All these shortcomings the author terms not as ?natural? crises, but as human-created ones. He makes a close examination of the ?consultative? approach of the Government of India and setting up of an expert committee to focus on particular links without offering no opportunities for a fundamental examination of the grand design.
In initial sections of the book, stress is on understanding conflicts?river water disputes between countries and between political units with a country; the author talks of the Indus Water Treaty with each side (India and Pakistan) wanting more water than the Indus Treaty provides for. In the Ganga case, before the Ganges Treaty was signed, each side (India and Bangladesh) laid claim to the totality of the flows in the river in the lean season. In the Ravi-Beas case, Punjab feels its waters are being taken away by others, while Haryana and Rajasthan feel that allocations are under threat. In the Cauvery case, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu want a larger share of the water.
Written by a research professor, the book, primarily a thesis, is meant for students, professors and policy-makers to read.
?M.G.
(Sage Publications, B-1/11 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Mathura Road, New Delhi-110044.)
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