Regulation of freshwater and the access to right to water in India

Freshwater as a natural resource is finite on the planet earth, and India suffers from acute shortage, growing demand and variability in availability. Therefore, this thesis explores, in what ways, could the law be used as an instrument by the state of India to mitigate the crisis. By virtue of statehood and the powers vested in the sovereign, it is duty-bound to honour the emerging right to water for all. Therefore, this research is construed around the realisation which makes the regulation of the water resource, the primary responsibility and the legal obligation for the state. The central theme of research is woven around this idea, and it is committed to improving water regulation by examining the legal rights and entitlements associated with the resource; and by exploring the impact on the regulation of the resource due to constitutional understanding and division of power for its regulation. The laws and policies involved in water regulation in a federal state are fragmented and non-coherent. Although, for the progressive realisation of the right sustainable and efficient management of the resource is a must. As a response, this thesis analysis the utility of the existing legal apparatus and constitutional framework to possibly address the issue of water regulation of this century. Further, it investigates the relevance of the constitutional philosophy, because the authority to regulate and manage the resource is distributed among different organs at a different level of governance, in accordance with the spatial and temporal ideology of the constitution. The foundational principles, the legal apparatus and the institutions involved are analysed to ascertain the utility or otherwise of these institutions and the legal and constitutional provisions, at present and in the foreseeable future. The findings suggest that the contradictory norms and principles exist and hinder the swift regulation of the resource, the institutions involved, and the policies made to carry the task for the governance of the resource also suffer a setback. The means and mechanism involved are not up-to-date and often not regarded receptive to the modern approach. Therefore, this thesis argues in favour of a set of established legal principles and practices emerging from the international domain of law, policy and best practice, and those acceptable within the national domain. Based on this understanding, the task for the harmonisation of the law and policy is construed, and some of the avenues of law-making and policy-making will be re-engineered, as per the best scientific and legal information available. The recommendations are made to overcome the difficulties observed and to strengthen the regulation of the resource by being within the constitutional framework.