Question : NEW NATIONAL WATER POLICY

(a) whether the Union Government has begun consultations with various stakeholders on the proposed new National Water Policy, which envisages inter-alia privatisation of water delivery services, regulation of subsidies/incentives and judicious usage of water;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the policies formulated earlier by the Government have been implemented in letter and spirit by the State Governments and if so, the details thereof;

(d) the total number of water bodies in the country at present along with the annual capacity of such water resources; and

(e) whether any assessment of water resources available and required in the urban as well as rural areas has been made and if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS AND WATER RESOURCES ( SHRI PAWAN KUMAR BANSAL)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION No.+383 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 3.5.2012 REGARDING NEW NATIONAL WATER POLICY

(a) & (b) The Draft National Water Policy (2012) was prepared taking into account the feedback received during the different Consultation Meetings with various stakeholders. This was hosted on the website of Ministry of Water Resources and circulated amongst related Ministries and all States/UTs for comments. Thereafter the Drafting Committee had considered the comments received and prepared the revised Draft National Water Policy (2012). The salient features of the revised Draft National Water Policy (2012) are at Annex.

(c) Several States have formulated their State Water Policies, by and large as per the provisions of National Water Policy.

(d) The third Minor Irrigation Census has counted 5.56 lakh tanks and storages in India. The storage capacity of these tanks and storages was not surveyed.

(e) Yes, Madam. The average annual water availability for the country has been assessed as 1869 billion cubic meters (BCM). Due to topographic, hydrological and other constraints, the utilizable water has been estimated to be about 1123 BCM comprising 690 BCM of surface water and 433 BCM of replenishable ground water. The National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development (NCIWRD), in its report in 1999, had assessed that the annual water requirement by the year 2025 and 2050 will be about 843 BCM and 1180 BCM respectively.