Articles by V Ratna Reddy

The recent national water policy lacks substance, direction and seriousness in addressing the real issues in India's water problems. The attempt to find quick-fix solutions has perennially hindered long-term planning and process, and setting up of institutional arrangements coupled with legal and legislative support. In this context, it will be helpful for India to study the comprehensive water policy document introduced in South Africa and draw relevant lessons for an integrated approach to water management.

resource management in Nepal. Chapter An Indispensable Agent 8 discusses the need for protecting the for Survival Water for Food and Rural Development: Approaches and Initiatives in South Asia by Peter P Mollinga (ed); Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2000;

Irrigated agriculture in India has probably reached its limit and further sustainable increases in food production must come from dryland farming, especially watershed development and management. This calls for an analysis of situations under which watershed technology becomes economically viable, socially acceptable and ecologically sustainable. This paper attempts to lay the theoretical ground for a detailed and rigorous empirical work through collective action theories.

Implementation in India V S Vyas V Ratna Reddy Though the political economy of the developing countries does not allow neglect of the demands of the poor, and though the developed countries are mainly responsible for global environmental problems, the developing world cannot remain oblivious of its own environmental degradation. In spite of promulgating various acts and instituting ministry for environment and forestry, the record of their implementation has been dismal There has been a recent spurt in NGO activities in generating environmental awareness. Yet, systematic introduction of environment issues into educational curricula is awaited.

Urban Development and Urban Research in India by Amitabh Kundu; Khama Publishers, New Delhi, 1994; pp 162 + xiii, Rs 160.
TRANSFORMATION of the economy from rural to urban is central to the developmental theories of 1950s and 1960s, which are based on the experience of the developed countries. However, due to an altogether different set of structural operands operating in the presently developing countries, the transition is not as smooth as the earlier experience. This is more so in countries with a democratic set up like India. This is mainly due to the imitative strategies followed without giving due consideration to the socioeconomic and political conditions prevailing in these countries. This has resulted in unwieldy growth of urban areas coupled with extremely complex social and environmental consequences associated with it. In this regard, one needs to understand the complexities in the process of urbanisation in terms of spacio-temporal expansion along with the factors responsible tor spacio-temporal variations in urbanisation rather than jumping to instant solutions hke involuntary population displacement and relocation of urban people to reduce urban pressure [Cernea 1994]. This kind of approach, while adding to human rights controversies of project-related displacement of people, may not be sustainable in the long run as we try to cure the disease without understanding the causes.