Evolution of Water Legislation in India: Transition from Religious Precepts to Legal Statutes

Laws are established to elicit specific behaviours and outcomes from the populace of a country. Water, an indispensable element of the environment, currently faces threats from unsustainable development. Its regulation poses a formidable challenge due to its classification as a subject under the state list in the 7th schedule of the Constitution of India and thereby, rests the responsibility of its management on individual states. Such a decentralized approach to water resources makes the formulation of a single and effective national water policy difficult. A brief study of the evolution of water laws in India therefore becomes essential to understand clearly the pitfalls and possibilities regarding the modern governance of water. The first section of this article deals with ancient practices where water was not only a resource for life but also considered holy, whose utilization was guided by ideals of righteousness and community well-being. The essential ancient texts, Manusmriti and Arthashastra, underlined the need for the king to make sure that water was available for use by the general public. The governance steps taken by the king in turn were financed by certain taxes which the administration imposed on waterways when they were crossed by foreigners. The second section talks about the Islamic code and its view on water, which considers it a pure liquid and directs that its use cannot be granted or denied at the individual level. rather the whole community, owns this resource. The third section deals with the establishment of formal laws on water during British colonial rule that initiated the main shift from community-based management to centralized government control and commodification of water resources. It finally traces the trajectory of the legal regime for water management in India since Independence. The first National Water Policy was adopted as late as 1987 to make the management of water resources more efficient and sustainable but its measures were advisory and not binding.