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Warnings about water are getting more and more grim every passing year. While the situation is bad the world over, it is worse in India. The government told parliament last week that the per capita availability of water in the country is expected to decline from 1,486 cubic metres in 2021 to 1,367 cubic metres by 2031.
It was about 5,000 cubic metres in 1950. The steady fall in the availability of water has many reasons. According to the government, the average annual water availability is dependent upon hydro-meteorological and geological factors, but water availability per person is dependent on population. But population is only one factor and there are other factors like overexploitation of water resources, inadequacy of storage capacity and failure to conserve available water. Water contamination is also widespread in the country.
The UN World Water Development Report 2023, released recently, also presents a dire picture about the availability of water. It says India, among all countries, will be the most affected by water scarcity by 2050. With 18% of the world’s population, the country has only 4% of its water resources.
The resources are also poorly managed. There is an impression that India has a lot of water resources, and so the need to avoid wastage and to conserve water does not get enough attention.
The country receives 80% of its annual rainfall in a span of four months and so efficient usage and conservation should get topmost attention. Groundwater levels are low and cannot be sustained for long because of increasing use. India stands first among all countries in extraction of groundwater. About 90% of the extracted water is used for irrigation. There is the need to shift away from crops like paddy and sugarcane, which need more water. Suitable policies have to be framed for this.
It is important to avoid wastage and to conserve water. Most of the water that the country receives runs off into the sea. Mini- and micro- water conservation schemes need to be formulated and implemented on a large scale. Rainwater harvesting is still in early stages though there is much talk about it. It should become a people’s movement. More research is needed and better technologies that suit India’s conditions and would meet its needs have to be developed.
According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), India’s present storage capacity is about 325 billion cubic metres (BCM) while the average annual rainfall is about 3,880 BCM.
There is scope to significantly increase the storage capacity. Water management needs both short-term and long-term plans. The right to water is part of the right to life, and that cannot be denied to people.