13. Integrated Water Resources Management: Perspective for State of Uttarakhand, India

Himalayan areas are the water bucket of the world and contribute one of the world’s greatest freshwater resources. The Himalayan system provides plentiful services to the downstream towns and population in terms of water for household purposes and ecosystems services, etc. More than 1.4 billion people directly depend on water from the rivers of the Himalaya. So, water resources and its management for providing clean water and sanitation are already a challenge in the Himalayan region. All the mitigation measures adopted under Ganga Action Plan (for cleaning of all tributaries of river Ganga started by ministry of water resource in 14 Jan 1986) focus primarily on the big cities for construction of sewage treatment plants, interceptor sewers, and sewage diversion mechanisms. But always questions are raising about the sustainability, maintenance and cost-efficiency of these mitigation measures, and its effect on water quality of the river. For small areas and towns of Uttarakhand, natural, sustainable, efficient, natural, and long-life mitigation measures are required for reducing the pollution level in the river system.