Are we really concerned? Everyone perturbed acknowledges that India is facing anomalous water crisis.
Let us put in some of the water threat that India is surfacing -
Lack of reliable water information
Taking Charge of restructuring of institutions
Groundwater lifeline is in blue.
Politicians and institutions pushing more large dams when the testimonial sights that they do not slog.
The urgency to heed in order to upkeep the massive water infrastructure. Booming footprint of Urban water sector.
Plight of our rivers in humdrum and Ganga in precise.
water management for agriculture, governance and changing climate, among others.
Lamentably these challenges do not seem to get emulated as electoral issues.
Who is to be confounded for the water crises ? Are the parties not responsible ? yes indeed they are equally cursed for this plight . The current Union government has very poor report card and it seems t every one of the water sector challenges,is a series of missed happening .
Is it not a bizarre? Every living soul ,needs water moment to moment for various activities. And everyone, including official agencies like the NITI Ayog accepts India is facing unprecedented, never before kind of water crisis. On top of it, a large part of western and Southern India is facing drought now. When general elections get conducted in this back drop, one would naturally accept that water scarcity, water management, water challenges would be some of the major elections issues.
Various water woes plague India
India is drying up fast
The northern part of the country is getting depleted of its groundwater resources with western and southern India not far behind. But neither the national policy nor national or state water resource establishments acknowledge this reality. There is an urgent need to make efforts that focus on enhancing groundwater recharge and regulating groundwater use.
Focus on large water storage structures is worsening the crisis
A myopic understanding of water resources at the policy level has led to a continuing focus on surface water resources. The overemphasis on irrigation, hydropower and river-linking projects continues despite questions being raised about their feasibility, effectiveness and the irreversible environmental impacts that they are feared to unleash.
This excessive focus on large storage structures has led to the neglect of the essential principles of water storage at local levels that involve protection and sustainable use of water systems, rivers, wetlands, forests, soil and groundwater aquifers through the involvement of communities.
This has increasingly led to rural distress as depleting water levels continue to force farmers to dig deeper in search of water. At the same time, no concerted efforts are being made to change the water-intensive cropping patterns practised in a number of states such as sugarcane in Marathwada, western Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, the Cauvery belt in Tamil Nadu, the Gangetic plains in western Uttar Pradesh and the wheat-rice cycles in northwestern India. Even the existing water infrastructure fails to meet its mark and no attempts have been made to address the issue of dam safety. No dam safety act exists as of now to deal with the issue.
Rivers in the country need urgent attention
The state of rivers in the country continues to be pathetic. Current efforts made by the government to revive the Ganga are representative of the narrow understanding of looking at rivers not as living entities but as resources to be harnessed and manipulated for securing water needs. Thus, temporary and knee jerk measures to improve the waters of the Ganga before events such as Ardh Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj have done little to revive and maintain the long term health of the river.
Even worse has been the planning of massive projects such as waterways, riverfront development, highways, hydropower projects and interlinking of rivers that have been taken up on the rivers without any impact assessments, public consultations, appraisals or clearances.
Lack of genuine efforts to revive the dying rivers through regular monitoring of water quality and environmental flows, by protecting the floodplains and maintaining river biodiversity is leading to the gradual death of rivers.
Cities are drying out
Current efforts made at development ignore the crucial role of water management for sustainable cities. Aggressive infrastructural projects in cities are destroying local water bodies and tree cover, ignoring the fact that many of these cities are dangerously water stressed and need better policies to treat their sewage properly, harvest rainwater, and use their water resources with utmost care.
Communities most affected by climate change continue to be marginalised
Little or no systematic effort is being made to evaluate the impact of climate change on those affected the most by it mainly the farmers, fisherfolk, tribals and mountain residents.
Environmental impact assessment processes are being diluted
Credible environmental and cumulative impact assessments, public involvement at various stages of planning and project implementation, appraisals involving independent experts and monitoring and compliance are crucial to evaluate the impacts of any intervention on the environment. However, efforts have consistently been made at the governmental level to dilute the whole process rather than strengthen it.
What needs to be done on an urgent basis
Water governance needs reform
Water governance institutions in India continue to have the top-down, bureaucratic, unaccountable, non-transparent and non-participatory approach in their functioning. These non-democratic governance mechanisms continue to hinder progress and need to be made more transparent, accountable and participatory in every sub-sector, be it in the management of rivers, groundwater or floods.
Credible and systematic evidence is needed to trigger appropriate action
While droughts, floods and acute water scarcity continue to threaten India’s future, lack of credible information has led to a poor understanding of the gravity of the situation. Accurate and reliable data on water storage, groundwater, water flows, rainfall and snowfall levels are needed to understand the urgency of the situation and undertake action.
India's water crisis is real. The paper argues that while the current government has been unable to find sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the water sector, no longer can we afford to be ill prepared to deal with the situation as it threatens to worsen with climate change. Irrespective of the outcome of the elections, sincere acknowledgement of the growing water crisis and concerted and urgent action is the need of the hour.
Is the government listening?
(taken from extensive sources )