testing the oecd tool health check [ for oecd health check_… · check 6. are adequate...

Testing the OECD Tool ‘Health Check’ for

Water Resources Allocation’ regarding the

Ganga River Basin Management Plan

Background document for the IEWP Workshop on Water

Allocation, Water Economics and Environmental Flow in River

Basin Management

New Delhi, September 2016

Revised Version October 2016

Testing the OECD Health Check for Water Resources Alloctaion regarding the Ganga RBMP

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction and aim of this document ................................................................................... 1

2 Testing the OECD Health Check against the GRBMP ................................................................. 3

SYSTEM LEVEL ELEMENTS OF A WATER ALLOCATION REGIME .................................................3

2.1 Check 1: Are there accountability mechanisms in place for the management of water

allocation that are effective at a catchment or basin scale? ..............................................3

2.2 Check 2. Is there a clear legal status for all water resources (surface and ground

water and alternative sources of supply)? ........................................................................4

2.3 Check 3. Is the availability of water resources (surface water, groundwater and

alternative sources of supply) and possible scarcity well-understood? ..............................5

2.4 Check 4. Is there an abstraction limit (“cap”) that reflects in situ requirements and

sustainable use?..............................................................................................................7

2.5 Check 5. Is there an effective approach to enable efficient and fair management of

the risk of shortage that ensures water for essential uses? ...............................................7

2.6 Check 6. Are adequate arrangements in place for dealing with exceptional

circumstances (such as drought or severe pollution events)? ............................................8

2.7 Check 7. Is there a process for dealing with new entrants and for increasing or

varying existing entitlements? .........................................................................................8

2.8 Check 8. Are there effective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement, with clear

and legally robust sanctions? ...........................................................................................9

2.9 Check 9. Are water infrastructures in place to store, treat and deliver water in order

for the allocation regime to function effectively? ........................................................... 10

2.10 Check 10. Is there policy coherence across sectors that affect water resources

allocation? .................................................................................................................... 10

USER LEVEL ELEMENTS OF A WATER ALLOCATION REGIME .................................................... 10

2.11 Check 11. Is there a clear legal definition of water entitlements? ................................... 10

2.12 Check 12. Are appropriate abstraction charges in place for all users that reflect the

impact of the abstraction on resource availability for other users and the

environment? ............................................................................................................... 11

2.13 Check 13. Are obligations related to return flows and discharges properly specified

and enforced? ............................................................................................................... 11

2.14 Check 14. Does the system allow water users to reallocate water among themselves

to improve the allocative efficiency of the regime? ........................................................ 11

3 Conclusion…………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………….. 11


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1 INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THIS DOCUMENT

The development of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) has been one of the important

functions of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). In this context, the Ministry of

Environment and Forests1, Government of India requested a Consortium of seven ‘Indian Institutes of

Technology’ (IITs) to develop the first GRBMP, which has been published in January 2015.

The GRBMP is a comprehensive document that follows the catchment approach aiming to integrate

abiotic with biotic features (basin characterisation) taking into account pressures and related impacts on

the aquatic environment. The Plan, which does not have the status of a statutory instrument yet,

consists of the following three components:

1. Main GRBMP synthesizing the key issues, conclusions and recommendations from background

documents;

2. Thematic reports as basis for the overall Plan with eight so-called missions inside of it;

3. Reports for each of the 8 missions outlining requirements and actions.

The main goal of GRBMP is to restore the wholesomeness of National River Ganga and her basin.

The GRBMP outlines a vision including four key areas that are followed-up by more detailed objectives

to be achieved. One of the four areas covers Aviral Dhara (i.e. ‘continuous flow’) in order to ensure and

maintain the flow of water, sediments and other natural constituents of the River Ganga for her entire

length as well as throughout the year. Environmental flows in all rivers and tributaries of the Ganga

River System shall be maintained to fulfil their geological, ecological, socio- economic and cultural

functions. Related to this overall vision, one of the eight mission reports has been fully dedicated to

Aviral Dhara providing an overview on the water status regarding quantity as of today and on future

water demand projections. In addition, recommendations for future actions in the Ganga River Basin are

part of this mission report. Considering growing water demand for various competing uses in the Ganga

basin, a robust water allocation regime is an essential pre-condition for maintaining continuous flow of

water in the river.

The OECD ‘Health Check’ for Water Resources Allocation2 (OECD, 2015) is a tool to review current

allocation arrangements in order to investigate whether the elements of a well-designed allocation

regime are in place and to identify areas of potential improvement. OECD defines a well-designed

allocation regime to be characterised by two key features, which are (i) robustness of the regime under

typical as well as extreme conditions, and (ii) adaptive efficiency to adjust to changing conditions. The

Health Check contains 14 elements (see below) against which water allocation elements of

national/state/regional/provincial action or management plans can be checked. Hence, the Health Check

is designed to enable the addressing of different levels of water governance including the one of the

river basin.

In relation to the above, it the scope and aim of this document is to present the results of a very first

attempt to test the OECD Health Check for Water Resources Allocation on the Ganga River Basin

Management Plan. This exercise aimed to compare the content of the GRBMP’s main document and,

specifically the mission report 1 on Aviral Dhara to the 14 elements of the Health Check in order to

1 In July 2014, the NGRBA has been transferred from the Ministry of Environment and Forests to the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. 2 OECD (2015): Water Resources Allocation – Sharing Risks and Opportunities, OECD Studies on Water, OECD Publishing, Paris.http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264229631-en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Environment_and_Forests_(India)


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provide an easy as well as systematic overview on water quantity and allocation schemes in the Ganga

River Basin. The Check should support a better understanding of the issue itself as well as the needs for

improvement in a nutshell.

In exchange and full consolidation with IIT, preliminary results of this first test were presented for

discussion and future improvement in the frame a workshop within the India Europe Water Partnership

(IEWP) on Water Allocation, Water Economics and Environmental Flow in River Basin Management

(New Delhi, 14 – 15 September 2016).

A revision was undertaken in follow-up and based on the discussions that took place during the

workshop. The revised document is now shared among the experts and representatives that

participated in the IEWP workshop in September 2016. Any input for further revisions and adaptations

are welcome.

The following lists the 14 elements of the OECD Health Check on water Allocation against which the

content of the GRBMP is checked:

SYSTEM LEVEL ELEMENTS OF A WATER ALLOCATION REGIME:

Check 1. Are there accountability mechanisms in place for the management of water allocation that are

effective at a catchment or basin scale?

Check 2. Is there a clear legal status for all water resources (surface and ground water and alternative

sources of supply)?

Check 3. Is the availability of water resources (surface water, groundwater and alternative sources of

supply) and possible scarcity well-understood?

Check 4. Is there an abstraction limit (“cap”) that reflects in situ requirements and sustainable use?

Check 5. Is there an effective approach to enable efficient and fair management of the risk of shortage

that ensures water for essential uses?

Check 6. Are adequate arrangements in place for dealing with exceptional circumstances (such as

drought or severe pollution events)?

Check 7. Is there a process for dealing with new entrants and for increasing or varying existing

entitlements?

Check 8. Are there effective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement, with clear and legally robust

sanctions?

Check 9. Are water infrastructures in place to store, treat and deliver water in order for the allocation

regime to function effectively?

Check 10. Is there policy coherence across sectors that affect water resources allocation?

USER LEVEL ELEMENTS OF A WATER ALLOCATION REGIME:

Check 11. Is there a clear legal definition of water entitlements?

Check 12. Are appropriate abstraction charges in place for all users that reflect the impact of the

abstraction on resource availability for other users and the environment?

Check 13. Are obligations related to return flows and discharges properly specified and enforced?

Check 14. Does the system allow water users to reallocate water among themselves to improve the

allocative efficiency of the regime?

Each of the above elements of the OECD Health Check are addressed by individual chapters in the

following part of the document.


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2 TESTING THE OECD HEALTH CHECK AGAINST THE GRBMP

SYSTEM LEVEL ELEMENTS OF A WATER ALLOCATION REGIME

2.1 Check 1: Are there accountability mechanisms in place for the management of

water allocation that are effective at a catchment or basin scale?

As a pre-requisite regarding water allocation, it seems important to describe the overall legal situation

regarding rivers in India. This can be outlined in brief as follows (Main GRBMP, Chapter 5.7.1):

The Indian Constitution grants full control over river waters to the States (Entry 17, List II, Seventh

Schedule, Article 246 of the Indian Constitution);

However, the States’ rights are subject to any law enforced by Parliament regarding the regulation

and development of interstate rivers (Entry 56, List I, Seventh Schedule, Article 246 of the Indian

Constitution);

In fact, Parliament can develop laws relating to interstate rivers and that are enforced on the

Union/national level (as per the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956). This means that

interstate rivers could be regulated, developed and managed nationally for the common benefit of

the national States;

In case of such Union regulation for interstate rivers, respective laws shall not be in conflict with the

States competences and legislative powers.

So far and based on the information provided in the GRBMP, no voluntary or legally binding

accountability mechanism is in place that organises water allocation in the GRB nor in India. Existing

legal acts on water affect rivers and river basins indirectly also addressing the issue of irrigation. The

laws entitle component authorities to implement specific functions. However, no concerted effort has

been undertaken so far to legally organise the exploitation of rivers (quality and quantity). This also

affects clear entitlements of authorities to tackle water quantity issues and water allocation regarding

surface and groundwaters in an integrated way.

As of today, the GRBMP does not have the status of a statutory instrument that must be followed

when it comes to water allocation. However, the GRBMP holds several recommendations regarding

accountability mechanisms and the management of water allocation. It is stated in the GRBMP that

many issues regarding river basin management are not part of the existing legal framework in India

including aspects that relate to the regulation of water allocation. Such aspect e.g. are: the

maintenance of environmental flows and groundwater levels; adopted plans for the diversion of rivers;

interruption of river discharges and flows; use of wetlands and floodplains; discharges into water

resources; etc.

Although the GRBMP holds several recommendation that are relevant to establish a functioning

accountability mechanism, no transparent process is currently in place to involve stakeholders and

relevant sectors on the basin-wide scale of the NRGB to jointly engage in the definition of the sequence

of water use priorities and/or key water allocation decisions.

Recommendations in the GRBMP that would improve accountability mechanisms and water

allocation management include:

Introduce incentives, technical assistance, and allocation of water rights and entitlements to

consumers.


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Adopt the integrated river basin management approach and to set-up a nodal agency namely the

National River Ganga Basin Management Commission (NRGBMC) to ensure environmental health

of the water resources (surface water and groundwater) in the Ganga River Basin (Main GRBMP,

Chapter 5.6). The NRGBMC would be entitled to align and coordinate the interests of stakeholders

and sectors across the basin. When it comes to water quantity and allocation, the NRGBMC

would also hold the entitlement (i) to maintain environmental flows in the entire basin, (ii) to

conserve and improve the basin-wide aquatic resources through measures and (iv) to monitor and

review the environmental status in the NRGB.

It is also proposed that the NRGBMC shall be empowered to impose penalties for violations of

norms and guidelines on restrictions regarding environmentally harmful activities in the NGRB.

These penalties should be managed within a dedicated fund under the central Government to be

utilised for environmental improvement in the NRGB and to reward individuals/agencies for

exceptional activities to improve the water status in the NRGB.

The NRGBMC should be responsible to tackle the proposed beneficial activities in the NRGB (Main

GRBMP, Chapter 5.4) that hold many aspects related to water quantity issues and water

allocation: e.g. realistic pricing of freshwaters with incentives, technical assistance and allocation

of water rights and entitlement to promote efficient water usage; higher efficiencies in

institutional, commercial, industrial, domestic, municipal and community water uses through

minimisation of losses, wastage control and provision of adequate treatment facilities;

reuse/recycling of domestic and industrial wastewater reuse/recycling wherever possible leading

to higher pricing of freshwater over recycled water; drainage improvement and land reclamation;

continuous groundwater monitoring through competent non-profit/for-profit agencies;

groundwater recharge with unpolluted water to raise groundwater levels; increase water

availability in the basin through wetlands, forests and distributes surface and ground water

storages.

2.2 Check 2. Is there a clear legal status for all water resources (surface and ground

water and alternative sources of supply)?

In the context of this Check 2, also see the first paragraphs of Check 1 regarding the overall legal

framework for water resources in India. The Indian Government declared the Ganga River herself as

India’s National River in 2008.

There is no concrete statement on ownership of water resources within the GRBMP. However, when it

comes to legal status of water bodies, rivers and many of the surface water bodies are public assets and

are under the executive control of state government. Groundwater is usually privately owned under the

Indian Easements Act of 1882. However, the National Water Policy 2012 stresses that groundwater,

needs to be managed as a community resource held, by the state, under public trust doctrine to

achieve food security, livelihood, and equitable and sustainable development for all. It should be stated

that – as of today – only some States implement specific sets of control mechanisms e.g. regarding

permits for new tube wells.

IITs in alignment to the recommendations in the GRBMP intend to propose related regulations for both

surface waters and groundwater. However, it is stated that as a pre-requisite data needs to be

improved, collected and compiled accordingly.


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Author’s note: A high level of variation exists between the various States in the NRGB regarding water

abstraction rules. As it seems no related comparative analysis is in place yet that would provide an

adequate overview. The legal status of wastewater also needs to be clarified.

Within the GRBMP’s Mission 1 document on Aviral Dhara (= continuous flow), it is strongly proposed

that the government strategy on managing the NRGB’s water resources needs significant changes

(Chapter 5.3). Respectively, it is outlined that in recent decades water users themselves affected large-

scale water abstraction from the environment (especially from groundwater). However, so far water

users are not entrusted with the maintenance of water resource systems, which creates a

contradiction between ownership and water usage. In conclusion it is suggested in the GRBMP to

grant rights and responsibilities to stakeholders in order to effectively maintain the water resources

system (Chapter 5.3c). Water resources management is suggested to shift from a ‘centralised

government control’ to a ‘decentralised stakeholder control’ in combination with expert guidance and

regulation towards balance and sustainability.

Linked to the above the following should be highlighted as well:

The priority of the governmental strategy regarding water resources development has been so far

on extracting increasingly more water from the basin for human water use. It is recommended to

shift the strategy from ‘development’ and ‘conjunctive use’ of surface water and groundwaters to

‘conjunctive preservation’. Such a shift would very likely also affect the legal status and,

specifically, water rights as well as ownership regulations of water resources in future.

Usually, governmental agencies deal with the water resources in the NRGB. These activities are

not necessarily linked to the management of other resources (e.g. soil; nutrients; biotic resources).

The recommendations in the GRBMP aim for a legally arranged integrative approach addressing all

relevant aspects.

2.3 Check 3. Is the availability of water resources (surface water, groundwater and

alternative sources of supply) and possible scarcity well-understood?

The outlines in the NGRBMP state that the NRGB’s water status (quantity) is poorly understood (see

below for some related details). The main reason for this is non-availability of hydrological data in the

Ganga river basin as the information is under classified domain. However, reviews clearly indicate a

declining water status in the river network due to large-scale water abstractions from both surface

waters and groundwater. Based on current information, it seems certain that the NRGB is under

increasing water stress demanding major future changes regarding the water resources management

(Mission 1 document, Chapter 4.3d). Human water demands are increasing while dry-season river

discharges and groundwater levels have been decreasing in many parts of the NRGB indicating critical

imbalance. It is recommended as part of the GRBMP to increase water availability in the basin through

increased water storage and/or to reduce water consumption through more efficient water use.


[6]

In brief, the water resources potential and water use in India as well as the NRGB have been evaluated

by governmental agencies that are aligned to the Ministry of Water Resources:

National Ganga River Basin Total Utilizable Water Resources Potential

Catchment area (km2)

Total Water Resources Potential (Billion Cubic Metres – BCM)

Replenishable Groundwater Potential

(BCM)

Utilisable Surface Water Resources

(BCM)

861.452 525 171 250

Water demand in India has been projected as follows:

In the above context, it becomes obvious that groundwater use is much higher than surface water use,

although the surface water potential is higher than the one of groundwater. The GRBMP states that

‘More than 90% of the rural and more than 50% of the urban water supply comes from groundwater

resources …. with an estimated groundwater abstraction of 221 BCM’ (Mission 1 document, Chapter 4.3

c).

It needs to be highlighted here that the GRBMP states that the estimates for water resources potential

show high uncertainties due to the methodologies that have been applied (Mission 1 document,

Chapter 4.3a). Other approaches e.g. foresee far higher rates of evapotranspiration than the

governmental approach and these would reduce the water resources potential to a huge amount. In

addition, the governmental water estimates have been calculated for the large-scale and spatial

variations related to hydrology have not been taken into account.

It is also stated that the projected water demands were assessed without taking into account demand

trends and other factors and, hence, more detailed assessments would be needed considering water

demand as a function of price, availability and quality of supply as well as coping mechanisms of the

users of water (Mission 1 document, Chapter 4.3e). In addition, the presented water demand

assessments consider exclusively human water uses but not the water needs of the basin itself (Mission

1 document, Chapter 4.3f).

The NGRBMP highlights that industrial water use is declared to be uncertain (MoWR, 2008). Water use

and abstraction for irrigation is the sector consuming the highest proportion of water (83%). However,


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the estimates for abstraction are assumed to be inaccurate due to the fact that many private

abstractions are neither metered nor monitored.

Concluding, it can be said for the surface water and groundwater in the NRGB, that the picture on the

availability of water resources as well as the possible water scarcity is currently not reliable. No

indications are made regarding system interconnectivity as well as treated wastewater that could be

used as a conventional source for freshwater supply. More detailed and accurate assessments are

needed on the NRGB’s hydrology, water use, potential and future demand towards a well-functioning

water allocation regime.

2.4 Check 4. Is there an abstraction limit (“cap”) that reflects in situ requirements

and sustainable use?

The main document as well the Mission 1 report of the NGRBMP do not mention any agreed, legally

binding abstraction limits are in place and controlled. As outlined in the above Check 3, estimates on

the abstraction potential are available for surface water and groundwater (although these are assumed

to be inaccurate). However, these potentials are not directly linked to a defined maximum

volume/proportion for abstraction (abstraction limit). In addition, no short-term limits for water

abstraction are set.

Some of the main recommendations of the Plan address the issue as follows:

Control of water withdrawals in water-depleting regions;

Increase in water use efficiency through realistic pricing of fresh water (author’s note: this would

then likely also demand introduction of water entitlements and the setting of an abstraction limit);

Research to determine the ecological limits, thresholds and interconnections of NRGB’s water

resources, thresholds and interconnections of the basin’s water resources, and river flow health

assessments within the framework of eco-hydrology.

As of today, agreements between various states regarding the sharing of interstate rivers’ water are

being aimed for and worked on. Related tribunals are undertaking this work and face several

challenges. The intended agreements would address surface waters but not groundwater3.

2.5 Check 5. Is there an effective approach to enable efficient and fair management

of the risk of shortage that ensures water for essential uses?

According to the analysis and outlines in the GRBMP no coherent, basin-wide approach to enable

efficient and fair management of the risk of shortage that ensures water for essential uses is

currently in place. No system or approach is in place that identifies water uses of highest priority in

case of water scarcity for the entire NRGB.

A recommendation of the GRBMP addresses the issue through highlighting that hydrological mode

studies should be undertaken that show significant effects on water resources. Increasing water

withdrawal should be checked on a priority basis in critical regions. In addition, it is also recommended

3 Source: Personal exchange with Professor Vinod Tare (IITs).


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that a major policy shift in water management of the NRGB should be undertaken with emphasis on

resource preservation before exploitation, decentralized stakeholder control, and expert guidance and

regulation. The latter recommendation would likely also demand the development of an approach to

regulate and prioritise water abstraction in water scarce situations. In addition, the priority list of water

use as suggested in the National Water Policy 2012 and in various State Water Policies should be

referred too.

2.6 Check 6. Are adequate arrangements in place for dealing with exceptional

circumstances (such as drought or severe pollution events)?

According to the analysis and outlines in the GRBMP, exceptional circumstances are not specified in

detail for the basin-wide scale of the NRGB and decisions seem to be based on ad-hoc actions. It is

not clear in how far national and/or State authorities have the mandate or a mechanism in place to

declare exceptional circumstances as well as related approaches how to then manage water uses are

nor described. No related warning systems are mentioned that would support water users in regulating

water uses in critical stages (e.g. drought events).

Activities and interventions are proposed in the GRBMP that can to improve the NRGB’s environment.

In the context of this Check 6, the reuse and/or recycling of domestic and industrial wastewaters (after

due treatment) with appropriate mechanisms for commercial use/ reuse wherever possible is

mentioned. It is also stated that, such mechanism may include higher pricing for fresh water over

recycled water. Such recommendation would also influence arrangements in exceptional circumstances

making use of recycled wastewater as alternative sources for water supply.

The Mission 1 report of the GRBMP addresses water storage and highlights the increasing advantage of

‘decentralised water storage’ in the NRGB in order to enhance groundwater discharge. So far,

centralised storages (dammed reservoirs on rivers) have been the governmental focus to contribute to

water use, supply and irrigation. A shift in approaches may also contribute to effective arrangements in

exceptional circumstances.

Nevertheless, the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) was created in the year 1972 to deal with

floods and its management in the Ganga Basin States. GFCC has prepared comprehensive plans for

flood management for all the 23 river systems of the Ganga basin and has sent the reports to the State

Governments for taking follow up actions on the recommendations made in the reports. GFCC has also

prepared the reports for adequacy of waterways under road and rail bridges for all the 23 river

systems. Another important activity of GFCC is a techno-economic appraisal of flood management and

anti-erosion schemes received from the Ganga basin States. In any case, the issue regarding adequate

arrangement in exceptional circumstances need more investigation to ensure a complete health check.

2.7 Check 7. Is there a process for dealing with new entrants and for increasing or

varying existing entitlements?

In correlation with the current situation regarding entitlements for water uses (also see Check 1),

related permits and partly sanctions are processed as well as granted by the States’ competent

authorities. While the focus used to be on surface waters, some states also require permits in relation

to groundwater. Still, variations in these regulations exist between the States and could be analysed.


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As stated above, the GRBMP’s recommendation propose anthropogenic water use by increased water

use efficiency through realistic pricing of fresh water, incentives, technical assistance, allocation of

water rights and entitlements to stakeholders, and promotion of water reuse and recycling. This

recommendation would also result in introducing a process regarding new entrants for entitlements to

use water.

2.8 Check 8. Are there effective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement, with

clear and legally robust sanctions?

According to the analysis and outlines in the GRBMP, no coherent method or approach is in place for

the basin-wide monitoring of NRGB’s water resources regarding abstraction (surface water and

groundwater). The uncertainties on water uses, potential and demands pose a certain challenge to such

activities and as it is recommended in the Plan these shortcomings need to be overcome. As a main

recommendation, the GRBMP urges to control water withdrawals in water depleting regions (Mission 1

document of the NGRBMP and executive summary of the NGRBMP)

It is highlighted in the NGRBMP that freshwater usage and demand control is of utmost importance as

well as related effective measures including (i) the realistic pricing of freshwater and disincentives for

wastage of water, (ii) techno-economic assistance and incentives for poor and marginal sections to

improve water-use efficiencies, (iii) allocation of water rights and entitlements to stakeholders, (iv)

direct use of water where possible (e.g. reuse of irrigation return flows and (v) treatment and

recycling/reuse of domestic and industrial wastewaters where feasible.

The proposed beneficial activities in the GRBMP (Main GRBMP, Chapter 5.4) mention to continuously

monitor groundwater levels through competent non-profit/for-profit agencies of: (i) NRGB’s

environmental status and (ii) implementation of prohibited, restricted and promotional activities

(Authors’ note: groundwater levels and quality is being monitored by Central and various State

Groundwater Boards).

As stated before the NGRBMP proposes the establishment of a nodal agency (NRGBMC) that shall be

responsible to coordinate and regulate basin-wide issues in the NRGB. In this context, it is foreseen that

the NRGBMC should also be responsible to undertake specific investigations regarding non-

implementation of measures related to specified prohibition, restriction, conservation and

promotion of activities (NGRBMP, Chapter 5.7.3). NRGBMC would investigate issues regarding non-

compliance of policy decisions and guidelines issued by NRGBMC for environmental preservation of the

NRGB. In addition, environmental monitoring and impacts assessments on on-going and future

developmental and infrastructural projects would be undertaken when needed. These activities would

very likely contribute as well as support a system of monitoring and enforcement regarding water uses

and their controlling making use of best practice techniques (metering; accounting protocols).

As highlighted within Check 1, it is also proposed that the NRGBMC shall be empowered to impose

penalties for violations of norms and guidelines on restrictions regarding environmentally harmful

activities in the NGRB (authors’ note: this is in conflict with the authority of Central and State Pollution

Control Boards, perhaps what is required is effective implementation). These penalties should be

managed within a dedicated fund under the central Government to be utilised for environmental

improvement in the NRGB and to reward individuals/agencies for exceptional activities to improve the


[10]

water status in the NRGB. Still, it seems relevant in the NGRB to aim for improvement of appropriate

regulations to set sanctions.

In summary and aligned to the other checks, improvement regarding mechanisms on monitoring,

enforcement and sanction when it comes to water use and abstraction are still needed for future

definition and implementation in the NRGB.

2.9 Check 9. Are water infrastructures in place to store, treat and deliver water in

order for the allocation regime to function effectively?

In order to restore Aviral Dhara of the NRGB, the GRBMP addresses water storage, water use efficiency,

water policy and environmental flows in the basin to support the achievement of this aim. Based on the

current outlines in the Plan it is difficult to analyse and judge the efficiency and functioning of the

existing water infrastructure that is currently in place to store, treat and deliver water in the NRGB.

Some information related to natural and man-made water bodies can be extracted from the National

Wetland Atlas of India 2011, however, the information is in general available for individual States. More

detailed investigations and compilation of related data would be needed to complete this Health Check

item 9.

Additional author’s note: The NGRBMP recommends to prepare a water resources plan for the NRGB

emphasising wetlands, forests and distributed groundwater and surface water storages rather than

large impounded (artificial) reservoirs.

2.10 Check 10. Is there policy coherence across sectors that affect water resources

allocation?

Aligned to the findings of the above Health Check items, the policy regarding water resources allocation

is currently not necessarily linked and integrated between different resources in the NRGB (also see

Chapter 2.2). The GRBMP recommends to tackle a related integrated approach for implementation.

However, the lacking inter-linkage between the different resources that would be relevant to

regulate water allocation, allows the assumption that currently no complete coherence across sectors

that affect water resources allocation is in place. Although, relevant sectors are addressed in the

GRBMP (e.g. industry, agriculture, hydropower) the integrative role of policy across the sectors is not

addressed in detail and would need more investigations to be fully understood for the entire NRGB and

its States. It seems that information that would be needed for the analysis is currently available in a

scattered way and activities are on-going to compile data accordingly4.

USER LEVEL ELEMENTS OF A WATER ALLOCATION REGIME

2.11 Check 11. Is there a clear legal definition of water entitlements?

Making reference to the previous chapters of the Health Check, no clear legal definitions of water

entitlements are in place yet. The allocation of water rights and entitlements is recommended as a

beneficial future activity in the NRGB to promote efficient water use (Main GRBMP, Chapter 5.4/6).

4 Source: Personal exchange with Professor Vinod Tare (IITs).


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2.12 Check 12. Are appropriate abstraction charges in place for all users that reflect

the impact of the abstraction on resource availability for other users and the

environment?

Making reference to the previous chapters of the Health Check, no abstraction charges for all users

and following one coherent approach across all States are set nor implemented on the basin-wide

scale of the NRGB. Still, some charges for water are in place (mostly to cover operation and

maintenance cost of water supply infrastructure) but shall be analysed for a complete and objective

overview.

However and as mentioned above, the NGRBMP addresses the realistic pricing of freshwater with

incentives, technical assistance and allocation of water rights and entitlements to promote efficient

water use (Main GRBMP, Chapter 5.4/6). Further, a possible higher pricing of freshwater in relation to

reuse and recycling of domestic and industrial wastewaters is outlined (Main GRBMP, Chapter 5.4/1).

This can be seen in linkage to set future abstraction charges.

2.13 Check 13. Are obligations related to return flows and discharges properly

specified and enforced?

Making reference to the previous chapters of the Health Check, no coherent obligations of return flows

and discharges are specified in the GRBMP. It is assumed that such obligations are hence not fully

implemented on the basin-wide scale. More investigations would be needed across the States sharing

the NRGB to achieve an appropriate overview.

2.14 Check 14. Does the system allow water users to reallocate water among

themselves to improve the allocative efficiency of the regime?

In absence of water entitlements and making reference to the previous chapters of the Health Check

and the preconditions regarding water allocation, this check item does not seem relevant to be

answered at the moment. More investigations would be needed across the States sharing the NRGB to

achieve an appropriate overview.

3 CONCLUSION

The key conclusion of this very first attempt to test the OECD Health Check for Water Resources

Allocation on the Ganga River Basin Management Plan, is that a high variation of frameworks,

regulations and mechanisms exist across the NRGB when its comes to water allocation regimes.

In order to detail and improve the results of this test, an analysis and assessment of the various

approaches regarding water allocation on the level of the different States would be useful. Such an

analysis would on one hand provide insight into the different types and patterns of water allocation

regimes per se. On the other hand, such an analysis could also support a better understanding for

regional water resources managers on how to translate these different approaches to the basin-wide

scale towards coordinated planning and management of water allocation in the NRGB.

testing the oecd tool health check [ for oecd health check_… · check 6. are adequate...

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