The State Cabinet has cleared an ordinance to amend the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority Act, 2005, tweaking the provisions on appointments to the quasi-judicial body.
The ordinance stipulates the appointment of a retired bureaucrat (with past service equivalent to chief secretary) or a retired High Court judge, as chairperson of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA).
Besides, the ordinance amends the Act to include four more experts from various sectors as representatives on the board. Since its establishment in 2006, the MWRRA has been operating with three members: the chairperson, member (economy) and member (technical). The regulatory authority will now have five members, including the chairperson. The four members will be drawn from the sectors of water-resources engineering, finance, groundwater management, and law and judiciary.
In addition, five special invitees representing the five irrigation corporations in the State will participate in discussions on issues related to their corporations. The corporations are the Krishna Valley, Vidarbha, Tapi, Godavari and the Konkan. The invitees will be drawn from the engineering, agriculture, environment, drinking water, industry, law, economics, commerce, financial management or organisational water resources sectors. The ordinance also amends the composition of the selection committee for appointing the chairperson and members to the MWRRA, to include the director of the IIT Mumbai and a representative of a reputed national-level organisation. The amendments to the MWRRAA were based on the recommendations made by a study group headed by HT Mendegiri, former director general of Aurangabad water and groundwater management body.
The writer is a freelance journalist
It stipulates the appointment of a retired bureaucrat or a retired HC judge as head