ABSTRACT
The conventional approach to river basin planning and management in India considers that every drop of water from the rivers that flows into the sea is a waste and should be put to human use. Hence extraction from the rivers has been continuing indiscriminately, leaving rivers dead and leading to destruction of the riverine ecology and loss of livelihoods. Dams and river diversions have contributed the most to reduced and altered river flow regimes. The concept of environmental flows or e-flows has emerged in recent years to put into practice a holistic approach to river basin management, which means, in essence, ‘to keep the rivers flowing’. This chapter attempts to put together some of the important concerns and challenges related to the assessment and implementation of e-flows in India. It draws from the existing literature and experiences of e-flows assessments in India. It also attempts to present an alternate approach to river basin management, enshrining e-flows as the central component.
