Hydrology Project Phase I(1995-2003) and II(2006-2012)

India is facing an acute water shortage, and various attempts are being made to overcome the problem. One such effort was made by the government of India when it set up a Hydrology Project in 1996.

To support the project the World Bank made available a loan of us $162 million and the government of Netherlands gave a credit of us $17 million to assist the project with consultancy services. The main objective of the project was to set up a Hydrology Information System ( HIS ) throughout peninsular India that can supply detailed and comparable data on important water resources.

The project aims to fulfill this objective by developing comprehensive, easily accessible and user-friendly databases covering all aspects of the hydrological cycle (quality and quantity) in the domain of surface water, groundwater and climatic measurements, particularly rainfall. This means installing water monitoring equipment to measure rainfall, the quantity that flows into the seas, rivers, lakes and into the groundwater and to check the quality of these water resources. 

IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT (IDA-27740 TF-28729)
PDF Version of ICR(Closed Phase I)

Now The Project is in Phase II  having time frame of 6 years (2006-2012)
Phase II- World Bank Website and the PAD
The Second Hydrology Project (Phase 2) for India aims to extend and promote the sustained and effective use of the Hydrological Information System by all potential users concerned with water resources planning and management, both public and private, thereby contributing to improved productivity and cost-effectiveness of water-related investments in the 13 States and eight Central agencies. The project has three main components: 1) Institutional strengthening consisting of consolidation of recently concluded Hydrology Project (HP I) activities in the existing States; Awareness raising, dissemination and knowledge sharing; and implementation support; 2) Vertical Extension comprising development of hydrological design aids; development of decision support systems; and implementation of purpose-driven studies; and 3) Horizontal Expansion supporting upgrading/establishment of data collection network; establishment of data processing and management systems; purpose-driven studies; and training. 
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PUDUCHERRY,The Union Territory has received an award for the best hydrology project website from the World Bank and Union Ministry of Water Resources.

Hydrology Project nodal officer, Pondicherry, V. Radhakrishnan received the prize from Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Water Resources, U.N. Panjiar, and Winston Yu of the World Bank, according to a release,

Mr. Radhakrishnan, along with D. Govindaraj, Manager (Project Administration) and a technical team, designed the Website, which allows anybody to obtain information about water resources in Puducherry. It provides detailed information on groundwater, surface water and water quality, the release said.

The website bagged the prize in a competition conducted among 26 governmental agencies involved in Hydrology Project-II. The project, which is an initiative of the Union government and World Bank, is among the most crucial water projects of the country. It aims at establishing, upgrading and expanding infrastructure which collects and publicises information about water, thereby enabling better management of water resources and judicious use.

Access to information about water was limited to governmental and other official bodies. Due to demand from organisations and individuals, it was decided to make information more freely available via the web.

Though the project was initiated in 1995(Phase I of the Hydrology Project), Puducherry became a part of it only in 2006. However, it was able to gather hydrology information quickly, the release said.

Facts About Water

• Salt Water(Oceans)- 97.5 %
• Inaccessible Fresh Water(Polar Icecaps,glaciers etc)-2.24%
• Aceessible Fresh Water- 0.26%

WATER USAGE

1. Agriculture- ---70%(World wide-WW)--- 90%(India)
2. Industrial Use-22%(WW)--------------------7%(India)
3. Domestic--------8%(WW)--------------------3%(India)

In just 15 Years, 1.8 billion People will live where water is scarce. Today, nearly 900 million people have no access to clean water, and with 83 million more people on Earth each year, water demand will keep going up.  

Water Resources Management-Definition & Food for Thoughts

Ministry of Water Resources, India Website Says

"India is endowed with a rich and vast diversity of natural resources, water being one of them. Its development and management plays a vital role in agriculture production. Integrated water management is vital for poverty reduction, environmental sustenance and sustainable economic development. National Water Policy (2002) envisages that the water resources of the country should be developed and managed in an integrated manner. "

World Bank Site Says 

"

Water Resources Management is an integrating theme for a number of water sub-sectors such as Hydropower, Water Supply and Sanitation, Irrigation and Drainage, and Environment. An integrated water resources (IWRM) perspective ensures that social, economic, environmental and technical dimensions are taken into account in the management and development of water resources. 

Effective development and management of water resources are essential for sustainable growth and poverty reduction. The East Asia & Pacific (EAP) region is experiencing rapid economic and population growth and migration from rural to urban areas. This severely stresses urban water supply and sanitation systems, increasing competition for surface and ground water resources and deteriorating water quality. The amounts of investment and the attempts to improve water resources management have been grossly inadequate.
The challenges of water resources management have become acute for many of the Bank's EAP borrowers and are increasing as a consequence of rapid population and economic growth. Water quality is deteriorating in rural and urban areas throughout the region due to heavy uncontrolled point source and diffuse pollution. The damages and threats posed by floods and droughts are becoming more severe as development and population pressures mount, and are exacerbated by climate change.

Environmental degradation, including negative impacts on watersheds, wetlands, riverine and lake systems, and coastal and marine systems is widespread, which has also negatively impacted the positive socio-economic benefits of growth. Biodiversity and human health have been severely impacted. The most visible water problems occur in and around cities where competition for surface water and overexploitation of groundwater reserves as well as pollution are common. Beijing/Tianjin, Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City are prime examples of the region's megacities with major and very visible water resources related problems."

The 76 Page Document is at Climate Change and Water Resources Management: A Federal Perspective

Some of the Earlier Posts

http://nitya34.blogspot.com/2009/12/some-good-books-on-water-resources.html

http://nitya34.blogspot.com/2009/12/environmental-impact-assessment-of.html

http://nitya34.blogspot.com/2009/12/environmental-impact-assessment-of.html#uds-search-results

Water Sector Reforms----Agenda and Things to do

Some Points to consider

 

Photo Courtesy-World Bank

• Increasing Efficiency of water resources projects so that non-Agriculture Users get their due share while the revenue models become cost effective.
• Slowly but firmly moving towards Full cost recovery  and cutting down subsidy bill.
• Exploring Public-private partnership(PPP) Models.
• Substantial investments, and equally substantial changes in management philosophy, will be required.  
• Genuine participation of the project effected people(PAPs). Already R&R Policy at National level (NRRP 2007 ) is at place. We have to emphasize on the implementation aspects to ensure that PAPs get their due share.
  

[Google Books] Hydrology and Water Resources of India

Hydrology and Water Resources

 By Sharad K. Jain, Pushpendra K. Agarwal, Vijay P. Singh

Global Economic Prospects 2010: Crisis, Finance, and Growth

Main Page of World Bank

Download the Full Report from the World Bank Site

Published January 21, 2010

source:MINT

Hydel projects without adequate security cover

The Intelligence Bureau has warned the government that power plants could be targeted by terrorists hoping to derail India’s economic growth

New Delhi: Many of India’s hydroelectric power projects are inadequately protected and could be potential targets for terrorist attacks.

Only the 1,500MW Nathpa Jhakri project in Himachal Pradesh has limited surveillance facility. And one in three power plants is not protected by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the paramilitary wing that covers industrial units.

Photo: Indranil Bhoumik; Graphic: Yogesh Kumar / Mint

The Intelligence Bureau has warned the government that power plants could be targeted by terrorists hoping to derail India’s economic growth.

A terror attack on power plants could cause a collapse of regional grids and lead to a power blackout in states drawing electricity from the targeted grid.

The country currently has five regional grids. All, except the southern grid, are interconnected.

“There is a need for security at these project sites. We are sensitizing them. They are under threat from groups such as Indian Mujahideen and HuJi (Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami),” power secretary H.S. Brahma said. “Though they have mechanical security, they do not have surveillance equipment. Only Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd has limited surveillance facility at its Nathpa Jhkari project. They (hydropower projects) are now in the process of ordering surveillance equipment.”

Projects that face a terror threat include Salal Hydro (690MW), Baglihar (450MW) and Kishan Ganga (330MW) in Jammu and Kashmir, Srisailam (3,600MW) and Nagarjuna Sagar (815.6MW) in Andhra Pradesh, Almatti (290MW) in Karnataka, Bhakra Nangal (1,209MW) on the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border and Tehri (1,000MW) in Uttarakhand.

The country has a hydropower generation potential of 300,000MW, but only 145,000MW can be exploited.

India’s installed power generation capacity is 154,000MW, with some 300 government-owned projects.

Nuclear and hydropower plants account for 4,120MW and 36,885MW, respectively.

Apart from these, transmission projects—some of which are located near the country’s geographical boundaries—are also on the terror threat list.

“We are conducting security drills at the sites, and also conduct regular review meetings,” Brahma said.

The government expects all the projects to receive CISF cover by 2014.

As demand for its services rises, CISF is looking to hire 10,000 people every year until 2012. It currently employs 112,000.

Industry lobby group Assocham estimates the security industry, which has been growing at around 25% annually, will see exponential growth and double in size to Rs50,000 crore by 2012.

The challenge of climate change and the Water Resources Management(WRM)

As per the Author(Pl see the Pdf below), Climate change affects all areas of the water sector, from water supply deficiencies through to storm water management and flooding.

The prospect of diminishing water availability is probably the most acute problem for public water utilities. Major shortages of water already occur in mid-latitude developed countries – the southwestern United States, most of southern Australia, Mediterranean Europe and south-western Africa. It is clear that the ‘old’ approach of relying on the historical records of streamflows and groundwater recharge to predict future water yields is failing, and that water systems will need multiple, rainfall-independent sources as part of the mix, as well as major improvements in water use efficiency, gained with the cooperation of business and the community.

The challenge will be to re-design, then operate water systems that are resilient to changes over a wide range of conditions. Scenario modelling and analysis is one way of doing this, but the assumptions and data necessary will always be lacking, so a combination of technical and social adaptations will be needed to cushion us from the shocks ahead.

When it comes to water, there is a growing recognition that the world faces a crisis that, left unchecked, will derail progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and hold back human development.

More Reading @World of Opportunities 2009-2010

Change in EIA clearance to coal mines in India

Mr Jairam Ramesh minister of state for environment and forests informed in a written reply to a question by Mr Pradeep Majhi and Dr Mahendrasinh P Chauhan in Lok Sabha that the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 was amended on 01.12.2009.

As per this amendment, coal mining projects with lease area of more than 150 hectares have been put into category ‘A’ and those between five hectares and 150 hectares are category ‘B’ projects requiring clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the State level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority respectively.
http://envfor.nic.in/legis/eia/eia-2006.htm