Despite being the 10th largest water-rich country, India remains one of the most water-stressed nations, with only 4% of global freshwater resources supporting 18% of the world’s population. Despite numerous government initiatives—like Jal Jeevan Mission, PMKSY, Namami Gange, and Atal Bhujal Yojana—chronic challenges in efficient and equitable water management persist.
Reasons for Inefficient Water Management in India:
1. Over-extraction and Depletion of Groundwater
- India is the world’s largest user of groundwater, withdrawing nearly 25% of the global groundwater annually.
- 63% of irrigation and 90% of rural drinking water depend on groundwater.
- States like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu are in the “over-exploited” category as per CGWB data.
2. Highly Variable and Monsoon-Dependent Rainfall
- 80–90% of India’s rainfall occurs in just 4 months (June–September).
- This leads to floods during monsoon and droughts in the dry season. Only 1,123 km³ of the average 4,000 km³ rainfall is utilizable due to spatial and temporal variability.
3. Pollution and Poor Water Quality
- 70% of surface water is polluted, mainly due to untreated sewage (only 30% of 38,000 MLD of sewage is treated), industrial discharge, and agricultural runoff.
- India ranks 120 out of 122 in the global water quality index.
4. Inefficient Agricultural Water Use
- Agriculture consumes ~80% of total water use, but water use efficiency is low.
- Flood irrigation dominates, while micro-irrigation covers only ~11% of irrigated areas despite programs like Per Drop More Crop.
5. Urban Water Losses and Infrastructure Gaps
- Cities like Delhi and Bengaluru face severe water shortages.
- 30–40% of urban water is lost due to leakages, theft, and poor pipeline infrastructure (e.g., Mumbai loses 700 million liters/day).
6. Fragmented Institutional Framework and Governance Deficit
- Water is a State subject, leading to inter-state river disputes and poor coordination (e.g., Cauvery, Krishna disputes).
- The River Boards Act (1956) has never been operationalized, and multiple agencies have overlapping functions.
7. Lack of Community Participation and Awareness
- Top-down planning has often ignored local knowledge, traditional practices, and community ownership.
- Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) and PRIs are underutilized in participatory irrigation management.
Measures for Ensuring Efficient Water Management
1. Promote Agricultural Water Use Efficiency
- Expand micro-irrigation coverage under PMKSY–Per Drop More Crop.
- Use IoT, sensors, and SCADA for real-time irrigation scheduling (as under M-CADWM).
- Encourage crop diversification through campaigns like “Sahi Fasal” in water-stressed regions.
2. Strengthen Groundwater Governance
- Enforce and update state-level groundwater laws.
- Scale up Atal Bhujal Yojana for community-led water budgeting and aquifer recharge.
- Expand NAQUIM to cover all critical blocks using GIS-based aquifer maps.
3. Integrated Urban Water Management
- Modernize municipal supply systems to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) losses (~30%).
- Replicate successful models like Odisha’s Drink-from-Tap Mission and Chennai’s dual-pipe reuse system.
- Develop decentralized sewage treatment plants (STPs) in peri-urban and slum areas.
4. River Basin-Level Governance
- Operationalize River Boards Act, 1956 to create multi-state basin authorities.
- Promote Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) for holistic basin planning (e.g., Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Australia).
5. Improve Water Quality and Pollution Control
- Strengthen implementation of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 through CPCB and SPCBs.
- Increase sewage treatment capacity under Namami Gange, especially for Class-I cities.
- Install real-time water quality monitoring on polluted rivers like Ganga and Yamuna.
6. Rainwater Harvesting and Local Storage
- Expand Jal Shakti Abhiyan – “Catch the Rain” to all districts.
- Revive and maintain traditional systems like johads, tankas, baolis, especially in semi-arid zones.
7. Empower Communities and Local Institutions
- Strengthen Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) under CADWM for participatory irrigation.
- Leverage PRIs and ULBs under Articles 243G & 243W for local water supply and sanitation governance.
- Use IEC campaigns in schools, media, and villages to boost water literacy.
Conclusion:
India must shift to a resilience-based, decentralized, and equitable water management paradigm. Without swift water management reform, scarcity could threaten 6% of GDP by 2050, as warned by NITI Aayog, undermining the country’s developmental trajectory.
‘+1’ Value addition:
- High Water Stress in India: Approximately 54% of India experiences high to extremely high levels of water stress.
- Poor Urban Sewage Infrastructure: As per the Central Pollution Control Board (2011), only 2% of Indian towns have both sewerage systems and functional sewage treatment plants.
- Low Water Use Efficiency in Agriculture: Water use efficiency (WUE) is extremely low, estimated at 25–35%. In contrast, WUE is higher in other countries like Israel, Japan, China, Taiwan: 50–60%
- Netherlands – ‘Room for the River’ Approach: The Netherlands has adopted a resilience-based water management strategy, allowing rivers to flood designated zones naturally rather than building higher dykes.
- South Africa – Legal Right to Water: South Africa’s Constitution recognizes access to water as a fundamental human right.
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