Open Forum
New
Delhi, 13 June 2019
Water Crisis
‘DAY ZERO’ LOOMS
LARGE
By Dr.S.Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
A
Division Bench of the Madras High Court directed all district collectors across
Tamil Nadu to constitute committees and to book cases under Section 379 of the
IPC (theft) against persons illegally drawing groundwater. The Court was
hearing a PIL against illegal extraction of groundwater for sale. A Government
order passed in 2014 prohibits illegal tapping of groundwater as a crime.
Water scarcity has
resulted in the growth of a lucrative water trade and sudden emergence of
private water suppliers. In many towns and cities in southern India, water cans
are sold in grocer shops and vegetable markets. Borewells are dug deep in
vacant lands in private possession without proper permission of concerned
authorities for direct sale of water or through regular suppliers which results
in drying up of other borewells for domestic use in houses around.
Undoubtedly, the water
crisis is a global problem affecting several countries in all continents. About
one-fifth of the world’s population are living in areas of water scarcity and
another one-fourth are said to be facing severe water shortage. The reasons for shortage are both natural and human-made and shortage
is aggravated in many places by uneven distribution, wastage, pollution and
unsustainable management.
The International
Decade for Action “Water for life” was observed during 2005-2015, but without
much positive effect. On the contrary,
the rate of water use is calculated to be growing more than twice that of the population. Water scarcity is felt in more and more places
though the extent of shortage varies.
The NDA Government soon
after assuming office announced the setting up of a new Jal Shakti Ministry under
a Cabinet Minister and amalgamates the Ministries of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and the Ministry of Drinking Water and
Sanitation. It immediately announced the Nal
se Jal Scheme ---- to provide drinking water through pipes to every
household by 2024 to fulfil one of the BJP’s election promises that will
directly benefit every person.
Like the Swachh Bharat
scheme, it also needs people’s cooperation for proper implementation. The Ministry is expected to provide the much
needed impetus to water conservation as nearly 45% of India is reeling under drought.
To raise awareness about the water situation, the Water Channel is now part of
the Weather Channel Forecast.
It is said that more
than 100 million people in India could run out of water by 2020 due mostly to
poor management and another 100 million could face inaccessibility to water
near their homes. Press reports and TV
channels are showing pathetic pictures of women fetching water for their
domestic use from far off places while rivers, tanks and ponds nearby are lying
dry.
Agriculture suffers
most and there are reports of farmers selling their trees and families
migrating from their water-starved villages. Construction activities are coming
to a halt in many cities and industries are forced to slow down. Schools and offices ask their staff and
students to bring their drinking water.
Water protests are daily events made worse by bias in distribution.
Worse, with rainfall
predicted to be below average this monsoon, groundwater levels are depleting
everywhere and water crisis is the main talk of citizens. There
is a fear that “Day Zero” may arrive in India by 2020.
“Day Zero” refers to
the bitter experience in South Africa’s Cape Town in early 2018 after three consecutive
years of severe drought when it seemed the city would run out of water and taps
would be shut off. Luckily, the Day was pushed off without announcement of a
new date by tremendous efforts at water conservation and arrival of rains. Day
Zero forecast by the Mayor of Cape Town will be the day when 4 million
residents of the town will be required
to collect daily water rations which
would be less than 7 gallons (25 litres) for each person.
The idea of Day Zero
was introduced to focus everyone’s attention on the importance of regulating
water consumption as best as possible.
Its main features are water rationing and standing in queue to get the
ration.
India has to learn a
lesson on water conservation and usage to forestall the arrival of Day
Zero.
Some are of the
opinion that Day Zero has already arrived in India for over 100 million people
living without access to water near their homes. By 2020, Day Zero may cover most of India due
to excessive exploitation of groundwater.
Natural shortage of water is being aggravated by pilferage, wastage and
leakage. Technology for re-use of waste water and conversion of salt water into
potable water is not well developed in the country.
Depletion of
groundwater is a serious threat aggravating water famine in many cities. A NITI
Ayog report released in 2018 highlights
this problem by predicting that by 2020, 21 major cities including Delhi,
Bangaluru and Hyderabad would face complete drying up of groundwater. Pertinently,
India is a groundwater economy. It is the highest user of groundwater in the
world using 25% of total groundwater extracted globally. It is ahead of the USA and China which are
the other two major users of groundwater.
Goal 6 of the
Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN General Assembly to be achieved
during 2015-30 says that everyone on earth should have access to safe and
affordable drinking water. Climate change is likely to increase the size of the
population affected by water shortage which has already crossed 40% of people
around the world.
Besides, water
quality in India is so poor that it ranks 120 among 122 countries in quality
index. “When water is available, it is
likely to be contaminated up to 70% of our water supply”, states NITI Ayog
which reports that this would cause nearly two lakh deaths in a year. Contamination
follows shortage in the quest for some water and use of untreated water causing
water-borne diseases.
Clearly, humanity is
today facing acute overuse and pollution of water threatening the ecosystems
and health and livelihoods of billions particularly the vulnerable. The poorest are the most vulnerable.
True, water
management is generally considered as a very suitable area for people’s
participation, but even here, politics and money power may intervene. It can be organized at various points from
the grassroots as States are primary water managers in India. Social
participation should not be equated to social activism or protest movements;
nor does it mean referendums and debates.
In sum, extensive
involvement of informal associations with official committees is required and
this is happening in many parts of India. But, the tendency to resort to
litigations and court decisions and predominance of experts and engineers tend
to silence the voice of the affected people.
Social participation is political as well as economic and is subjected
to the stresses that arise from competing demands, rights, priorities and
interests.
Still, enthusiastic
social participation in water management is a reality in many countries. To
avoid the dawn of Day Zero, nation must wake up and act. ----- INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
|