NEPAL is one of the richest nations in water resources in the world. Over 6,000 big and small rivers wind through the hills, vales, dense forests and plain lands, irrigating thousands of hectares of agriculture land across the country. They make up 40 per cent annual flow of the Ganges, the iconic river of the subcontinent. The country is endowed with perennial big snow-fed rivers, which have contributed to the generation of electricity and irrigation projects. Those rivers originating in the middle mountains and hilly regions are sustained by the monsoon rain and groundwater. Despite having plentiful waters, the nation has not yet met the need of electricity for the domestic and industrial purposes. Moreover, the vast swath of lands has been deprived of the irrigation facility, a painful fact that mocks the tag as the agriculture nation.

The flawed policy, lack of political understanding, scarcity of required investment and inefficient management can be attributed to this plight. The nation’s overall development drive largely rests on its ability to harness the abundant water resources for the production of electricity, the prerequisite of industrialisation, and the massive irrigation, the key to the green revolution. Against this backdrop, the government has introduced the ‘National Water Resources Policy-2077,’ which provide clear policy frame to proper water supply, irrigation, electricity and management of water-induced disasters. The new policy has seven objectives and 11 strategies, which seek to achieve multidimensional, equitable and sustainable development of water resources, economic prosperity and social transformation, according to the news report of this daily. It has laid emphasis on research, multi-purpose use, development, management, regulation and protection of water resources.

For the country like Nepal, it is imperative for the multi-purpose use of water to ensure easy supply, equitable development of land resources and national productivity. This requires utilisation, conservation, development, management and regulation of water resources. One salient feature of the new policy is that it has envisioned an effective coordination among the three tiers of the government for the conservation, development and utilisation of water resources. It has created a legal ground to set up bodies at the state and local levels for the purpose. Through the new policy, the government wants to develop water resources sector in a way that is easy, accessible and equitable to meet the needs of the citizens. Provisions of conserving water resources for executing development projects and declaring the most important and sensitive areas of water resources as protected areas are helpful in balancing between development and nature. It is practical approach to develop inland water transport in the major rivers to have an access to the sea.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barshaman Pun has said that the policy had ended the possibility of dispute among the three layers of government over the distribution of water resources. He was of the view that it has facilitated the government to pursue the principle of not only sustainable use and conservation of water according to its availability, but also safe transfer of water to future generations. No doubt, the policy aims to balance between the environment, development and culture. However, it should also enable the government and political leadership to avoid unnecessary controversy that arises when foreign companies are awarded to build major hydropower projects.