The cabinet yesterday approved a draft bill that aims to stop misuse of surface, ground and river water and preserve and manage water resources in an integrated manner.

Redirecting and intercepting the normal flow of rivers and blocking any river branches are illegal under the proposed law. It says the owner of a piece of land adjacent to any river will not have the ownership of the riverbed and foreshore.

Premachandran sees attempt to push through neoliberal reforms

A high-level consultative meeting and seminar on the draft National Water Policy 2012 here on Wednesday expressed concern over several of its features, calling for a cautious approach and serious thoughts on the actual objectives for amending the existing policy. The former Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, delivering a special address at the event organised by the C. Achutha Menon Study Centre and Library and the Department of Environment and Climate Change

Though, the new draft of National Water Policy has favoured privatisation of water-delivery services and tariff hike, members of a working panel of the Planning Commission are strongly divided over the crucial issue. But strangely, for reasons best known to the Commission, the views of the members who have opposed the privatisation of water, were not initially incorporated in the report prepared by the committee on Urban and Industrial Water Supply and Sanitation for 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) led by activist Sunita Narain.

The government today said there was no proposal for privatisation of water resources, but would encourage public-private partnership (PPP) mode for effective utilisation of the scarce natural resource. "Privatisation is not being done and it cannot be done," Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said in the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour and added that a river cannot be given to a private party.

In the proposed new water policy, the Centre would emphasis that states should adopt PPP mode to ensure effective use of water available.

However, PPP model for effective utilisation of rivers, lakes will be encouraged

The government today said there was no proposal for privatisation of water resources, but would encourage public-private partnership (PPP) mode for effective utilisation of the scarce natural resource. "Privatisation is not being done and it cannot be done," Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said in the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour and added that a river cannot be given to a private party.