrip on the river’s banks close to a potential diversion point where a dam could come up.
Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, an NGO, said the Chinese project could divert 200 billion cubic metres of water annually to the Yellow River, leaving Assam dry during the lean season.
However, the Union water resources ministry secretary, Umesh Narayan Panjiar, said: “There are no concrete developments. We are watching.”
Other government sources said from all indications, Delhi had no plans to respond till detailed project reports came out in China. “Then it could be too late,” an official said.
The Centre has not carried out any study on the possible magnitude of the impact of a Chinese diversion project, or worked out a contingency plan for Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, the states that would be hit the worst.
Delhi, however, is happy that Beijing has agreed to add two more monitoring stations to its array of three on the Tsangpo/Brahmaputra to forewarn against floods. India has decided to fund the maintenance of the two new stations. China shares weather forecast data from its three existing stations with India.
“They have not asked for money, but at least one of the stations is in a very remote area, so we don’t mind paying for maintenance. It’s a goodwill gesture,” an official said.
Some like the Asom Gana Parishad MP from Assam’s Lakhimpur, Arun Sarma, feel that the government knows something about the Chinese plans but has been “covering it up”. He had asked water resources minister Saifuddin Soz for a clarification but the answer did not satisfy him.
In his reply on December 17, 2007, Soz had quoted a Chinese spokesperson telling a PTI correspondent that Beijing had no plans to divert the Brahmaputra’s waters.
http://telegraphindia.com/1080331/jsp/frontpage/story_9076974.jsp
