The draft National Water Policy 2012, unveiled on Tuesday, favours a hike in tariffs. The policy proposes “reversal of heavy under-pricing of electricity, which it says leads to wasteful use of both electricity and water”.
It proposes that a system to evolve benchmarks for water use for different purposes be developed to ensure efficient use. Project financing has been suggested as a tool to incentivise efficient and economic water use.
Proposing greater private role in the sector, the policy says water-related services should be transferred to community and/or private sector with appropriate “public private partnership” model.
It, in fact, calls for the “service provider” role of the State to be gradually shifted to that of a “regulator of services”. While recognising that States had the right to frame policies, laws and regulations on water, the policy lays emphasis on the need for a “national water framework law, comprehensive legislation for optimum development of inter-State rivers and river valleys, public trust doctrine and so on”.
Disputes
In the backdrop various river disputes among States, the draft policy states that a portion of river flows should be kept aside to meet ecological needs ensuring that the proportional low and high flow releases correspond in time closely to the natural flow regime.
In the light of popular resistance to projects in many States, the policy says project-affected families should be made “partners in progress and given a share in the benefits comparable to project benefitted families, who may bear part of the cost of resettlement & rehabilitation through adequate pricing”.
It also calls for removing the “large disparity” in water supply between urban and rural areas.
The draft, which has invited public comments till February 29, has been put up on the Web site of the Water Resources Ministry, after which it would be placed before National Water Board and National Water Resources Council for finalisation and adoption.