Water Law in India

India's dependence on water is critical owing to its large agricultural base, the water needs of its billion-plus population, and the recent economic growth trends. Despite the plethora of material on environmental law, legal scholarship on water law in particular has been negligible. This timely work pieces together key legislative instruments and policy documents to provide an overarching picture of the legal regime and regulations related to water in India. The book thoroughly discusses the policy framework for the use of water in India. It also brings out the complexity in the structure of laws due to variations at the levels of their implementation, i.e., at the international, national, state, municipal, and panchayat levels. It covers a wide range of issues such as centre-state relations; management, appropriation, and control of water; irrigation; sanitation; drinking water; ground water; pollution; and water-dependent activities like power generation, and fi sheries. The book further explores water-related environmental and health concerns. The work also examines the importance of various confl ict resolution processes for resolving water-related disputes.
It offers a range of legal ideas on water management in India, and thus, provides crucial insights into the field. Despite the obvious importance of water, there is hardly any comprehensive work on the laws governing the use of water in India. Though a number of legal instruments related to water exist, both at the union and at the state levels, they are extremely complex and multi-layered. This volume provides a broad picture of the current and emerging policy framework for managing water-related issues by bringing together the key policy documents as well as laws on water. With a special focus on recent developments in the field, the work discusses global and local legislation on water. The book not only examines the various institutions dealing with water, but also takes into account different water bodies and their uses. It also addresses the important issue of environmental and health concerns linked to the use of water. Laying emphasis on available legal instruments within the ambit of water law, the book examines the conflict resolution process for resolving water-related disputes.