WATER POLITICS IN INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BIHAR & NEPAL

Abstract

A review of the written work on water in South Asia reveals that this region is highly prone to water related crises. This is perpetuated by the fact that the region is largely agrarian, and it is also water scarce. The situation is compounded by volatile relations between the countries in the region. To make a joint water management more effective, it would be helpful to include people from different strata of society as-it-could help in minimizing risks that could adversely affect the lives of common people in the long term. Multi-stakeholders here would be the private Section, the state government, representatives of civil society and experts on dams who consider the ecological and social aspects. India is in a delicate position because it is the middle riparian between Nepal and Bangladesh, and it wants to avoid accusations of it being a big bully in the region. In the case of India and Bangladesh, the issue has not been the scarcity of water leading to conflict but the lack of political will on both sides that has proved a detriment in resolving the sharing of resources. In their case, if there had been no political intransigence, the issue might never have escalated the way it historically has. It seems like when it comes to water problems, often, the problem is the lack of a political consensus. This consensus can be marred by many problems that the two counties are dealing with. Even though, water has the potential to present critical problems between countries, at this point, it might be more helpful to situate the water issue within the entire spectrum of bilateral ties of the spectrum