1st Edition

Politics and Policies for Water Resources Management in India

Edited By M. Dinesh Kumar Copyright 2020
    164 Pages
    by Routledge

    162 Pages
    by Routledge

    This comprehensive volume explores the interface between politics and policy making in the water management sector of India. The authors discuss the nature of the political discourse on water management in India, and what characterizes this discourse. They also explore how this discourse has influenced the process of framing water related policies in India, particularly through the ‘academics-bureaucrat-politician’ nexus and the growing influence of the civil society groups on policy makers, which are the defining feature of this process, and which have produced certain policy outcomes that are not supported by sufficient scientific evidence.



    The book reveals that the social and management sciences, despite being increasingly relevant in contemporary water management, are unable to impress upon traditional, engineer-dominated water administration to seek solutions to complex water problems owing to a lack of interdisciplinary perspective in their research. The authors also examine the current deadlock in undertaking sectoral reforms due to existing water policies not being honoured.



    This collection includes several research studies which suggest legal, institutional policy alternatives for addressing the problems in areas such as irrigation, rural and urban water supply, flood control and adaptation to climate variability and change. It was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Development.

    1. Water management in India: the multiplicity of views and solutions

    M. Dinesh Kumar

    2. Water resources development in India

    Chandrakant D. Thatte

    3. India’s water management debate: is the ‘civil society’ making it everlasting?

    M. Dinesh Kumar and Chetan M. Pandit

    4. Proposing a solution to India’s water crisis: ‘paradigm shift’ or pushing outdated concepts?

    M. Dinesh Kumar

    5. Water transfer from irrigation tanks for urban use: can payment for ecosystem services produce efficient outcomes?

    L. Venkatachalam and Kulbhushan Balooni

    6. The negative impact of subsidies on the adoption of drip irrigation in India: evidence from Madhya Pradesh

    R. P. S. Malik, Mark Giordano, and M. S. Rathore

    7. Managing water-related risks in the West Bengal Sundarbans: policy alternatives and institutions

    Ernesto Sánchez-Triana, Leonard Ortolano, and Tapas Paul

    8. Techno-institutional models for managing water quality in rural areas: case studies from Andhra Pradesh, India

    V. Ratna Reddy

    9. Financial performance of India’s irrigation sector: a historical analysis

    A. Narayanamoorthy

    10. Solarizing groundwater irrigation in India: a growing debate

    Nitin Bassi

    Biography

    M. Dinesh Kumar is Executive Director at the Institute for Resource Analysis and Policy, in India. He is a leading water resources expert with 28 years of experience undertaking research, action research, consultancy and training in the field of water, agriculture and energy. He has authored six books and five edited volumes on water resources, agriculture and energy, as well as over 170 research articles and papers.