Govt for study on regulating drawing of water

A head of the Centre planning to bring new law to effectively manage water resources including sharing of water by river basin states, the Ministry of Water Resources has commissioned study on regulating drawing of water by various sectors including agriculture and industrial usage.

The Netherlands-based Deltares is conducting the study in the Ganga basin and the World Bank is funding the project, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekar said here.

The study will be completed in two years, he said adding that study would cover pattern of water usage in the Ganga basin by various sectors including industry, agriculture and hydro power sector.

The study report will be a base to strengthen the Centre’s proposed National Water Framework Bill (NWFB). Initially, the NWFB will be applicable for any river which is declared  national river by the government.

The NWFB will be model law and all the states have to adopt similar law once it gets Parliament nod, he said.

As water is a state subject, the Centre is consulting various stake holders to get consensus on bringing model law, he added.