Every stakeholder should pitch in to conserve water

The dichotomy between floods and drought can be resolved through cooperation between Centre and states

The India Water Week (IWW), the government of India’s policy dialogue for better management of water resources, begins today. This year’s theme: ‘Water & Energy for Inclusive Growth’.

For India, the need for developing and managing water resources assumes significance as the nation moves up the development ladder. Currently, more than 50% of India’s workforce is dependent on irrigation for agriculture. World over, the irrigation sector is the largest user of water. In India, the sector uses 85% of its available water resources, having a major share of groundwater. The erratic rainfall pattern is leading to drought-like situation in Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. On the contrary, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have been affected by heavy rains/flash floods. This dichotomy demands efforts to manage our water resource with a decentralised approach.

For the development of water resource and transferring water from water-surplus basins to water-deficit basins, the Centre is pursuing the Interlinking of rivers (ILR) programme. The Centre has also launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) in 2015, which includes Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme and component like per drop and more crop. To improve the extent, quality, and accessibility of water resources information, the government has approved the establishment of National Water Informatics Centre.

Since water comes under the state list of 7th Schedule, inter-state water disputes and their amicable solution is a serious challenge for the central government. At present eight tribunals has been there to settle water disputes among the states under the Inter-state River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956. The government has adopted revised National Water Policy, which includes a permanent Water Disputes Tribunal at the Centre and establishment of dispute resolution committee to resolve the inter-state water disputes in expeditiously and in an equitable manner.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga is mandated to identify or cause to be identified the measures, which may be necessary for reuse of treated water. The conservation and management of water requires everyone’s participation. With the efforts from every strata of society and all stakeholders from the periphery to centre, India will become a water-conscious society.