Water Law in India: An Introduction to Legal Instruments

First published in 2011, Water Law in India is the only book to offer a comprehensive survey of the legal instruments concerning water in India. It presents a variety of national and state-level instruments that make up the complex and diverse field of water law and policy. This book fills a critical gap in the study of water law, providing a rich reference point for the entire gamut of legal mechanisms available in India.

This edition has been extensively revised to include new instruments on water regulation, such as the draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016, and the Model Groundwater (Sustainable Management) Act, 2016; new water-related instruments in such varied fields as criminal law, land acquisition law, and rural employment legislation; and a chapter on international legal instruments. Chapters on drinking water supply, environmental dimensions of water conservation, water infrastructure for irrigation and flood control, groundwater regulation, and institutions catering to water have been thoroughly updated for a complete coverage of water law.

Philippe Cullet is professor of International and Environmental Law at SOAS University of London, UK and a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, India.

Sujith Koonan is a law researcher at the Environmental Law Research Society, New Delhi, India and a doctoral candidate at SOAS University of London, UK.