Development Centre for Alternative Policies

Reports and Publications


  1. “Law and Policy on Water Resources in Kumaon and Garhwal, U.P”, in Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems Network Newsletter, IIMI, Kathmandu, Sept.1995.
  2. “Water Resources – Law and Custom“– Paper presented at the International Conference on the Political Economy of Water in South Asia: Rural and Urban Action and Interactions. Madras, Feb. 1995. Organised by South Asia Social Science Research Council, American Council of Learned Societies and Madras Institute of Development Studies.
  3. “Panchayati Power” in “Dying Wisdom: Rise, Fall and Potential of India’s Traditional Water Harvesting Systems“, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi 1997.
  4. “Law and Custom of Water Resources Administration in UP Hills”, Paper presented at the Conference on Ecological History and Tradition, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, March 1997.
  5. “Role of Legislation in the Protection and Development of Natural Resources in the Himalayan States. Paper presented at Central Soil and Water Conservation, Research and Training Institute, Dehradun. 1998

  6. “Past Trends and Future Requirements in Water Law and Policy in Kumaon and Garhwal Hills, Uttar Pradesh “, Paper presented at the Workshop for Policy Practitioners for Himalayan States/Regions in India, ICIMOD & U.P. Academy of Administration, Nainital, Uttar Pradesh, October 1998.
  7. “Some Issues of Fact and Law Relating to the Running of Water Mills in the Kumaon Region of Uttar Pradesh” Paper for the Centre for Development Studies, Academy of Administration, Nainital, U,P. and ICIMOD, Kathmandu.1998.
  8. “Legal Framework for Uttarakhand – A Discussion Note”, presented at Seminar on “Uttarakhand Kaisa Ho”, organized by PUCL [Lucknow] and Uttarakhand Mahila Manch, Dehra Dun, 1999.
  9. “Entitlement, Empowerment and Obligations in Natural Resources Management in India” – Proceedings of the ICAR International Conference on Managing Sustainable Agricultural Production in the 21st Century. ICAR, New Delhi Feb. 2000.
  10. “Empowered State and Eroded Water Rights in Uttarakhand – A Study of Water Disputes in Uttarakhand State”. Monograph, 1996. Sponsored by the Ford Foundation, New Delhi.
  11. “Law and Custom in Water Resources Administration: A Case Study of U.P.Himalayas”. Monograph. 1996. Sponsored by the Ford Foundation, New Delhi.
  12. "Empowered State and Eroded Water Rights - Water Law and Policy in Uttarakhand", M.S.Vani and Rohit Asthana in Water in Kumaon: Ecology, Value and Rights, Ed. by G.K.Kadekodi, K S R Murthy and Kirit Kumar; Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nainital, 2000.
  13. “Enabling Law for Water Harvesting”, in Making Water Everybody’s Business: Practice and Policy of Water Harvesting, Eds Anil Agarwal, Sunita Narain and Indira Khurana, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi March 2001.
  14. “Sustainable Groundwater Legislation”, Paper presented to Annual Conference of the National Geological Society of India, Hyderabad, October 2001.
  15. “Customary Law and Modern Governance of Natural Resources in India – Conflicts, Prospects for Accord and Strategies”, in Rajendra Pradhan (ed) Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law in Social, Economic and Political Development, Papers of the XIIIth International Congress, 7-10 April, 2002, Chiang Mai, Thailand, ICNEC Kathmandu, Volume I, pp. 409-446.
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  16. “Legal Framework for Tank Systems in India”, Paper submitted to the National Policy Seminar on Conservation and Development of Tanks, DHAN Foundation, New Delhi September 17-18, 2002.
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  17. “Panchayat Raj and Water Resources Management in India: Law and Policy “, Paper presented at Seminar on Policy Futures for Water Resources Management in India: From Prescription and Impact Assessment to Strategic Analysis, IWMI, Hyderabad, 3-5th October 2002 , Hyderabad, A.P., India.
  18. “Legal Framework for Water Resources in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh”, Paper presented at the Workshop on “Jal Sanskriti”, Peoples’ Science Institute, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, May 22-24, 2003.
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  19. “Evaluation of Varied Approaches for Enabling Sustainable and Equitable Access to Drinking Water in Uttarakhand”. April 2003. Sponsored by Planning Commission, Govt. of India. http://www.planningcommission.nic.in/reports/sereport/ser/stdy_uttrnl. pdf
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  20. Review of Draft Water Policy of Uttarakhand and Alternate Draft Water Policy for Uttarakhand State, November 2003.
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  21. Role of Local Communities in Governance of Water Resources”, in “Water Harvesting and Watershed Development Initiatives in India”, Winrock International India 2003.
  22. “Local Self Governance and Environmental Decision Making: Potentials and Practices in United States Law and Law in India “, 2004
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  23. “Irrigation Policy in Uttarakhand – Past Trends and Future Directions”, Paper Presented at the IWMI-TATA Partners’ Meet, Anand, Gujarat, February 2005.
  24. “Political Economy of Rain Water Harvesting in India: Reflections in Central and Regional Law and Policy”; Paper presented at the XII International Rainwater Catchment Systems Conference, New Delhi November 2005.
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  25. Status of Irrigation in Uttarakhand-Policy Implications: A Review 2006.
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  26. Patricia Moore and Firuza Pastakia, eds, (2007) Environmental Justice and Rural Communities: Studies from India and Nepal, IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand and Gland, Switzerland. Xxvi+114 pp. [India country study contributed by Rohit Asthana and M.S.Vani, DCAP].
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  27. Draft Groundwater Policy for Uttar Pradesh. 2008.
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  28. ‘Community Engagement in Water Governance’ and ‘Groundwater Law in India: A New Approach’ in Ramaswamy R. Iyer edited “Water and the Laws in India”, Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi India, 2009.
  29. ‘Water Conflicts In India: Towards a New legal and Institutional Framework”, Phillippe Cullet, Suhas Paranjape, Himanshu Thakkar, M.S.Vani, K.J. Joy, M.K. Ramesh, Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune, India 2012.
  30. Socio- Political and Legal Issues in Tank Management – Paper Presented at India Water Week 2012 -National Seminar “Water Bodies [Irrigation Tanks] and Sustaining Food Security’, New Delhi, 13 th April 2012.
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  31. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/democratization-data-though-use- gis-technology
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