Parched or polluted

Parched or polluted

News:

1. Acute water stress prevails in most of India according to the Composite Water Management Index developed by NITI Aayog.

Important facts:

2. Key highlights of the index:

• 70% of the water resources are identified as polluted.
• Nearly 600 million Indians faced high-to-extreme water stress and about 2,00,000 people died every year because of inadequate access to safe water.

3. Criteria for ratings:

• Based on performance of states in augmenting water resources and watershed.
• Investment in infrastructure.
• Providing rural and urban drinking water.
• Encouraging efficient agriculture use.

4. This approach will foster ‘competitive and cooperative federalism’.
5. State-wise assessment:

• Best states: Gujarat, MP, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
• Worst state: Jharkhand, Haryana, UP and Bihar.
• Tamil Nadu, although perform well on augmentation of water resources, but not able to perform upto mark in ensuring sustainable use of farming.
• Among North Eastern and Himalayan states, Tripura has been adjudged number one in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam.

6. Measures:

• Augmentation of watersheds, which led to store more water for use in agriculture.
• The Committee on Restructuring the Central Water Commission and the central ground water board, chaired by Mihir Shah called for user-centric approach to water management. The committee advocates:-

1. Decentralisation of irrigation commands.
2. Offering higher financial flows to best performing states through National Irrigation Management Fund.

• Ground water extraction patterns need to be better understood through robust data collection.
• New Management paradigm due to steady urbanization.
• Augmenting source of clean drinking water supply.
• Pollution can be curbed by levying suitable cost.
• Need revamped national and state institutions and updated laws.
• However, such approaches will not solve inter-state river disputes like Cauvery issue.