Liquid asset management system
14 July, 2009 - The Water Act, which was finally drafted to create a system to collectively manage water resources in the country, gives national direction and coordinates use of water among various users and could solve the ever-rising water crisis in the country.
The draft Water Act, coordinated by the national environment commission (NEC), all ministries and NGOs, is ready and expected to address water management problems with regulations that are framed in the draft.
NEC’s deputy chief environmental officer Karma Chhopel said, “Bhutan has adequate water resources. The problem, in the past, was with how sectors approached the management of the resource.”
Despite the acute water shortage, both drinking and for irrigation, Bhutan as of now enjoys the highest per capita availability of water in the region with 10,9000 m3 per person a year, say officials.
So far, the major mandate on water use, excluding traditional arrangements at the village level, was earlier shared by four different ministries: the trade ministry for hydropower generation, the agriculture ministry for irrigation and watershed management, the ministry of works and human settlement for urban water supply and the ministry of health for rural water supply.
The draft Act aims at efficient protection, proper usage, management and conservation of water resources. Rights over water resources shall vest with the state and are the property of the state.
The Act also mentions river basin committees, planning and management plans, prevention and control of pollution, construction and safety of dams and water infrastructure, among others. The draft Act has regulations for water abstraction and use that deal with licensing of abstracting water for domestic use, hand-dug wells, right to collect and use rainwater.
Discharge of effluents in water, directly or indirectly, or discharge from public sewer without permit is prohibited, states the draft Act. A group of rural households, using a particular water source for water supply, may form an association and elect a committee as per the draft Act.
A separate chapter on offences and penalties deals with administrative actions like imposing fine, suspension of a license and shutting down of an activity against violators of the provisions of the Act.
Since 2002, NEC has been the interim body in coordinating water resources and management. Therefore, the Act mentions NEC or any other designated national agency as the implementing body.
“Once this draft Act is discussed in the cabinet or the next parliamentary session, there could be a separate body to monitor the provisions of this Act,” said Karma Chhopel.
Meanwhile, the draft Act was discussed at a high level consultation meeting on July 13, organised by NEC, participants stressed a clear segregation between regulatory and policy planning. However, the participants will, by Friday, give in writing the suggestions, which NEC will compile and present at a special NEC meeting chaired by the prime minister.
