Environmental flows as integral part of river rejuvenation

Most of the major rivers in India are highly regulated (dammed and diverted), fragmented and polluted with severely impaired habitats. This has hugely impacted the lives and livelihoods of riparian communities. This is primarily because river basin planning in India is still based on the notion that ‘water flowing to the sea is a waste&s; and therefore caters to large consumptive uses. In this chapter, we engage with the ‘idea of wasted water&s; and how its relation to the colonial past transformed India&s;s water sector into ‘hydraulic mission&s; mode leading to construction of large dams and structures that have been the biggest modifiers of river flows. The underlying philosophy of even the decentralised water harvesting is one of maximum utilisation and complete suppression of flows or run-offs. We propose that there is a need to shift from the conventional technocratic approach of managing rivers to one that keeps environmental flows at the centre of river basin planning. Taking the case study of the Hasdeo river, we demonstrate that in highly regulated rivers, e-flows allocations are an absolute must and are needed for improving the overall health of the river. We propose that this can be achieved through optimised reservoir operations.