Case Study - 1

Water Management in India: An Offspin of Scarcity?

Read 1

India is blessed with many rivers. Monsoon rules most part of the country months long. Yet
studies carried out on water management have confirmed scarcity of water in many parts of India.
The issue of water scarcity needs careful handling by the economic agents such as the policy-makers,
producers, politicians and consumers. If the oil prices rise, the economic agents can reduce oil
consumption by sticking to ‘stacations’1, resorting to car pooling, purchasing more fuel efficient
vehicles or shifting closer to their workplaces. But this is not the case with water-related issues as
water is the very basis of food and livelihood. Agriculture, real estate boom, urbanisation, demographic
features, behaviour patterns are among the various factors that account for huge pressure on water.
India being a predominantly agricultural country, there is an enormous need for water to raise a
variety of crops. Nearly 84% of available water is used for the agricultural sector in India and the
remaining 16% is used for the purposes of industrial and household consumption. Farmers in India
largely produce paddy which consumes a lot of water. If they are unable to cultivate paddy, they
assume that they have no resources even if they have huge bank balances. This is due to the fact that
in rural areas, paddy is treated as an embodiment of the goddess of wealth. The people in rural India
are overly dependent on agriculture for their living. In this scenario, it is very difficult to transform the
economy from one based on agriculture sector to one based on manufacture and service-sectors.
Most of the tanks and lakes have been converted into construction sites for housing which has
further intensified the water problem. The frequent droughts, floods and disguised unemployment
across rural areas – reflective of policy failures at various levels in tackling the rural issues in India –
are the major causes of migration from rural to urban areas in India. Migration of this sort has been
continuously building pressure on demand for water across India. Due to rise in population, demand
for drinking water in India has stood at 20 billion Cubic Metre (BCM) per year. With 450 millon
Indians going to cross the age of 19 by the end of this year the future drinking water demand of

1
Stacations means stay at vacations.
 Water Management in India...

Read2
young India is projected to be 51.33 BCM per year. Indians now-a-days tend to instal and use
european style toilets which consume a large amount of water. In thickly populated countries like
India, water is becoming a scarce resource year after year. Hence efficient water management has
become the need of the hour.

Present Use and Future Requirement of Water

According to the statistics of the Government of Maharashtra, 95% of the urban population
depend on tap water as their source of drinking water. Of the rural population, 50% depend on tap
water, 27% on wells and 20% on hand pumps (Exhibit I).

Exhibit I
Distribution of Households by Major Source of Drinking Water(%)

Major Source Rural Urban

Tap 50.40 95.00
Tube well/Hand pump 20.60 3.10
Well 27.20 1.60
Other 1.80 0.30
Total 100.00 100.00

Source: “Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2002-03”, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Planning Department,
Government of Maharashtra

The usage of water increased across all the sectors and was projected to keep this upward trend.
Irrigation continues to exert a major demand on water(Exhibit II).
 Source: “Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2002-03”, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Planning Department,
Government of Maharashtra
Read 3
The usage of water increased across all the sectors and was projected to keep this upward trend.
Irrigation continues to exert a major demand on water(Exhibit II).

Exhibit II
Sector-Wise Present Water-Use and Future Requirement (1990–2050)
Year Population Sector wise Water-use and Future Requirements (million hectare-metres)
(million) Domestic Industry Thermal Total
Irrigation and Livestock Power
1990 800 46.0 2.5 1.5 3.0 53
2000 1,000 63.0 3.4 3.6 5.0 75
2025 1,400 77.0 5.0 12.0 16.0 110
2050 1,700 70.0 6.0 20.0 16.0 112

Note: Figures on population, past water-use and future water requirements are approximate.
Source: “Urban Statistics, Hand Book 2000”, National Institute of Urban AffairsStatistics, Planning Department, Government
of Maharashtra

2
Read 4 The demand for drinking water is continuously increasing and will compound in the future. It is
projected to rise from 49,935 BCM to 140,650 BCM as per the UN report and from 43,065 BCM to
100,755 BCM as per the Census report within a span of 50 years between 2001 and 2050 (Exhibit
III).This amounts to roughly threefold increase in the demand for drinking water in India.

Exhibit III
Future Drinking Water Demand in India
Year Total Water Demand* BCM/Year
Based on Past Based on UN Based on Past Based on UN
Census Projection Census Projection
2001 43,065 49,935 15.72 16.03
2011 54,810 63,555 20 23.2
2021 66,555 83,375 24.29 30.43
2025 71,340 91,350 26.04 33.34
2050 100,755 140,650 36.77 51.33
* The water demand has been worked out @ 170 lpcd for 65% of the urban population presumed to
be living in Class 1 cities and @ 100 litre per capita daily (lpcd) for balance 35% of the urban
population living in Class 2 cities. (Report of the National Commission for Integrated Water Resource
Development Plan.)

Source : National Commission for Women

 Bansagar 28.2.08 1,079.13 28.2.07 1,084.78 (-)5.65
Indira Sagar 6.3.08 815.94 6.3.07 817.78 (-)1.84
Bargi 23.2.08 1,353.35 23.2.07 1,356.96 (-)3.61
Read6 Source: Lok Sabha unstarred question no. 2192, dated on 14.03.2008.

• While the dam-wise water level in India has been declining for all the water reservoirs
Data may be reproducedexcept Matatila
for research, reservoir
analysis, survey, (Exhibit
review, studies IV),academic
and such other wastepurposes
water with due
generation in India keeps on increasing decade after decade (Exhibit V). acknowledgement.
water generation in IndiaInhas
Water Management in India...
• In less than two decades (1977–1995) waste less than
moretwo than
decadesdoubled
(1977–1995)from
waste 7,007
water generation
mld toin16,662
India has more
mld.than doubled
from 7,007 mld to 16,662 mld.

Exhibit IV Exhibit V
Dam-wise Water Level in India (2007–2008) Population and Waste Water Generation in India
Dam Reservoir level (ft.) Reservoir level (ft.) Deviation
Year Urban Litres/Capita/ Gross Waste Water
Date Level Date Level (-)/ (+) of
level w.r.t. Population Day (lpcd) Generation (mld)
last year 1977–1978 60 116 7007
Bhakra 6.3.08 1,553.53 6.3.07 1,596.10 (-)42.57 1989–1990 102 119 12,145
Pong 6.3.08 1,297.98 6.3.07 1,344.69 (-)46.71
1994–1995 128 130 16,662
Thein Dam (Ranjit Sagar) 6.3.08 1,632.02 6.3.07 1,648.98 (-)16.96
2001 285 – –
Rihand 6.3.08 842 6.3.07 843.70 (-)1.7
Matatila 5.2.08 997.11 5.2.07 994.19 (+)2.92 2011 373 – –
Gandhi Sagar 6.3.08 1,273.98 6.3.07 1,291.21 (-)17.23 2021 488 121 (A) 59,048 (P)
Bansagar 28.2.08 1,079.13 28.2.07 1,084.78 (-)5.65 2031 638 121 (A) 77,198 (P)
Indira Sagar 6.3.08 815.94 6.3.07 817.78 (-)1.84
2041 835 121 (A) 101,035 (P)
Bargi 23.2.08 1,353.35 23.2.07 1,356.96 (-)3.61
2051 1,093 121 (A) 132,253 (P)
Source: Lok Sabha unstarred question no. 2192, dated on 14.03.2008.
Source : Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
Data may be reproduced for research, analysis, survey, review, studies and such other academic purposes with due
acknowledgement. P: Indicates Projected A: Indicates Assumed

In less than two decades (1977–1995) waste water generation in India has more than doubled
from 7,007 mld to 16,662 mld. 4

Exhibit V
Population and Waste Water Generation in India
Year Urban Litres/Capita/ Gross Waste Water License to use for IBS Campuses only. Sem I, Class of 2014-16
Population Day (lpcd) Generation (mld)