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India’s Deepened
Water Crisis

W ater is the most valuable natural resource as it is essential for human

survival and life on our planet. At present, the availability of fresh water for
human consumption is under stress for a variety of reasons. The crisis of water
scarcity is most visible in India as well as in other developing countries.
Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to satisfy the demand for it.
It can be observed as partial or no satisfaction of expressed demand, economic
competition for water quality or quantity, excessive depletion of groundwater,
disputes between users, or other such manifestations. Water scarcity affects India as
well as a number of developing countries at particular times every year. Some
regions of these countries have perpetual water scarcity.

Meaning of Water Scarcity

Despite the frequent use of the term ‘water scarcity’, there is no consensus on
how water scarcity should be defined or how it should be measured. One of the
most commonly used measures of water scarcity is the ‘Falkenmark Indicator’ or
‘Water Stress Index’. This indicator defines water scarcity in terms of the total
amount of renewable fresh water that is available for each person each year.
If the amount of renewable water in a country or region is below 1700 m3 per
person per year, that country or region is said to be experiencing water stress. If
the available water is below 1000 m3 per person per year, it is said to be
experiencing water scarcity. If it is below 500 m3 per person per year, that
country or region is said to be experiencing absolute water scarcity.

NITI Aayog Report on Extent of Crisis

According to study report by NITI Aayog, India is undergoing the worst water
crisis in its history. Already, more than 600 million people are facing acute water
shortages. Critical groundwater resources which account for 40% of our water
supply are being depleted at unsustainable rates. Further, 70% of our water is
contaminated, India is among bottom most countries in water quality index which
results in nearly 200,000 deaths each year.

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Around 40% of the Indian population will have no access to drinking water by
2030. By 2020-21 cities including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad
will run out of ground water which will affect 100 million people. Economically, it
may cost upto 6% of our GDP by 2050. With growing population the per capita
availability of water has declined to 1,508 m3 in 2014 from 1,816 m 3 in 2001.
As more than half of agriculture in India is rainfed , droughts which have become
more frequent are creating problem for India’s rain dependent farmers. The water
crisis in India is deepening for a variety of reasons.

Impact of Water Crisis

The impact of the deepening water crisis will be manifold. According to NITI
Aayog report, water demand will be double of the present supply by 2030 and
hence India could lose upto 6% of its GDP by 2050 because of water crisis. The
water scarcity in India affects hundreds of millions of people across the country.
Since tap water is unavailable in many cities residents have to rely on alternative
water sources. A lot of people are spending money to buy drinking water.
Water scarcity also threating the lives of wild animals across India as they are
forced to infiltrate villages and cities to find water. Water stress in scarcity hit
areas has caused failure of agricultural crops, due to which number of farmers
have committed suicide, as they were unable to pay the loan.
The water crisis creates conflicts between states over river water sharing. For
instance, the Kaveri river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has
been festering for many years. Water shortage will also reduce generation of
electricity, as many of thermal power plants, which require much water for their
operation, are located in areas of water scarcity.

Reasons for Water Crisis in India

In recent times, the water crisis in India has become very critical, affecting a lot
of people across India. Water crisis in India is not only caused by natural
disasters, but rather because of severe mismanagement of water resources, poor
governance and apathy. Water problem in India has many facets.
The effects of climate change on the monsoon seasons is one of the main reason
for decrease in rainfall and water shortage in India. Earlier, average monsoon
rainfall spanned 45 days but now it has decreased to 22 days.
India is the world’s biggest groundwater user. According to Central Ground Water
Board (CGWB), the continued exploitation of groundwater from 2007 to 2017
caused the groundwater level in India to decrease by 61%. The unmonitored and
unregulated extraction of groundwater has diminished and contaminated the water
resources. Groundwater meets more than half of the country’s need of water supply.
India is among the top growers of agricultural produce in the world. Thus, the
consumption of water for irrigation is amongst the highest. Indian farmers give
more emphasis on growing cash crops instead of food crops, which consume
excessive amounts of water. Traditional techniques used for irrigation causes
maximum water loss due to evaporation, drainage, percolation, water conveyance
and excessive use of groundwater.

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Water pollution is another problem. Sewage, effluents and wastewater from
industries is drained into traditional water bodies such as river and ponds. Ganga
is one of the most sacred but severely polluted river of India. Alongwith other
religious wastes, the bones and ashes remaining after hindu cremation are also
thrown in Ganges. According to the Central Water Commission, India requires
at most 3,000 billion m3 of water annually and it receives around 4,000 billion m3
of rain. But due to inefficiency, misuse and siltation of rivers, significant amount
of water is wasted.
Construction of dams, other hydroelectric projects and water diversion for irrigation
has led to systematically destroying large river ecosystems. Rapid urbanisation as
well as extreme groundwater usage by soft drink companies such as coca-cola also
led to the water crisis in India.
Suggestions to Mitigate the Water Crisis
Looking at the current situation of water crisis in India, there is need for a
paradigm shift. Some of the solutions which could be effective in dealing with the
water crisis are :
l
Rain Water Harvesting Rain water harvesting is the the innovative way of
collecting rainwater in order to recharge the underground water. India receives
enough rainwater annually during monsoon. So, it should be encouraged in
large scale, particularly in cities where surface runoff of rainwater is very high.
Moreover, traditional practices of rainwater harvesting like Jhalara, Bandhi,
Bawari, Taanka, Ahar Pynes, Johads, Kuhls etc. should be promoted.
l
Crop Diversification Crop diversification is a solution to reduce water usage
in agriculture. Farmers should be encouraged to grow less water intensive crops
like pulses and millets.
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Micro Irrigation Micro Irrigation such as drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation
should be promoted. The technology has the advantage of being applicable to
all kinds of terrains in the country. Furthermore, the techniques help farmers
use water more efficiently by modifying the water supply based on moisture
level of soil.
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Desalination It is a potential advanced technique to solve the problem of
water shortage, especially in coastal regions. Desalination involves treating sea
water to remove its salt content, making it fit for drinking.
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Organic and Nature-based Farming Organic farming consumes less water in
irrigation and also helps in improving the water-storage capacity of soil.
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Use of Wastewater More than 50 per cent of wastewater can be reused. By
developing partnership with countries which are world leaders in sewage
treatment and recycling such as Israel and establishing such facilities, India can
meet the rising demands of industries and agriculture.
l
Aquifer Recharging One of the main reason for deepening water crisis is
reduction in traditional water recharging areas. Rapid construction is ruining
traditional water bodies such as aquifers that have also acted as groundwater
recharging mechanism. We need to urgently revive traditional aquifers, while
implementing new ones. Aquifer recharging through community ponds and
recharge needs should be promoted with the involvement of Gram Sabhas.
l
Raising Social Awareness Campaigns should be organised to raise awareness
about the importance of saving water to cope with its scarcity and ensure
sustainability. Some NGOs are actively involved in teaching the locals how to
preserve the water resources and how to increase the water usage efficiency.

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 l
Establishing Water Resources Projects NGOs in India should be involved in
establishing water harvesting structures in rural areas. For instance, The Jal
Bhagirathi Foundation is one of the most prominent NGOs in India dealing
with the issues of water scarcity in the desert terrains of Rajasthan. Some of
the organisations such as ‘FORCE’ and ‘Safe Water Network’ are actively
involved in dealing with the water crisis in India.

Government Schemes and Efforts

In partnership with Central and State Governments, the country has launched
various schemes/programmes across the regions for conservation and management
of water resources in a transparent, equitable and sustainable manner. Prominent
among them are :
l
Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM)
Programme It was launched in 1974-75 and its main aim was to improve the
utilisation of created irrigation potential and optimising foodgrains production.
It was done to meet the increasing need of food for growing population with
the improved water use efficiency.
l
Watershed Development Programmes Watershed Development Projects were
taken up under different programmes launched by Government of India. Some
of the important projects under Watershed Development Programmes were
Drought Prone Area Development Programme (DPAP); Desert Development
Programme (DDP); Integrated Waterland Development Project Scheme (IWDP);
National Watershed Development Programme in Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA). In
case of hilly areas, Watershed Development Project for Shifting Cultivation
Area (WDPSCA) was initiated as watershed development programme.
l
National Water Policy It was first adoptead in 1987 which was reviewed and
updated in 2002 and later in 2012. The main objective of National Water
Policy is to conserve the water.
Some of the recent initiatives taken by the government are as follows :
l
The government in 2019 has launched ‘Atal Bhujal Yojana’ in overexploited
and water stressed areas. This scheme envisages active participation of
communities in various activities such as formation of water user associations,
monitoring and disseminating groundwater data, water budgeting related to
sustainable groundwater management.
l
Under new unified Ministry of Jal Shakti, the government has launched Jal
Shakti Abhiyaan (JSA) which is intensive water conservation campaign built on
citizen participation to accelerate water conservation across the country.
l
In short run, Jal Shakti Abhiyaan campaign will focus on integrated demand
and supply side management of water at the local level, including creation of
local infrastructure for source sustainability using rain water harvesting, ground
water recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse.
l
For the long run, the government has launched the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
with an aim to ensured piped water supply to all rural household by 2024.
l
Niti Aayog has launched Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) to bring
about much required improvements in water resource management and
conservation in India in a coherent and collaborative manner. This index is a
public platform that provides an annual snapshot of water sector status and
water management performance of different states and UTs in India.

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Conclusion
To conclude, the rapidly urbanising and developing India needs to drought-proof
its cities and rationalise its farming. Water harvesting must be a priority, alongside
mechanisms for groundwater replenishment. Coordinated action by all three tiers
of government can bring long term solutions such as the inter-linking of rivers
and good water management practices. Further, civil societies and NGOs can play a
significant role in making water conservation a mass movement.

88
Drought
Challenges and Mitigation in India

D rought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage

of water. It is a type of natural hazard which is caused by the lack of
adequate precipitation, either rain or snow, which can result into reduced soil
moisture or groundwater table, diminished stream flow, crop damage and a general
water shortage. According to vulnerability profile of India released by National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 68% of the cultivable area is vulnerable
to droughts in the country.
The onset and end and severity of the droughts are often difficult to determine.
Further, it differs from other natural hazards as it has a slow onset, evolves over
months or even years, affects a large spatial extent and cause little structural
damage.
Classification of Drought
Droughts are classified into meteorological droughts, hydrological droughts and
agricultural droughts.
l
Meteorological Drought It occurs when there is rainfall deficiency w.r.t long
term average. In this, rainfall deficiency of 25% or less than is normal, 26-50%
of rainfall deficiency is called moderate and a rainfall deficiency of more than
50% is called severe. Meteorological drought is the prime reason for the
occurrence of drought and also leads to other kinds of droughts.
l
Agricultural Drought It is identified by four weeks of consecutive drought or
when weekly rainfall goes below 50mm during Kharif season.
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Hydrological Drought It is witnessed when there is deficiency of water in
water bodies, when the requirement of water for normal and specific needs is
not being met.

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