Water management is very much guided by the water institutions in a country and even in a state. The role of management is particularly important in a state which is relatively less developed in its natural resources. In a state like Mizoram, water management is sufficiently guided by the availability of and demand for water. The present paper is a modest attempt to study the water management practices prevailing in Mizoram on the basis of the supply of and demand for water, using available secondary data. The paper finds that Mizoram has a complex coexistence of government-led, individual family-managed and private vendor-supplied water management system, unable to take care of proper water conservation. The reasons are more of institutional than of physical. The paper argues for more government monitoring at all levels, community participation and rainwater harvesting at village level, more watershed management projects, and for all these, arrangements of more funds. Focus should be on the strengths of the existing institutions, and more research should be directed towards finding out a proper combination of existing institutions according to their strength to make water management more effective. Demand management should also be focused for collective action at community or village level. NGOs have a significant role to play in effective water management in the state.

Water is the most important natural resource essential for every living being. Being limited in nature, proper demand and supply management through formulation and implementation of effective water management policies are immensely important. Here water institutions play a crucial role. These water management policies, of a particular region, are guided by the supply of and demand for water in that region and the prevailing institutional structure. Hence, institutional aspects play a crucial role in water sector reform. Water institutional environment depends upon many social, economic, physical and political factors. Saleth (2004) has characterized the water institutional environment in India in terms of synoptic overviews, socioeconomic conditions, political arrangements and the physical setting of the water sector itself. In India, water institutions can be studied from both macro and micro perspectives, and management practices also vary depending on the type of institutional structure prevailing in the particular region. Under this conceptual background, the objective of this paper, as a status paper, is to focus on the state of water in terms of demand and supply and its management practices prevailing in the hilly State of Mizoram. After the introduction, the paper focuses on the supply of and demand for water in Mizoram. Then it deals with water management practices prevailing in the state. On the basis of the water management practices, the paper then focuses on the water institutional scenario of Mizoram, with a prelude of water institution in India. The paper concludes with some policy suggestions for effective water management practices that will enhance water supply and conservation, leading ultimately to the development of the state.

Environmental Sciences Journal, SWAT Hydrological Model, Upper Bernam River Basin, Malaysia, Soil and Water Assessment Tool, Geographic Information System, Water Resources, Remote Sensing Technology, Agricultural Research Service, Universal Soil Loss Equation, GIS Database, Landsat Thematic Mapper Imageries, Meteorological Data, Government Departments.