Centre to soon bring updated National Water Policy

The Centre will soon come up with an updated version of the National Water Policy to bring key changes in water governance structure and regulatory framework, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Saturday. It also said a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency will be set up.

"The Government of India will soon come out with an updated version of National Water Policy to effect key changes in water governance structure and regulatory framework, besides setting up of a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency," a statement said. At the valedictory session of the sixth India Water Week, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said hydrological boundaries, rather than an administrative or political boundary, should become part of water governance structure in the country.

For this, consensus-building among states within the constitutional framework is a necessary pre-condition, he said. Water Resources Secretary UP Singh said the National Water Policy of 2012 needs major updation in the light of new challenges, especially climate change.

Batting for changes in policy to give incentive for growing crops that use less water, Singh said participatory groundwater management should be promoted in a big way to maintain quality and sustainability. Touching upon the idea of water trade, Shekhawat said water-surplus states like Chhattisgarh can gain by sharing the resource with the water-deficient states.

He also asked the states to collect data on water resources and to share it with others.