Planet Earth is covered with 71 per cent of water. Over 68 per cent of the fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers and about 30 per cent in ground water. Only about 0.3 per cent of our fresh water is found in surface water of lakes, rivers and swamps. While India is home to 18 per cent of the world’s population, it has only 4 per cent of the global renewable water resources and 2.4 per cent of the world’s area. Until now, the freshwater resource had been addressing the needs of Indian population and ideally, it should be sufficient to cater to the needs in future. However, there is high temporal and spatial variability in availability of fresh water in India and, the same variability is happening in the demographic concentration. Current data on indicators of fresh water reserves such as underground water table combined with demographic indicators suggest that in near future India will face severe water crisis. Current situation

In the past 50 years, India’s population has almost tripled to over 1.2 billion people. Population growth combined with rapid trend of urbanisation, the gradual shift towards industrialisation and irrigation for farmlands to feed the burgeoning populace, together have necessitated water management on a large scale.

As per estimates, 84 per cent of the water is consumed by agriculture while industrial and domestic usage accounts for 9 per cent and 7 per cent respectively. Several factors are in play that creates new challenges for securing sustainable water supply. On the supply side, usable water resources are limited and gradually diminishing. Increase in demand of water coupled with unchecked extraction of groundwater and higher pollution levels is further aggravating the situation. The scenario is further complicated due to climate change which has lead to rising sea levels and subsequent salinisation of groundwater and surface water.

Being an important input for farm products and industrial goods, water has significant interlinks with establishing food security and trade prospects in a nation. Hitherto, water management employed the top-down approach through state control and coordination to apportion the valuable commodity among the often competing stakeholders – farm, domestic and industrial. But inefficiencies in water services and lack of accountability of stakeholders require an implementable, participative policy framework to alleviate potential roadblocks to India’s socio-economic development.

Steps for better management

There can be a concerted approach with various stakeholders to improve water utilisation and make the existing system more responsive to the local environment. For irrigation, traditional and localised methods for watering farms can be considered as a substitute for large projects in suitable geographies. The ‘phad’ system in Maharashtra and the ‘kuhl’ system of Himachal Pradesh are some of the relevant examples.

Chennai shows the way

At the urban level, Chennai Corporation has promoted rainwater harvesting to augment supply. The initiative has been lauded for citizen involvement in water resource planning and can serve as a template for other towns and cities. The next level of intervention is through partnerships to implement new ideas or processes for more efficient water management. In rural areas, Ralegan Siddhi village is a prime example of grassroots level development that started with water conservation. Initiated by Anna Hazare, it transformed a semi-arid poverty stricken village into a global success story of sustainable development.

Given the significance of water in urban governance, local bodies are gradually warming up to the idea that private sector must be involved to ensure quality and availability. Tirupur municipality in Tamil Nadu was the first to successfully implement PPP for water services in India. Another example is the Nabadiganta Industrial Township in West Bengal which has delegated the management of entire water services to a JUSCO-led consortium.

Similarly, urban local bodies lose 30-35 per cent of the water through leakages in their distribution networks. Installation of latest technology equipment such as sensors in industrial as well as residential units will help prevent wastage. New methods can be introduced and government can set up partnership with private sector for the implementation of technology.

On a larger scale, the planning of interconnecting rivers will help in connecting arid regions or west with over flooding regions of north and east. Gujarat is an apt example as it has ensured supply of the Narmada waters to drought prone areas through an interlinking network of canals.

Onus on the government

Ultimately, the government has to institute policy reforms to improve water management. Improving irrigation efficiencies require concerted involvement of independent experts from diverse fields like economics, agriculture, engineering etc. Collaborative planning at state level along with urban local bodies would result in faster implementation of water projects.

The constraints with natural endowments can pose a serious challenge to our ability to respond to the demand-supply situation for water. A joint effort drawing on synergy between policy makers, infrastructure and service providers and the civil society can help find a sustainable blueprint for the future.

It is of high importance for the government to address the issue, which will become critical in future. A comprehensive reform in water management with technology implementation and coordination with stakeholders will help secure the future.

(The writer is Senior President and Senior Managing Director of YES Bank)

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