The Hindu Business Line : Losing ground on water

Before Tamil Nadu experienced the recent years of excessive rains, water harvesting was a pet theme in the State as groundwater depletion had reached its nadir, prompting authorities to swing into action to stem the crisis.

The importance of groundwater, its accelerated pace of depletion and the need to recharge the natural aquifers are issues that can no longer be pushed under the carpet.

That the UPA Government is seized of the matter was illustrated recently by no less a person than Dr Manmohan Singh himself.

Sound suggestions, but…

While addressing the National Congress on Ground Water 2007 on September 11 in the capital, Dr Singh hoped that the deliberations of the Congress would impart a greater sense of urgency to the challenge of water conservation, groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting. Rightly the Prime Minister exhorted the Advisory Council on Artificial Recharge of Ground water to foster widespread national awareness and a genuine national consensus on “equitable, efficient and environmentally sustainable water policy for our vast country”.

Dr Singh said the country cannot continue to “subsidise the economic and commercial use of water. There are related policies that must also be corrected to ensure adequate emphasis on water conservation, especially groundwater.

For instance, providing free power to farmers has encouraged excessive use of pump sets and excessive drawing of groundwater. If there is economic pricing of power, there would be some incentive for conserving ground water. Water conservation and management can be better served through appropriate incentives and penalties.”

No doubt, these are thoughtful suggestions but does the Government possess the political will to translate these proposals into action, particularly when States desist from pricing water or power for agricultural operations, lest they should court unpopularity at the hustings?

Bold move

A report of the Expert Group on “Ground Water Management and Ownership” under the chairmanship of Dr Karat S. Parikh, Member, Planning Commission, on September 19, came out with the bold move of providing one-time cash compensation to farmers in place of the extant system of government subsidy. This would help check excessive extraction of groundwater by preventing the use of electric pumps for drawing groundwater. Dr Parikh contends that such a mechanism would obviate over-exploitation of groundwater, particularly in areas where recharge is low, without escalating the subsidy burden.

Under this proposal, farmers could be given a sum based on a fixed number of power units. The Plan panel reckons this at Rs 6,000 based on Rs 2 per unit for using 3,000 units of power. Dr Parikh said the total charges could be deducted from the given amount and the surplus may be handed over to the farming community at year-end.

The report notes that while huge electricity subsidy might have partly caused the depletion of groundwater, a cut in subsidies could have only a marginal positive effect on extraction.

A long-term strategy, however, that links extent of subsidy with the reliability and duration of power supply could have positive results for both groundwater management and viability of the power sector.

Be that as it may, the Deputy Chairman of the Plan panel, Mr Montek Singh Ahulwalia, who released the report, is of the view that since groundwater meets nearly 55 per cent of irrigation, 85 per cent of rural and 50 per of urban and industrial water needs, it is important to secure and safeguard the interests of those who cannot protest over-exploitation.

He is also of the view that a cess aimed at mobilising money to recharge groundwater could be one of the solutions. He said that a cess on even agricultural usage could be tried through a metering system.

Alarming scene

The need for water conservation and stemming of groundwater depletion cannot be overemphasised. According to the report, the present total water use is 634 billion cubic metres (BCM), of which, 83 per cent is for irrigation. This is projected to grow to 813 BCM by 2010, 1093 BCM by 2025 and 1447 BCM by 2050. Thus the demand would outstrip availability in another 35-40 years.

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has estimated the present annual groundwater draft as 230.6 BCM.

It has said that the rate of extraction of groundwater is increasing and in many blocks exceeds the rate of recharge leading to lowered water tables. Twenty-eight per cent of blocks are now semi-critical, critical or overexploited.

While emphasising the need for all States to introduce modified groundwater legislation covering the role and responsibility of water user groups and the Government, the report also suggests that groundwater management units should adopt a sustainable-yield management goal, which means that average withdrawals should not exceed long-term recharge.

Towards this end, the CGWB and the State Ground Water Board should be responsible for scientific monitoring of groundwater level and for establishing a sustainable level of groundwater usage. Even as the Expert Group suggestions for sound groundwater management need to be acted upon, the critical issue of pricing water for its growing scarcity value and the need to conserve it for posterity should compel authorities not to dither any further.