-Financial Express If panchayat allocations are merged with MGNREGA to aid asset creation, it can trigger infrastructure growth, resulting in extra income and improved conditions. There is a lot of debate around 5% GDP growth and its impact on the organised sector. Although the government has been taking multiple steps to trigger the economy, there is a need to focus on rural India, in terms of optimising of fund allocations and revision...

-Down to Earth blog Overburdened Drainage, frenzied and unregulated construction, no regard to the natural topography and hydro-geomorphology all make urban floods a man-made disaster The recent floods in Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh have taken by surprise both governments and people. In Patna, severe water logging has brought the city to a halt, with hospitals and residential areas filled with waist-deep water. Transport services have been disrupted, with many trains cancelled. There is...

-The Indian Express From September 28 to October 1, Patna received about 400 mm of rainfall. With all 39 sump houses remaining non-functional till October 1, at least 60 per cent of Patna faced water-logging. * “Any modern city requires four basic infrastructure systems in place to function efficiently — drinking water supply system, storm water Drainage system, sewage system and sewerage network system, and solid waste management system. Patna Municipal...

-India Water Portal Deconstructing the traditional narrow engineering based policy discourses around floods and droughts and connecting them to social and cultural realities is the need of the hour in India. India has witnessed extreme weather conditions this year. While parts of the north and south have battled drought like conditions this summer, the northeast and western coastal areas witnessed heavy rains and floods. While climate change has been highlighted as one...

-The Hindu Kerala needs to adopt watershed-based master planning and review building byelaws The unique geography of Kerala, with its steep climbdown from 900m high elevations of the Western Ghats to the coast of Malabar, has resulted in a land with a vast riverine network. There are no less than 44 fast flowing rivers that drain the rainwater Kerala is blessed with into the Arabian Sea. It is a lifeline that supports...