The expert committee headed by Dr. Mihir Shah was tasked with the responsibility of assessing the performance of Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). The committee submitted its report July, 2016.
National Water Commission
The Committee recommended that the CWC and CGWB should be restructured and unified to form a new National Water Commission (NWC) as a unified body will help in the collective management of ground and surface water.
The basic functions of NWC would include –
Incentivize state governments to implement irrigation projects in reform mode, Lead the national aquifer mapping and ground water management program, Develop a location specific program for rejuvenation of rivers, etc.
The committee recommended that the NWC should have 8 divisions to perform varied functions like –
Other important recommendation of the Commission included – decentralization of river management, irrigation management transfer to water user association of farmers, etc.