Indias water crisis- Need a well-integrated action plan

Source-This post on Indias water crisis- Need a well-integrated action plan has been created based on the article “Solving India’s water crisis calls for a well-integrated action plan” published in “Live Mint” on 4 April 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-3– Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Context– There has been an acute water crisis in several states of the country particularly in the southern Indian states. Due to developmental work, there has been a rise in water pollution in India which can cause water related health issue.
As per the 2013 World Bank report, health costs relating to water pollution was about ₹47,000-61,000 crore. These costs today are likely to be much higher.

What are some important facts about water availibility,distribution and pollution in India?

1) India has 18% of the world’s population with only 4% of its water resources. This implies that India is inherently a water-stressed country.

2) 70% of Indias surface water is unfit for consumption and over 40 million litres of wastewater flow into its rivers and water bodies.

Read more- Bengaluru water crisis

What are the findings of India’s first census of water bodies?

It documents the miserable state of water bodies in India—in terms of location, state of fullness and beneficiary population.
India has around 97% of its water bodies in rural areas with reservoirs making up a mere 12%.

What are the issues with Indias water body census?

1) Coverage-It has not covered issues of available capacity after considering siltation and ageing. Further, it does not give much attention to issues of adequacy, accessibility, vulnerability to rainfall patterns, or water quality

2) Over-emphasis on ground water– Since nearly 60% of irrigated agriculture and 85% of drinking water supplies are dependent on groundwater, the water census gives too much attention to it.

What should be the way forward?

1) Leveraging role of IT industry–

A) The World Economic Forum has highlighted the need to deploy real-time sensor technology for high-resolution monitoring of the quantity and quality of water bodies.

B) Machine learning models can be used to predict impacts and outcomes of rainfall and waste-water flows. The information gathered can be used for policy and strategy development in a holistic manner.

2) Sustainable Approach-There is a need to adopt science-based approaches to natural resource management and address sustainability challenges in an integrated manner by re-prioritizing public investment in the water sector.

Question for practice

What are the issues with Indias water body census? What steps can be taken to comprehensively address Indias water crisis?