Framing a Drinking Water Supply Services Act for India, with Particular Reference to Rajasthan

The book discusses the process of drafting a Drinking Water Services Act for states under federal governance, presents how various provisions of the Act are identified and builds the rationale behind those provisions. It looks into the Act drafted for the state of Rajasthan and explains why water sector legislations in India has been a failure.

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The aim of the book is to make the water sector professionals working on the legal and regulatory aspects of water-related services such as drinking water supply familiarized with the nuances of framing an Act. This book discusses the process of drafting a Drinking Water Services Act for a state under a federal system of governance, by presenting what goes into identifying the various provisions of the Act, and building the rationale for keeping those provisions vis-à-vis the criteria, norms, rules, guidelines and standards pertaining to various aspects of drinking water sector. It also presents the Drinking Water Services Act drafted for the state of Rajasthan in western India. The Rajasthan case is used to explain how various data on the physical environment, socioeconomic characteristics and institutional set up can be used for evolving various provisions of the Act, especially the criteria, norms, rules, guidelines and standards. The book has five well-written chapters, including one chapter covering the draft Drinking Water Supply Services Act for Rajasthan. The final chapter investigates why many water-related Acts in India fail or become ineffective.