The Central Water Commission has completed the pre-feasibility study ordered by the Delhi government to tackle the water crisis in the city. The commission has proposed to the government to construct a water barrage that will be used to store overflows from the Yamuna in monsoons. Subsequently, the Delhi Jal Board has accepted the proposals and the work on the project is likely to start soon.

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has decided to levy a 15 per cent VAT on water bills and to increase the charges for new connections and services from April 5 without notifying the consumers.The consumers who use less than 25 units were exempted from the VAT hitherto and a 10 per cent VAT was charged from those who consume more than 25 units.

Provincial Irrigation and Power Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo and his department's secretary along with water experts including ANG Abbasi, Abdul Majeed Kazi and Idrees Rajput met Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah at Chief Minister House on Wednesday. The minister apprised Qaim about water availability situation for Kharif season 2008-09 while water shortage during Kharif also came under consideration. Qaim emphasised upon equal distribution of water and asked the irrigation department officials to ensure supply of water to tail-enders as per their share.

Climbing up and down 40 steps ten times a day is not an easy exercise, but for 28-year-old Dil Maya, it has been a daily routine since she moved into a hut near the IMTRAT hospital in Thimphu. The hut, she lives in with her family, does not have water supply, her family share a toilet with two others, and her hut is surrounded by garbage. "We have to walk down every day to fetch water,' said Dil Maya.

Two combined drinking water supply projects will be completed in municipalities in Coimbatore district, Local Administration Minister M.K.Stalin announced in the Assembly on Wednesday. A combined drinking water supply scheme for Kuruchi, Kuniamuthur municipalities and Kinathukkadavu town panchayat will be completed at a cost of Rs.49.93 crore in December this year, he said. This will benefit 45,000 people in the region. A combined water supply scheme taken up in the district will benefit Goundanpalayam municipality and Vadavalli town panchyat.

Water connection charges for houses of less than 500 sq.ft have been reduced to Rs. 100, according to M.K. Stalin, Local Administration and Rural Development Minister. This was being done to enable people belonging to economically weaker sections of society to get the water connection easily, he said, wrapping up the debate in the Assembly on the demand for grants to his departments.

The work on the 100-million-litre-a-day (MLD) seawater desalination plant at Minjur, on the northern outskirts of Chennai, is progressing expeditiously, Local Administration Minister M. K. Stalin informed the Assembly on Tuesday. Initiating the debate on the demand for grants to his department, he said the work would be completed this year. ILF-Mantech, an independent consultant, was appointed to monitor the work. As per its bulk water purchase agreement with Chennai Metrowater, Chennai Water Desalination Limited should deliver 15 MLD next month and 100 MLD in August.

The Government of Jharkhand has taken several leading initiatives in order to attract industrial investment in the State. These policies have graphed a framework for accelerating development and envisage a set of incentives and schemes, with the Government creating the right kind of business climate by removing the roadblocks and thereby enhancing the inflow of capital.

Three hours drive beyond Hosur from Bangalore, the popular picnic spot Hogenakkal

An agreement which defines acceptable use of water from North America's Great Lakes has been thrashed out by farmers, industrialists, environmentalists and politicians. The Great Lakes in Northeast America are a huge natural resource but fears have been raised that piping the water to parched areas of the USA would lead to ecological disaster in the long term. The Great Lakes Compact aims to strike a balance between the needs of the region's industry and ecology.