243-River Water Management Policy Making and Public Intervention for Conservation of Water Quality and Quantity.

Abstract

Water is a primary resource for several human activities, and rivers are a major source of water in several parts of India. River water management is an important area of natural resource management that crosses several disciplines, and in order to be effective, it requires public intervention through appropriate policy and institution. This paper first discusses the public intervention rationale and strategies, relevance of economic valuation and principles of policy making for river water management. Subsequently, the need for using this policymaking framework in the context of the critical state of Yamuna river water resource is discussed. The paper also emphasizes on a programmatic approach towards river water management using appropriate policy instruments for achieving the objectives.