Unit V
An Analysis of Water Resource and Policies in India Component-I (A) - Personal Details
Role Name Affiliation
Principal Investigator Prof. Masood Ashan Siddiqui Jamia Millia Islamia Paper coordinator Dr. Suresh Kumar Bandooni Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Evening College Content Writer/Author (CW) Dr. Rashmi Rani Anand Shaheed Bhagat Singh
College Content Reviewer (CR) Dr. L. Mirana Devi
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Evening College, Sheikh Sarai Phase –II, New Delhi -110017
Speaker Dr. Rashmi Rani Anand Shaheed Bhagat Singh
College Language Editor (LE)
Component-I (B) – Description of Module
Items Description of Module
Subject Name Geography
Paper Name Water Resource
Module Name National Water Resources Policy
Unit / Module ID WR-31
Pre-requisites
Objectives • To evaluate and analyze water resource
of India
• To evaluate policies pertaining to water resources
• To discuss the way out to cope water
crisis
Keywords Water crisis, water policies, interlinking of
rivers, river harvesting
I. Introduction
Water plays an important role after air in sustaining life on earth. It is a renewable and one of the most precious natural resource, and has been crucial for the evolution of human civilization.
Three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Out of which the ocean covers about two-third of the surface, which is unfit for human consumption. Only around 2.7% is available for human use out of which the major part is under the ice sheets and glaciers, thus inaccessible.
It comes down to just 1% of water that can be considered to be fit for human use. The fact that it is the most basic, the most used and exploited natural resource for the survival of life and also the scarcest, is undeniable. Apart from excessive consumption, pollution and indiscriminate use of water is also affecting its access to all.
Indiahas 17% of the world’s population with 2.4 % of land and only 4% of water resources. Therefore, it is very obviously evident that, large numbers of people in India are found without having access to drinking water. The World Health Organization(WHO) estimates that 97 million Indians lack access to safe water today. This imbalance has resulted into crisis in securing water to its citizens. As per UN ranking on water quality, India ranks 120 out of 122 for water quality. Therefore, the importance of water resources in India is immeasurable.
II. Reasons for Water Scarcity
1. Shrinking of Water bodies:According to Central Water Commission report published on March 2017, 91 water bodies of India have only about 41 per cent of water left. Due to retreating glaciers, deforestation and less rainfall, some rivers are so depleted that during summer season they do not meet the sea. In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh about 31 waterbodies are left only with 20 per cent of water.Presently all
traditional natural water bodies in most of the big urban centers have lost their identity.
Allfour major reservoirs of Hyderabad HimayatSagar, Osman Sagar, Singur and Manjira reservoirs- dried up fully in the year 2016 for the first timecreating huge water crisis (Hindustan Times, Apr 20, 2016).Contamination of water bodies due to fertilizer runs off into rivers and lakes have caused toxic algae bloom, also leading to shrinking of water bodies.
Water bodies such as lakes, ponds etc. are very important as they provide habitat for plant and animal species, prevent floods and purify and increase the groundwater level during monsoons. They also regulate climate change by storing carbon. Besides, they also contribute to the country’s economy by providing fishery resources, timber, wildlife resources, medicines and agricultural products.
Map 1: Shrinking of water Bodies
2.Depletion of Underground Water: 30 to 40 million hectares of ground water reserves are found in India in the form of aquifers. There are 4 most prominent regions where ground water is found. They are:
1. Alluvial sedimentary regions found in Northern Plains, peninsular river basins, deltas of rivers where high water table is found.
2. Bhabhar regions: foothills of rivers, but this ground water has no meaning for agriculture because of rugged topography.
3. East and West coastal region: western coastal plain is very narrow while eastern coastal region has large amount of rivers. But this region has problem of overuse of ground water and brackish water.
4. Peninsularregion of gneissic and granitic rocks: the region has very less amount of ground water in dearth of permeable rocks. Impermeable hard rocks have cracks through which water seeps underneath the soft and permeable rocks. In this region once ground water is extracted it is very difficult to recharge ground water. Telengana, Dharwad, Bastar,Rayalseema etc are few examples of this region where rainfall is deficient. Ganga and Godavari have the largest ground water reserves in India accounting to 17 million hectares and 5 million hectares respectively.
Water, poverty and migration: there is direct correlation between poverty and water. Most of the small and marginal farmers live in drought prone areas.This fuels migration in many
parts of the drought prone villages. Villages of Vidharba region, Latur etc which are drought prone region, people are permanently migrating to big cities. Where they become part of big slum and face the same problem of water crisis.
Water, health and Wellbeing: Water is also related to the state of physical and social wellbeing as in the absence of that people get disesases like cholera, diharrea It leads to conflicts like inter state, international water conflicts etc. It is directly related to Sustainable Development Goal: Health and wellbeing, which emphasizes on physical, mental, social health for all
Map 2: Decreasing Ground Water Level
Source: World Research Institute
In India about 18 states have problem of depleting ground water. It accounts for almost 50 percent of available ground water reserves. It is mainly because of excessive extraction of ground water for irrigation and other purposes. Over irrigation of the field using ground water has also given rise in the problem of salinity. Government’s highly subsidized rate of electricity available for farmers has led to tremendous expansion of tube wells, causing faster rate of ground water usage than its recharge. This is also causing the creation of ground water desert especially in north western part of India, including Punjab and Haryana, where water is excessively extracted for irrigation. Destruction of aquifers is also taking place as once the entire water is extracted, land tends to subside destroying the aquifers.
Fig 1: Ground Water Usages for Irrigation in Different States for the Year 2009 in Percentage
Source: Central Ground Water Board
Apart from Punjab and Haryana, highlevelof ground water depletion has also been recorded in Rajasthan, UP, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.In Tamil Nadu 374 areas have been spotted where ground water is at the verge of its end.
In cities also water table is falling at alarming rate as, per unit density, is very high in cities. An article by Anuradha Shukla (Alarming: 21 Indian Cities Will Run Out Of Water By 2030, Business World, 29thJune , 2017) cites a world bank report which suggests that at least 21 cities in India are moving towards zero ground water level by 2020. In cities such as Bangalore, Gurugram, Pune etc, already water is being supplied by tanks from other cities.
3. Climate Change and Global Warming:The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report (2014) predicts that the Himalayan glaciers could lose between a third and half of their mass by 2100. Climate change is also affecting the Asian monsoon. Official studies show the monsoon is erratic in four out of every 10 years.
Intensified global warming has led toincrease in the frequencies of drought and flood. Areas of poor water supply are facing more incidences of drought and famines now. The monsoon patternof India is also affected due to climate change. Himalayan glaciers which are the main source of fresh water and also known as water tower are drying up fast. Size and actual number of glaciers are shrinking due to massive melting and less snow fall. The reduction of water in the Himalayas also affects the availability of water in perennial rivers.
4. Increase in per capita demand and consumption of water:
The rapid growth of population has led to demand supply mismatch in India. The per capita availability of fresh water has declined sharply from 5177 cubic meters, as per the assessment in 1951 to 1545 cubic meters in 2011. And it is projected to aggravate in coming years.
Table 1: Per capita water availability in India
Year Population (Million) Per capita water availability cubic metres (m3/year)
1951 361 5177
1955 395 4732
1991 846 2209
2001 1027 1820
2011 1,210 1545
2025* 1394 1341
2050* 1640 1140
Source: Census of India
*Projected Figures
The above-mentioned statistics suggest that by the year 2050 urban population in India will increase by 55 percent and more which will make the situation direr in terms of water crisis. As per International Organization on Water Aid, in rural India, presently about 6 crore 30 lakh people do not have access to safe water. It is stated that about 10 percent of thirsty people of world live in India.
The demand and supply mismatch is more severe in certain areas. In urban areas, where the demand of 135 liters per capita daily (lpcd) is more than three times the rural demand of 40 lpcd, the scarcity assumes menacing proportions. According to UN projections, India’s urban population is expected to rise to 50% of the total population by 2050. This would mean 840 million people in the most water-starved parts of the country compared with 320 million today.
The issue of inequity in water availability has already proved to be fertile ground for several inter-state and intra-state disputes, and unless mitigating steps are taken now, these conflicts would only escalate (Live mint, April 28, 2015). By 2050, there will be 50 % gap between water demand and supply.
Water crisis has given the rise to the black marketing of water in urban slums. Poor quality water meant for household and toilet purpose is provided by government for free. Local racketeers control them and sometimes sell them as drinking water. Apart from that leaks in water pipelines are created by slum dwellers and these create the problems of water contamination.
5.Rainfall Deficit and Uneven Distribution of Rainfall Causing Flood and Drought Situation Simultaneously:Some parts of India are wettest with an average annual rainfall of 1,170 mm while some parts like western Rajasthan receive annual precipitation of around 100 mm. India being a monsoon country also has the limitation of receiving rainfall within three to four months only.
Around 68 % of area in India is drought pronewhere rainfall is less than potential evapo transpiration. It accounts to almost one third of the India’s districts which are affected by severe drought, affecting 330 million people in 256 districts in 10 states. 1000 villages in
8 districts of Gujarat are suffering from acute drinking water crisis. Farmer suicide is common news in the drought prone region of Vidharbha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc.
According to Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association from October 2016 till date, about 254 farmers have committed suicide. Giving the statistics about farmers’ suicide, Times of India, on 3rd May 2017 reported that, "A total of 12,602 persons involved in farming sector -- 8,007 farmers-cultivators and 4,595 agricultural labourers - committed suicide during 2015, accounting for 9.4% of total suicide victims (133,623) in the country".
Maharashtra topped the list with 4,291 suicides, followed by Karnataka with 1,569, Telangana 1,400, Madhya Pradesh 1,290, Chhattisgarh 954, Andhra Pradesh 916 and Tamil Nadu 606. Together, these seven states accounted for 87.5% of total suicides in the farming sector in the country -11,026 of 12,602.while on the other hand over 40 million hectares of land in India is prone to flood. Flood in lower parts of Indo Gangetic plain is common phenomena. In recent years there is increase in incidences of urban flood. Few examples are: Bombay flood in 2017, Banglore Flood in 2015, Chennai Flood in 2016 etc. It can be stated in the flood like situation: “ water is everywhere but there is no single drop of water to drink”. This situation also needs to be corrected.
Image 1: Flood and Drought Situation in India
Source: Flood in Bihar/ India Today/ 23 Aug 2016 Drought in India/ Mint,15th September 2017
Water and Gender: According to UNICEF, when water gets polluted or exhausted, female walk further for water body sources to collect water. Today on an average, they walk 10 to 20 miles to collect water. They wait for 2 hours to fill 1 little pot of water. Only 13 % of males collect water in whole world every day.
6. Poor Cropping Techniques: Crops which consume more watermust not be grown excessively in water scarce areas as it creates water scarcity due to water intensive nature of the crop. Rice must not be grown in the region where ground water is depleting at very fast pace.
Cultivation of water-intensive crop like Mint (Mentha) must be stopped in drought-prone Bundelkhand region as it is fast depleting the groundwater. The state government introduced mentha cultivation in the region in 2005 to help farmers earn more. A study conducted by Centre for Contemporary Studies and Research (CCSR), Lucknow, in 20 villages of Bundelkhand region where mint cultivation was in practice, suggest that farmers first exploited surface water sources and once they dried up, the farmers installed hand pumps for tapping groundwater. This led to the decrease of groundwater in villages by six meters.
Pulses and millets can be cultivated in the region which have less water. Besides micro irrigation like drip and sprinkle must be practiced morein order to preventwastage of water in agricultural practices.
5.Water Pollution:In recent past there was the news covering on Foam formation in the Banglore lakes such as Bellandur, and Varthur due to discharge of industrial waste in these lakes.
These are the real eyesore for people passing by that area in Banglore. Frequently they catch fire as well, which is again very hazardous for human beings.
Water Quality analysis done by Central Pollution Control Board, in Banglore suggest that none of the lakes in Banglore had water that is fit for drinking .
Image 2: Banglore Lake with Foam formation
Source:BBC News, 28th September 2015
Industrial waste has done maximum harm to existing water bodies by polluting them. Several water intensive industries have been located in India. Petrochemical industry, steel and aluminium industry etc have increased the pollution level of rivers. Presently it can be stated that most of the rivers in India are polluted and river health deteriorates to worst if water intensive industries are located along the rivers.
Any river which is serving these industries ends up becoming a dead river. River Yamuna around Delhi, for 22 kms carries a substantial proportion (some estimate as much as 70 per cent) of pollution load of the entire river basin. City’s sewage and industrial waste is being dumped into it. Effervescent chemicals float in the river throughout the year.
III. National Water Resource Policy and Programme Requirement
The above deepening crisis of water in India can be resolved and regulated through proper Government policies and programs. The water crisis in India created new challenges of water management for Government on demand and supply front, sustainable management of aquifers,
rivers, lakes and ponds, which cut across state boundaries, water quality etc. To resolve the water problem, Government of India introduced various National Water Policies and Programmes for the development and management of water resources. Planning of water allocation had been done keeping in view the sufferings of poor on a day-to-day life. The ranking of water allocation priorities are as follows:
- Drinking water - Irrigation - Hydro-power - Ecology - Agro-industries and non-agricultural industries. - Navigation and other uses.
Water Related Programmes and Policies Timeline
1949: the environment hygiene committee recommended the provision of safe water supply to cover 90 per cent of India’s population in a time frame of 40 years.
1950: the constitution of India specifies water as the state subject. But entry 56 in Union List enables the union to deal with interstate rivers if parliament legislates for the purpose.
Parliament can make law on interstate dispute only. Hence, recently there is also demand that water should be brought under the concurrent list.
1969: National Rural Drinking Water Programme was launched with the technical support from Unicef.
1972-73:The Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) was introduced in 1972-73 by the Government of India to assist the States and Union Territories (UTs) to accelerate the pace of coverage of drinking water supply. The entire programme was given a Mission approach with the launch of the Technology Mission on Drinking Water and Related Water Management in 1986. Later in 1999 Department of Drinking Water Supply was formed to give more emphasis on Rural Water Supply programme.
1983: National Water Resource Council (NWRC) was formally established on 10thMarch, 1983. The Prime Minister holds the position of Chairman, Union Minister of Water Resources is the Vice-Chairman, and Minister of State for Water Resources, concerned Union Ministers,
Ministers of State, Chief Ministers of all States & Lieutenant Governors, and Administrators of the Union Territories are other members. The position of Secretary of Council is held by Ministry of Water Resources.
1986: In the year 1986, a technology mission with stress on water quality, human resource development support and other related activities was introduced. This mission was renamed as the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM) in 1991.Ganga Action Plan was also initiated but formally got closed in the year 2000.
1987: National Water Policy was formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources of the Government of India, to govern the planning and development of water resources and their optimum utilization. The policy was based on principles of conservation, protection, management and regulation of the vital and stressed natural resource, which incorporated legislative and executive actions on various levels of governance on water resource.
Laying down the national water policy and to review it from time to time, is among the key roles of NWRC. The NWRC adopted the first National Water Policy in September 1987. It was drafted by the Ministry of Water Resource (MoWR) with an emphasis on domestic water supply, protection of groundwater sources and water quality monitoring and mapping. Drinking water was given first priority under this policy.
1994: the 73rd Constitutional Amendment came into being which makes provision for assigning the responsibility of providing drinking water to the Panchayati Raj Institution.
1999: formation of separate department of drinking water supply in the ministry of rural development, Government of India. Reforms in the rural drinking water sector were adopted in 1999 through Sector Reform Project (SRP) on pilot basis. The project incorporated the community in planning, implementation and management of drinking water-related schemes.
2002: The revised and updated National Water Policy-2002 was adopted by the National Water Resources Council on 1st April 2002. The policy emphasized on artificial recharge of ground water, water conservation in house and traditional conservation programme with roof top
conservation, desalinization of brackish water in coastal region to convert it into fresh water using low temperature technique and traditional methods of recharging ground water.
It scaled up the Sector Reform Pilot Project to the whole country in the form of SwajaldharaProgramme for National Drinking Water Supply. The programme is a paradigm shift from supply driven to demand driven, centralized to decentralized implementation and Government's role from service provider to facilitator. It was linked to Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM) programme and provide safe water to villages that did not have adequate sources of safe water. It also tried to improve the level of service for villages classified as only partially covered. In villages, hand pumps were financially incentivized.
The fundamental reform principles inSwajaldharaare adhered to by the State Governments and the Implementing Agencies in terms of adoption of a demand-responsive approach with community participation. The management of water supply and sanitation schemes became the responsibility of Panchayati Raj and local government bodies. An important element of this programme was to contribute to the cost of providing safe drinking water.
During this period NWP was also linked to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under which the proportion of people without sustainable access of safe water were also targeted. It gave attention for the first time to other aspects of water allocation, which includes environmental and ecological.
The 2002 policy also has several debatable elements and a number of positive changes that were not present in earlier policy. But, these elements still, were not adequate to resolve and prepare ground that can tune in with 21st century’s management of water resource.
2005: India launches the Bharat NirmanProgrammewith emphasis on providing drinking water within a period of 5 years.
2009: From 2009 onward, it was rechristened as the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).Right now the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation administers the National Rural Drinking Water programme (NRDWP) instituted from 1/4/2009, through which support is extended to the states for implementing rural domestic water supply schemes. Powers to sanction individual projects is given to the states through their State Level Scheme Sanctioning Committees. Activities like, water quality monitoring and surveillance programme, management information system, IEC, Capacity and Communication Development Unit (CCDU) all were brought under the umbrella of NRDWP.
NRDWP: Aim and Purpose It aims to:
Provide adequate water supply
Encourage sustainable use of water
Meet the basic quality standards
Make water readily available at all times Purpose:
1. To provide safe and adequate drinking water supply to the unserved, partially served and slipped back habitation.
2. To provide safe drinking water in the water quality affected habitation.
3. For expenditure on running repair and replacement cost of drinking water supply project.
4. To encourage states to achieve drinking water security at local level.
5. Awareness generation and training.
6. Monitoring and surveillance of water quality in habitations.
Despite the combined efforts of both the Centre and the States of investing more than Rs 1, 35,000 crore, the goal of providing safe and adequate domestic water to every rural person in the country till date is not fully achieved.
The NRDWP and the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan(NBA) have been the union government’s flagship programmes for rural drinking water and sanitation.
2008: National Water Mission was started in India. The National Water Mission is one of the eight missions in the National Action Plan on Climate Change to tackle the threats of global warming. The objective of National Water Mission is “conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management”.
Five goals identified in the National Water Mission were:
Maintenance of comprehensive water data base in public domain and assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources;
Promotion of citizen and state actions for water conservation, augmentation and preservation;
Focused attention to vulnerable areas including over-exploited areas;
Increasing water use efficiency by 20%. Under this Command Area Development &
Water Management (CADWM) was implemented. Micro irrigation like drip and sprinkle irrigation was emphasized which also saves water.
Promotion of basin level integrated water resources management
2012:The Ministry of Water Resources formulated the Draft on National Water Policy in consultation with National Water Board (NWB) and National Water Resource Council (NWRC).
The 2012 water policy introduces the pricing mechanism for overuse of water. It introduces plan to levy tariff for all water uses including irrigation if it exceeds pre-determined quota on volumetric basis. In order to execute this, State Water Regulatory Authority was established in every state which will fix and regulate the water rates. Responsibility of Tariff collection, fixing rates and water distribution remains with Water Users Association (WUA) in states. It calls for a common integrated perspective to govern the planning and management of water resources. Such a perspective would consider local, regional, and national contexts and be environmentally sound. As per the policy, water needs to be managed as a community resource under the State.
The principal aims are:
Using scientific inputs from research for better agricultural strategies for management of soil, land, energy and water,
Enhancing the soil and water productivity along with managing droughts,
A principle was laid down to govern and prioritize the allocation of water,
The policy was laid down for water on the basis for priority as follows: Drinking Water, Irrigation, Hydro-power, Navigation, Industrial and other uses.
This policy raised the debate of privatization of basic necessity like water which is directly associated with right to life.
The policy was put in the public domain to enlist the suggestions from a wide spectrum. The privatization of water started a new debate in the country whether water should be charged or not.
The arguments made for pro privatization of water is that, excessive usages of water in irrigation and conservation of water can only be checked through tariff as water is a limited natural resource. The excessive subsidy on electricity has led to the extreme exploitation of water for irrigation in Green revolution belt. Privatized utility charges will encourage investments in bringing new technologies, improving services and water quality.
The argument made against privatisation of water suggests that it does not serve the public and increases the vulnerability of the poor. It may also give rights to private business to utilise water sources that is allocated for rural communities, peasants for irrigation. It can also be stated that with growing urbanization, industrialization, there is growing demand of water in cities. City dwellers with high purchasing power will have more access to water for themselves, leaving rural India poverty stricken in terms of water also.
2013: The year saw the launching of special programmes to address the rural water supply and sanitation issue of four low income states with collaboration of world bank.
2014: The year called for innovation of new technology in rural drinking water.
In the same year, ‘NamamiGangeProgramme’ Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government was started to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
River Ganga and Yamuna recently got the status of living being by High court of Uttarakhand to protect these rivers.
2016: After the government had placed National Water Framework Bill (NWF) in July 2016, public comments were invited for the same. It is believed that if this bill becomes an act it would effectively reach the larger part of water framework
The draft National Water Framework Bill defines “water for life” as one of the core requirement for the “fundamental right of life of each human being, including drinking, cooking, bathing, sanitation, personal hygiene and related personal and domestic uses”. It states that water shall not be denied to anyone on the ground of inability to pay. It also includes water needed for sustenance of domestic livestock and the requirement for women “for their special needs”. The Water Resources Ministry invited comments and suggestions on the draft from the public after the draft law had been taken as a model legislation that can be adopted by states.
Interlinking of River Programme:
The idea of interlinking of river is very old. British wanted to interlink river for the cheap transportation of raw materials.It was Sir Arthur Cotton visionto link the Ganga and the Cauvery to improve connectivity for navigation purposes
It got a push in 1982 when National Water Development Agency (NWDA) was establishedas an autonomous body to carry out the water balance and feasibility studies of the river linking program.NWDA identified 14 links under Himalayan Rivers Component and 16 links under Peninsular Rivers Component for inter basin transfer of water based on field surveys and investigation and detailed studies. However, not much progress was made later. The project was put on hold owing to inter-state disputes and opposition from farmers, tribal groups, civil society and environmentalists. In 2012, Supreme Court directed the Ministry of Water Resources to constitute an experts committee to pursue the matter with the state governments. The mission of this programme is to ensure greater equity in the distribution of water by enhancing the availability of water in drought prone and rained area.
Recently interlinking of river programme has once again become the matter of national importance and has been taken up on high priority. It got boost with successful linking of
Godavari and Krishna in the year 2015 and Shipra and Narmada interlink in 2016 benefitting Dewas People. The next project being taken up is Ken-Betwa link.
Advantages of Interlinking:
Would address the issues arising due to variability of rainfall.
Helpful in flood and drought aversion.
Improve irrigation facility and hence agricultural productivity.
Job creation and Inland waterways.
Disadvantages of Interlinking:
Would affect environment, ecology and marine life.
Displace people
Would cause problem in case river changes its course.
Challenges: There is topographical difference between Indo Gangetic plain and peninsular plateau due to which water needs to pumped up inorder to establish link between low setting indo Gangetic rivers and high settingpeninsular rivers. Water rich states likeAssam, Sikkim and Kerala etc does not want to share their water and hence opposing the idea as they want exclusive right to use their water resources.
Interlinking of rivers will provide irrigation facilities to 35 million hectares acres area (surface water-25mha and ground water -10 mha0 over and above 139 mha. It will also provide
Additional Hydro-Power Potential : 34,000 MW
Additional Irrigation Potential : 35 Million hectare;
35 million families likely to receive benefit.
Map 2: Interlinking of Rivers
Source: India Water Portal
Rain Water Harvesting Policy: Although rain water harvesting is mandatory in most of the cities in India but it is not stringently practiced at household level or community level. Regular training should be given to people to repair and protect water harvesting structures and make it part of behaviouralpractice of an individual. Construction of water storage must be promoted so that water storage can meet at immediate basis.
Experts say that if cities starts harvesting 20% its rainwater, then a significant proportion of their water need will be fulfilled by water harvesting.
In New Delhi Since June 2001, the Ministry of Urban affairs and Poverty Alleviation has made rainwater harvesting mandatory in all new buildings with a roof area of more than 100 sq m and in all plots with an area of more than 1000 sq m, that are being developed. Despite it being a law, several factors have contributed to the failure of rainwater harvesting which include inadequate financial assistance, long winded procedures and poor maintenance of structures once they are built.
Conclusion
Extracting water beyond the cycle of hydrological renewal can lead to permanent loss of water resources. Similarly putting in too much pollution will lead to severe degradation of water capital. This may have a disastrous impact on the health of the people, as the vulnerable sections such as the economically poor may lose access to safe water. The socio economic impact may also be catastrophic, if water becomes a scarce resource. There have already been instances of unrest among people over lack of access to water in several cities of India including Delhi. Thus, there is a need to manage the water resources of the country in a responsible manner. There should be focus on conservation of water as well as maintaining the quality of the water resources. This responsibility is not of the government alone, but of each individual citizen of the country.
