Do water related issues really matter in Parliament?
Parliament, the highest legislative body in India, plays a significant role in formulating national policies. It is, therefore, pertinent to find the concern the parliamentarians (
mps) and political parties show and the priorities they accord to issues during parliamentary discussions
A statistical analysis, based on the number of questions raised in Lok Sabha, between May 2004 and March 2008, shows that of the total 57,744 questions, only 4,241 (seven per cent) were on water-related issues
Most of these were on rivers, with primary focus on inter-basin water disputes and infectious diseases triggered by floods. Irrigation-related questions only came next to river issues.Water quality-related issues were given the last priority;
mps raised only 260 questions on the subject
About 19 per cent of water quality-related questions were to the health and family welfare ministry, 33 per cent to the rural development ministry
About 89 per cent of the questions were regarding service providers and 50 per cent on water quality monitoring issues. Nine per cent of the questions were on technological solutions, 8 per cent on desalination and only 5 per cent on industrial waste
Related Content
