{"id":54226,"date":"2019-12-14T15:21:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T09:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54226"},"modified":"2020-02-26T15:25:50","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T09:55:50","slug":"7-pm-not-many-lessons-learnt-from-water-planning-failures-14th-december-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-not-many-lessons-learnt-from-water-planning-failures-14th-december-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"7 PM | Not many lessons learnt from water planning failures| 14th December 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Context:\n<\/strong>Managing\nwater crisis in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Water\nscarcity:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient\navailable water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region.<\/li><li>It already affects every continent and\naround 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every\nyear.<\/li><li>Water\nscarcity involves water stress, water shortage or deficits, and water crisis. While\nthe concept of <strong>water stress<\/strong> is\nrelatively new, it is the difficulty of obtaining sources of fresh water for\nuse during a period of time and may result in further depletion and\ndeterioration of available water resources.<\/li><li><strong>Water\nshortages<\/strong>\nmay be caused by climate change, such as altered weather patterns including\ndroughts or floods, increased pollution, and increased human demand and overuse\nof water.<\/li><li><strong>A\nwater crisis <\/strong>is a situation where the available potable,\nunpolluted water within a region is less than that region&#8217;s demand.<\/li><li>Water scarcity is being driven by two\nconverging phenomena: growing freshwater use and depletion of usable freshwater\nresources.<\/li><li>Water scarcity can be a result of two\nmechanisms: physical (absolute) water scarcity and economic water scarcity,\nwhere physical water scarcity is a result of inadequate natural water resources\nto supply a region&#8217;s demand, and economic water scarcity is a result of poor\nmanagement of the sufficient available water resources.<\/li><li>According to the United Nations\nDevelopment Programme (UNDP), the latter is found more often to be the cause of\ncountries or regions experiencing water scarcity, as most countries or regions\nhave enough water to meet household, industrial, agricultural, and\nenvironmental needs, but lack the means to provide it in an accessible manner.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>India\u2019s water resources<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India is home to 17% of\nworld\u2019s population and has about 4% of world\u2019s freshwater resources ranking it\namong the top ten water rich countries. <\/li><li>Despite this, according\nto the Fourth Assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change\n(IPCC), India is designated as a \u2018Water Stressed Region\u2019 with\naverage annual per capita water availability of less than 1700 cubic meters.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td>\n \n \n \n \n <strong><em>Status\n on Average Annual Water Availability<\/em><\/strong>\n <em>Precipitation\n received &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 4000 BCM (100%)<\/em><em>Water\n Resources Potential &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1869\n BCM (46.7%)<\/em><em>Utilizable\n Water Resources&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1123\n BCM (28.1%)<\/em><em>Ground Water&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 433 BCM&nbsp;&nbsp; (10.8%)<\/em><em>Surface Water&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 690 BCM&nbsp;&nbsp; (17.2%)<\/em>\n \n \n \n \n <em>*BCM is Billion Cubic Meter.<\/em>\n \n \n \n \n &nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It receives an average annual\nprecipitation of 4,000 billion cubic metres (BCM) which is the principle source\nof fresh water in the country. However, there is wide variation in\nprecipitation across different regions of the country.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Water\nstress in India: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>According to&nbsp;Composite Water\nManagement Index&nbsp;(CWMI) of NITI Aayog, 21 major cities including Chennai,\nBangalore, Delhi, and Hyderabad are racing to zero groundwater levels by 2020,\naffecting almost 100 million people. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The report also states that by 2030, the\ncountry\u2019s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying\nsevere water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual 6%\nloss of country\u2019s GDP.<\/li><li>Accoding to a new report, India is among\nthe 17 countries, which are a home to a quarter of the world\u2019s population,\nfacing &#8220;extremely high&#8221;&nbsp;water stress, close to &#8220;Day\nZero&#8221; conditions&nbsp;when the taps run dry.<\/li><li>The World Resources Institute&#8217;s Aqueduct\nWater Risk Atlas ranked water stress, drought risk, and riverine flood risk\nacross 189 countries and their sub-national regions, like states and provinces.\nIndia, ranked 13 on Aqueduct&#8217;s list of &#8220;extremely highly&#8221; water\nstressed countries, has more than three times the population of the other 16\ncountries in this category combined, the report said.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The\nmain reasons of water scarcity in India are:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Increasing\ndemand:&nbsp;<\/strong>Due to population growth, industrialization, rapid\nurbanization, increasing needs of irrigation, increase in domestic use, etc.\nhave pushed the demand for water.<\/li><li><strong>Over-exploitation<\/strong>&nbsp;of\ngroundwater and surface water.<\/li><li><strong>Water\npollution:&nbsp;<\/strong>Release of industrial and domestic waste into\nrivers, lakes, and estuaries has polluted freshwater sources at an alarming\nrate in India. Those freshwater sources are not fit for drinking or other\nactivities.<\/li><li><strong>Delay\nin monsoon<\/strong>&nbsp;and\nchange in pattern.<\/li><li><strong>Shift\nin cash crops:<\/strong>&nbsp;Water is being diverted from food crops to cash\ncrops that consume an enormous quantity of water.<\/li><li><strong>Deforestation<\/strong>&nbsp;and\nmismanagement of wetlands.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Measures Taken by government to combat water stress:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP)<\/strong> was launched in 2009.&nbsp; It aims to provide safe and\nadequate water for drinking, cooking and other domestic needs to every rural\nperson on a sustainable basis.&nbsp;However CAG key findings shows:<\/li><li>Underperformance\nof the scheme:&nbsp;By 2017, NRDWP aimed to achieve certain\nobjectives.&nbsp; However, by December 2017, these objectives were not\ncompletely attained.&nbsp; It aimed to provide all rural habitations,\ngovernment schools, and anganwadis access to safe drinking water.&nbsp; Of\nthis, only 44% of rural households and 85% of government schools and anganwadis\nwere provided access<\/li><li><strong>Planning and delivery\nmechanism:<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>The CAG noted\ndeviations from the programme guidelines in the planning and delivery framework\nestablished at the centre and states.&nbsp; 21 states had not framed water\nsecurity plans.<\/li><li>There was inadequate focus on surface water based schemes and\n98% of the schemes, including piped water schemes continued to be based on\nground water resources.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>National\nWater Mission<\/strong>: In April 2011, the Government of India (GOI)\napproved the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) which includes 8\nNational missions including a specific one for water. The main objective of the\nNational Water Mission (NWM) is \u201cconservation of water, minimizing wastage and\nensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through\nintegrated water resources development and management.\u201d This is to be achieved\nthrough completion of 5 specific goals including: <\/li><li>comprehensive water database in public\ndomain and assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources; <\/li><li>focused attention to over-exploited\nareas; <\/li><li>promotion of citizen and state actions\nfor water conservation, augmentation and preservation;<\/li><li>increasing water use efficiency by at\nleast 20% and;<\/li><li>promotion of basin level integrated\nwater resources management.<\/li><li><strong>Jal\nKranti Abhiyan<\/strong>: The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development\nand Ganga Rejuvenation initiated Jal Kranti Abhiyan during 2015-16 for creating\nawareness on aspects of water security and water conservation. Under Jal Kranti\nAbhiyan two villages, preferably facing acute water scarcity are being selected\nas \u201cJal Grams\u201d. An integrated water security plan, water conservation, water\nmanagement and allied activities are being planned for these villages by\nPanchayat level committee to ensure optimum and sustainable utilization of\nwater.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojana\n(2015)<\/strong>: PMKSY has been\nformulated with the vision of extending the coverage of irrigation&nbsp;\u2018Har\nKhet ko pani\u2019&nbsp;and improving water use efficiency&nbsp;\u2018More crop\nper drop&#8217;&nbsp;in a focused manner with end to end solution on source\ncreation, distribution, management, field application and extension activities.\nPMKSY has been formulated amalgamating ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated\nIrrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources,\nRiver Development &amp; Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&amp;GR), Integrated Watershed\nManagement Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On\nFarm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation\n(DAC). <\/li><li><strong>Inter-linking of rivers:<\/strong> Interlinking\nof River (ILR) programme is of national importance and has been taken up on\nhigh Priority. The mission of this programme is to ensure greater equity in the\ndistribution of water by enhancing the availability of water in drought prone\nand rain-fed area. However, this project has many ecological and environmental\ncost associated with it. <\/li><li>Government\nrecently launched the <strong>Jal\nShakti Abhiyan (JSA) <\/strong>for Water\nConservation under recently formed <strong>Jal Shakti Ministry<\/strong> (by merger of Ministries of Water Resources,\nRiver Development &amp; Ganga Rejuvenation along with Drinking Water and\nSanitation)<strong> <\/strong>which is a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation\ncampaign. <\/li><li>The JSA will run in two Phases: Phase 1 from 1st July to 15th\nSeptember 2019 for all States and Union Territories; and Phase 2 from 1st\nOctober to 30th November for States and UTs receiving the retreating monsoon\n(Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu). <\/li><li>During the campaign, officers, groundwater experts and scientists\nfrom the Government of India will work together with State and district\nofficials in India\u2019s most&nbsp;water-stressed districts&nbsp;for water conservation and water resource management\nby focusing on accelerated implementation of five target intervention. <\/li><li>The JSA aims at making water conservation a jan andolan through\nasset creation and communication campaign.<\/li><li><strong>\u2018Nal\nSe Jal\u2019 Scheme: <\/strong>In recent years, the increasing threat to\ngroundwater quality due to human activities has become a matter of great\nconcern. A vast majority of groundwater quality problems present today are\ncaused by contamination and by overexploitation. \u2018Nal se Jal\u2019 is component of the government\u2019s Jal\nJivan Mission. The nodal agency will be Jal Shakti Ministry, aimed to provide\npiped drinking water to every rural home by 2024.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Way\nForward:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Water planning should be based on\nhydrological units, namely river basins rather than administrative boundaries\nof district as planned in the current Jal Shakti Abhiyaan.<\/li><li>Scientifically planning on basin-wise\nrainfall. There was no data on basin-wise rainfall, no analysis of run-off and\ngroundwater maps were rarely used. As a result, one never came to know whether\nwater harvested in a pond in a district was at the cost of water in adjoining\ndistricts.<\/li><li>There are issues like lack of proper engineering\nsupervision of these structures, involvement of multiple departments with less\nor no coordination, and limited funding under MGNERGA and other schemes. There\nis need for such engineering supervision.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/not-many-lessons-learnt-from-water-planning-failures\/article30289651.ece\">https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/not-many-lessons-learnt-from-water-planning-failures\/article30289651.ece<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context: Managing water crisis in India. Water scarcity: Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. Water scarcity involves water stress, water&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-not-many-lessons-learnt-from-water-planning-failures-14th-december-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">7 PM | Not many lessons learnt from water planning failures| 14th December 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,955,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","category-7-pm-brief-infograph","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54226\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}