23-Aug-2019: NITI Aayog releases Report on the Composite Water Management Index 2.0
To supplement the efforts of Jal Shakti Ministry, NITI Aayog has prepared the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0). The Report was launched today by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
Scientific management of water is increasingly recognized as being vital to India’s growth and ecosystem sustainability. Government is being proactive about water management and has created the Ministry of Jal Shakti to consolidate interrelated functions pertaining to water management. The newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has strived to over bridge the water challenges by launching the Jal Shakti Abhiyan - a campaign for water conservation and water security.
NITI Aayog first launched and conceptualized the Composite Water Management Index in 2018 as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states. This was a first ever attempt at creating a pan-India set of metrics that measured different dimensions of water management and use across the lifecycle of water. The report was widely acknowledged and provided actionable guidance to States on where they were doing well absolutely and relatively and what they needed to focus on to secure their water future.
The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources. This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Rural Development and all the States/ Union Territories. The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.
CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17. In the report released, Gujarat hold on to its rank one in the reference year (2017-18), followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Himachal Pradesh has been adjudged number 1 in 2017-18 followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura and Assam. The Union Territories have first time submitted their data and Puducherry has been declared as the top ranker. In terms of incremental change in index (over 2016-17 level), Haryana holds number one position in general States and Uttarakhand ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States. On an average, 80% of the states assessed on the Index over the last three years have improved their water management scores, with an average improvement of +5.2 points.
14-Jun-2018: Release of the Report on the Composite Water Management Index
In pursuit of cooperative and competitive federalism, NITI Aayog has been laying emphasis on developing indicators on various social sectors. In February 2018, NITI Aayog had released a report on “Healthy States, Progressive India” which covered the ranking of States/ UTs in various health parameters. As a step further in direction and keeping in view the criticality of water for life, NITI Aayog has prepared a report on Composite Water Management Index (CWMI).
The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources. This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and all the States/ Union Territories. The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources. Simultaneously a web portal on the subject has also been launched.
The report released ranks Gujarat as number one in the reference year (2016-17), followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Tripura has been adjudged number 1 in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam. In terms of incremental change in index (over 2015-16 level), Rajasthan holds number one position in general States and Tripura ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States. NITI Aayog proposes to publish these ranks on an annual basis in future.
About Composite Water Management Index (CWMI): CWMI has been developed by NITI Aayog comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects of ground water, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance (Box-1). For the purposes of analysis, the reporting states were divided into two special groups – ‘North Eastern and Himalayan states’ and ‘Other States’, to account for the different hydrological conditions across these groups.
7-Aug-2019: Centre unveils plan for coastal zone management
The Environment Ministry has unveiled a draft plan that will dictate how prospective infrastructure projects situated along the coast ought to be assessed before they can apply for clearance. The draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) is part of a World Bank-funded project. The document lays out guidelines out for coastal States to adopt when they approve and regulate projects in coastal zones.
The project seeks to assist the Government of India in enhancing coastal resource efficiency and resilience, by building collective capacity (including communities and decentralised governance) for adopting and implementing integrated coastal management approaches. The document was prepared by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management.
Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) has to be a continuous process rather than a “one-off” investment action. So far three coastal States, namely Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal, have prepared Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plans with support from the World Bank. Such plans would be prepared for the selected coastal stretches in other States/UT, the project notes.
Proposed activities: The key activities proposed for coastal zone development that consist of investments by States include: mangrove afforestation/shelter beds, habitat conservation activities such as restoration of sea-grass meadows, eco-restoration of sacred groves, development of hatcheries, rearing/rescue centres for turtles and other marine animals, creation of infrastructure for tourism, restoration and recharge of water bodies, beach cleaning and development, and other small infrastructure facilities.
Livelihood improvement projects include demonstration of climate resilient or salinity resistant agriculture, water harvesting and recharge/storage, creation of infrastructure and facilities to support eco-tourism, community-based small-scale mariculture, seaweed cultivation, aquaponics, and value addition to other livelihood activities.
The plan describes how “environmental and social aspects” ought to be integrated into the planning, design, implementation of projects. Projects should strive to avoid or minimise impacts on cultural properties and natural habitats, compensate any loss of livelihood or assets, adopt higher work safety standards, occupational and community health and safety.
19-Jun-2019: RK Singh approves Dispute Resolution Mechanism for solar/wind sector
In a major decision to facilitate the solar and wind energy projects, Shri RK Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has approved a proposal to set up a Dispute Resolution Committee to consider the unforeseen disputes between solar/wind power developers and SECI/NTPC, beyond contractual agreement.
Emphasising the importance of this step, Shri Singh said that the move will give further fillip to the smooth implementation of solar/wind energy projects in India. It fulfils a long pending demand of the industry to resolve expeditiously, unforeseen disputes that may arise beyond the scope of Contractual Agreements.
The Solar and Wind Industry have been demanding setting up of Dispute Resolution Mechanism by MNRE for quite some time, to resolve expeditiously, unforeseen disputes that may arise beyond the scope of Contractual Agreements between solar power developers / wind power developers and SECI/ NTPC.
The issue was considered and it was felt that there is need to erect a transparent, unbiased Dispute Resolution Mechanism, consisting of an independent, transparent and unbiased Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), for resolving the unforeseen disputes that may arise in implementation of contractual agreements and also for dealing with issues which are beyond the scope of Contractual Agreements between solar power developers/ wind power developers and SECI / NTPC.
The Government after careful examination of the issues involved, have decided as follows –
- A three member Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) will be set up with the approval of Hon’ble Minister (NRE), consisting of eminent persons of impeccable integrity. The upper age for the DRC members shall be 70 years. The Committee members of DRC shall be chosen from the eminent persons located in NCR of Delhi so as to avoid expenditure on Air Travel & accommodation. The selection of DRC Members would be such that there is no conflict of interest involved.
- The mechanism of Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) will be applicable for all solar/ wind Schemes/ Programmes/ Projects being implemented through/ by SECI/ NTPC.
- The DRC will consider following kinds of cases:
- All cases of appeal against decisions given by SECI on Extension of Time requests based on terms of contract: All requests for extension of time due to recognized ‘Force Majeure’ events like flood, earthquake, delay in handing over of land by Solar Park Developers, delay in connectivity, etc. will be dealt strictly as per Contractual Agreements. In all such cases, the solar power developers / wind power developers shall make an application for grant of Extension of Time (EoT) within the time specified in the Contractual Agreement. If application is not made within the time limit prescribed in the Contractual Agreement, it shall be summarily rejected by SECI/ NTPC. If application is made within the time limit, the request will be examined and final decision given to solar power developer/ wind power developer within twenty-one (21) days from the date of application. No separate extension of time shall be granted for overlapping periods of effect by two or more causes. If the developer is not satisfied with the decision of SECI/ NTPC, then it may appeal to the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), within 21 days of SECI/NTPC's order after paying a fee, to be decided by the DRC, which in any case shall not be less than 5% of the impact of SECI's/NTPC’s decision being challenged. This fee shall be deposited into the Payment Security Fund maintained by SECI/ NTPC for the project concerned. In case, the Government upholds the appeal in toto, after taking into consideration the recommendation of DRC, and strikes down the SECI order, then the fee so collected shall be refunded, provided the DRC makes a recommendation for the same and the Government passes a specific order to that effect. The Fee which may be received and is not required to be refunded, shall be credited to the appropriate Payment Security Fund being maintained by SECI/NTPC.
- All requests of Extension of Time not covered under the terms of contract: All cases involving unforeseen issues/ circumstances not covered under Contractual Agreements like cases where the site is to be procured by the developer but there is delay in land allotment due to policy change or registration by the Government, delays in grant of proposed connectivity due to court stays, etc., will be placed before the DRC for consideration and make recommendations to M/o New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) for appropriate decision.
- The ‘Dispute Resolution Committee’ (DRC) will examine all such cases referred to it, including the cases where the developer is not satisfied with the decision of SECI/NTPC and it decides to appeal after paying the required fee as laid down under Para (ii) (a) above, in a time bound manner and submit its recommendations to the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), not later than twenty-one (21) days from the date of reference.
- The recommendations of the ‘Dispute Resolution Committee’ (DRC) along with MNRE’s observations, will be placed before Hon’ble Minister (NRE) for final decision. The Ministry shall examine and put up such recommendations to Minister (NRE) with the comments of IFD within twenty one (21) days of receipt of recommendation from the DRC.
- To arrive at any decision, Committee will be free to interact with the relevant parties of the case and shall record their views. For presenting the case before the DRC, no lawyers shall be permitted.