National Water Policy, 2012

National Water Policy is formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources to govern the planning and development of water resources and their optimum utilization. The first National Water Policy was adopted in September, 1987. It was reviewed and updated in 2002 and later in 2012. The 2012 Policy treats water as economic good which the ministry claims to promote its conservation and efficient use.

Other salient features are:

1. To ensure access to a minimum quantity of potable water for essential health and hygiene to all citizens, available within easy reach of the household.
2. To curtail subsidy to agricultural electricity users.
3. Setting up of Water Regulatory Authority in each State. The Authority, inter-alia, will fix and regulate the water tariff system and charges, in general, according to the principles stated in this Policy in an autonomous manner.
4. To keep aside a portion of the river flow to meet the ecological needs and to ensure that the low and high flow releases correspond in time closely to the natural flow regime.
5. To give statutory powers to Water Users Associations to maintain the distribution system.
6. Project benefited families to bear part of the cost of resettlement & rehabilitation of project affected families.
7. To remove the large disparity between stipulations for water supply in urban areas and in rural areas.
8. To support a National Water Framework Law.