India
faces a turbulent water future. Unless water management practices are changed – andchanged soon –
India
will face a severe water crisis within the next two decades and will haveneither the cash to build new infrastructure nor the water needed by its growing economy andrising population.
A draft World Bank report,
,
Senior Water Advisor at the World Bank, examines the challenges facing
India’s water sector and suggests critical measures to address them. The report is based on 12 paperscommissioned by the World Bank from prominent Indian practitioners and policy analysts.
Crumbling Water Infrastructure and Depleting Groundwater
India’s past investments in large water infrastructure have yielded spectacular results withenormous gains in food security and in the reduction of poverty. However, much of thisinfrastructure is now crumbling. Shortfalls in financing have led to an enormous backlog of maintenance. The implicit philosophy has been aptly described as Build-Neglect-Rebuild. Much of what currently masquerades as "investment" in irrigation or municipal water supply is in fact abelated attempt to rehabilitate crumbling infrastructure.
Faced with poor water supply services, farmers and urban dwellers alike have resorted to helpingthemselves by pumping out groundwater through tubewells. Today, 70 percent of
India’s irrigationneeds and 80 percent of its domestic water supplies come from groundwater. Although thisubiquitous practice has been remarkably successful in helping people to cope in the past, it hasled to rapidly declining water tables and critically depleted aquifers, and is no longer sustainable.
A number of areas are already in crisis situations: among these are the most populated andeconomically productive parts of the country. Estimates reveal that by 2020,
India’s demand for water will exceed all sources of supply. Notwithstanding the catastrophic consequences of indiscriminate pumping of groundwater, government actions – including the provision of freepower – have exacerbated rather than addressed the problem.
Growing Water Conflicts
Severe water shortages have already led to a growing number of conflicts across the country. Some 90 percent of
India’s territory isdrained by inter-state rivers. The lack of clear allocation rules, anduncertainty about what water each state has a right to, imposeshigh economic and environmental costs. Other federal countrieswhich face water scarcity have clearly defined water rights. Theseinclude
Chile,
Mexico,
Australia, and
South Africa, with
Pakistanand
China
fast putting in place systems of water entitlements.
On the international front,
India
has clearly demarcated water rightswith
Pakistan
through the Indus Waters Treaty. Nationally,promising innovations on entitlements are visible in Noida,
Ghaziabad, and
Delhi
which boughtwater rights from the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) by financing the lining of canals in UP and in thecity of Chennai where water rights were leased from the state’s farmers.
Climate Change Worsens the Scenario
Sewage and waste water from rapidly growing cities and effluents from industries have turnedmany rivers, including major ones, into fetid sewers. Massive investments are needed in sewersand wastewater treatment plants to protect people’s health and improve the environment.
Leave a Comment