(a) & (b) The Central Government has prepared a draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016 and circulated it to all States/UTs and concerned Central Ministries for obtaining their comments thereon. This draft Bill seeks to provide an overarching national legal framework with principles for protection, conservation, regulation and management of water resources including appropriate treatment and use of wastewater.
Further, Central Water Commission and Central Ground Water Board have also prepared the "General Guidelines for Water Audit & Water Conservation" in December, 2005 for three main sectors of water use viz. irrigation, domestic and industrial. The objectives of these guidelines are to introduce, standardize and popularize the audit system for conservation and improvement of water use efficiency. These guidelines were circulated to all the State Governments for formulation of their own region specific, project specific, system specific and service specific guidelines. Central Water Commission has also prepared "Guidelines for Improving Water Use Efficiency in Irrigation, Domestic & Industrial Sectors", 2014.
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(c) Yes, Madam. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed on 17.08.2016 between this Ministry and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. regarding reuse of treated effluent released from sewage treatment plant located in Yamuna river bank in Mathura-Vrindavan area, for non-potable purposes in Mathura Refinery.
(d) This Ministry has not issued any directions to the States to frame laws or executive notifications specifying the basis for water allocation among different segments of river basins in their jurisdiction.
(e) The National Water Policy, 2012 formulated by this Ministry has made several recommendations for water conservation and to address the scarcity of water in the country. Some of the key recommendations are:
• Considering the existing water stress conditions in India and the likelihood of further worsening of situation due to climate change and other factors, water resources projects should be planned as per the efficiency benchmarks to be prescribed for various situations.
• Conservation of rivers, river corridors, water bodies and infrastructure should be undertaken in a scientifically planned manner through community participation. The storage capacities of all water bodies and water courses may be managed in an integrated manner to balance the flooding, environment and social issues as per prevalent laws through planned development of urban areas, in particular.
• Encroachments and diversion of water bodies (like rivers, lakes, tanks, ponds, etc.) and drainage channels (irrigated area as well as urban area drainage) must not be allowed, and wherever it has taken place, it should be restored to the extent feasible and maintained properly.
• The water resources infrastructure should be maintained properly to continue to get the intended benefits. A suitable percentage of the costs of infrastructure development may be set aside along with collected water charges, for repair and maintenance.
The Government has set up the National Water Mission with the objective of conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within the States, through integrated water resources, development and management.
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