Context: Complexity and scale of water crisis in India calls for a locus-specific response.
Complexity and scale of water crisis in India
Over reliance on groundwater sources:In rural areas, 80%-90% of drinking water and 75% of water used for agriculture is drawn from groundwater sources.
In urban areas, 50%-60% of water supply is drawn from groundwater sources.
Demand-supply gap: Composite water management index, 2019 of NITI Aayog points out that-
21 major cities (including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad) were on the brink of exhausting groundwater resources, affecting about 100 million people.
By 2030, water demand is projected to be twice the available supply.
Impacts of climate change: Fast-changing climate leading to erratic rainfall pattern. Eg. Chennai that previously suffered from floods recently suffered from drought due to 50% less than normal rainfall.
Lack of sustainable urban planning: Cities lost green cover to make way for infrastructure projects.
This leads to flooding during normal rainfall due to stagnation and drought-like conditions due to prevention of underground water storage.
Case study – Mumbai: Felling of trees at Aarey colony, to make space for a shed for Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Case study – Chennai: City has been built by encroaching floodplains and paving over lakes and wetlands leading to lack of space for water to percolate underground and recharging aquifers.
Rural water crisis: Mainly due to cultivation of water-intensive crops such as paddy that aggravated water depletion and even turning water saline.
Case study – Punjab: Central Ground Water Board ‘s report concluded that Punjab would be reduced to a desert in 25 years if extraction of its groundwater resources continues unabated.
82% of Punjab’s land area has seen a huge decline in groundwater levels.
109 out of 138 administrative blocks have been placed in ‘over exploited’ category.
Continuing negative externalities of Green Revolution: Groundwater extraction which was at 35% in the 1960s and 1970s rose to 70% post the Green Revolution.
Misplaced policy priorities – Excessive thrust on providing water supply: As Ministry of Jal Shakti, announced an ambitious plan to provide water connections to every household in India by 2024.
Way forward: Seeing India’s water crisis through the locus of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ divide
Governance reforms: At sectoral level, Ministries and Departments of water resources must coordinate efforts with their counterparts in agriculture, environment and rural development for greater convergence to achieve water and food security.
Enhanced integration and coordination through effective land and water zoning regulations that protects urban water bodies, groundwater sources, wetlands and green cover.
Enhance waste water recycling and water recharge activities targeting aquifers and wells through rainwater harvesting.
Multi-disciplinary water policy architecture: At disciplinary level, water governance and management should increasingly interact and draw from expertise of fields such as hydrology (watershed sustainability), hydrogeology (aquifer mapping and recharge) and agriculture sciences (water-sensitive crop choices and soil health).
Immediate measures:
To replenish groundwater: Through participatory groundwater management approaches with combination of water budgeting, aquifer recharging and community involvement.
Surface water conservation should be given due importance as many rivers and lakes are in a critical and dying state.
A New National Water Policy, rooted in locus-specific realities and allows greater flexibility for integrating insights and work of multiple departments and disciplines.