Events & Issues
New Delhi, 11 December 2019
Right to Water
WILL NEW POLICY MEET TARGET?
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
Yet another National Water Policy is on the
anvil. The Union Water Resources Ministry has finalised a 10-member committee
under chairmanship of former member, Planning Commission and water expert Mihir
Shah, to draft it and report back within six months. The NWP currently in force
was drafted in 2012 and is the third such policy since 1987. Among the major
policy innovations in this policy was the concept of an Integrated Water
Resources Management approach that took the “river basin/sub-basin” as a unit
for planning, development and management of water resources. Obviously, it
isn’t enough.
In September, Water Resources Minister Gajendra
Singh Shekhawat announced the Centre was planning to update and make key
changes in water governance structure and regulatory framework, keeping in view
growing scarcity due to rise in water usage. A National Bureau of Water Use
Efficiency was also on the cards.
It also proposed that a portion of river
flows ought to be kept aside to meet ecological needs. Such an approach led to
the government, in 2018, requiring minimum water levels to be maintained in the
Ganga all through the year and hydropower projects, therefore, to refrain from
hoarding water beyond a point. Though the last policy had stressed for a
minimum quantity of potable water for essential health and hygiene to all its
citizens be made available within easy reach of households it hasn’t been
fulfilled.
“Inter-basin transfers are not merely for
increasing production but also for meeting basic human need and achieving
equity and social justice. Inter-basin transfers of water should be considered
on the basis of merits of each case after evaluating the environmental, economic and social impacts of such
transfers,” the policy noted.
When water management has emerged a key
issue, not just in India but other parts of the globe, there are demands for
making clean water a fundamental right. The per capita availability of
water in India has fallen almost 15% --1,816 m3 to 1,544 m3
in a decade, 2001-2011. Almost 22% of the groundwater has either dried up or is
in critical category. Moreover, given that just 30.80% of rural households and
70.60% of urban households get tap water supply — which in itself is no
guarantee of being potable considering the thriving business of water purifiers
— it’s easy to see why the government wants to avoid declaring water a
fundamental right de jure. This also makes the government’s
stated target of 90% rural households getting a tap water connection by
2022 almost an impossible task in present circumstances.
However, if one refers to certain developments and Supreme Court
judgments, the demand has justification. In 2010, India was among the 122 signatory
countries of the UN, which
recognised “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a
human right.” Not just that, it called on India, as also other countries, “to
scale up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking
water” for its population.
Moreover, the Supreme Court, through various judgments clarified that
the Right to Life, as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution, includes the right to
clean drinking water. For instance, in
the case involving Narmada Bachao Aandolan against the Union government, while
upholding the government's decision to construct dams, the apex court said “water...is
part of the right to life and human rights as enshrined in Article 21 of the
Constitution.”
However, the question is not just declaring water as a fundamental right
but providing safe drinking water to millions of citizens. Water contamination
and judicious management have been plaguing the country for long, but precious little
has done at national level. Evidently, on an average, 7 persons died due
to shortage or polluted water in 2018. In fact, between 2014 and 2018, almost
12,000 people have died due to just four water borne diseases--cholera, acute
diarrhoeal diseases (ADD), typhoid and viral hepatitis.
Contamination of water, whether of arsenic, fluoride or mercury, is a
cause of concern. Added to this is the pollution of rivers, lakes, canals from
where people in rural areas take water for drinking purposes. And it is tragic that
due to sheer lack of awareness there are lakes and ponds in backward districts
from where people use water both for bathing and drinking. According to the Ministry,
‘River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation’ 2017, six million tonnes of
chemical fertilizers and 9000 tonnes of pesticides applied to the Ganga basin’s
agricultural fields as also 260 million litres of untreated industrial
wastewater add to pollution. All these make the Ganga at Kanpur, Allahabad and
Varanasi the world’s most polluted river. Similarly, the Composite Water
Management Index developed by NITI Aayog shows that 70% of water resources are
polluted due to dumping of untreated waste water and sewage in rivers.
One cannot term India as water-deficient but most villages and/or
hamlets do not have clean ponds and environmentally-safe water storage
facilities. Moreover, the annual precipitation (rain and snowfall) is close to
1200 mm, much higher than global average of 1000-odd mm. Thus, in view of basic
hydrological, agro-climatic conditions, a scientific approach to harness and
harvest the abundant endowment of water into an utilisable resource is critical.
Rainwater harvesting, which is in place, needs to spread across the
country as a community-based participatory plan as this will possibly be the
key to solve not only water, food and energy problems but ensure sustainable
agricultural growth.
However, what is equally important is to ensure efficiency of water use
in the agriculture sector where (as per Economic Survey 2018-19) consumption is
89%. Debates are ongoing about increasing efficiency in irrigation to enable
more water availability to farmers. In fact, as per reports, the gap between
the irrigation ‘created’ and ‘utilised’ is widening. Farmers should be
encouraged to shift from paddy and wheat production, which requires huge water,
to other crops like maize, corn, ethanol etc. Even growing pulses, which is a
little deficient, would help greatly as consumption is rising rapidly.
The new policy should outline ways to reduce water use in agriculture
sector through a systematic plan. There has to be a thrust on value-added crops
that require less water so that water consumption can come down by say 8 to 9%
within 3-4 years. Also segregation of ponds, one for bathing and cleaning and
another for drinking purposes should be earmarked by immediately instructing both
panchayats and block officials.
Finally, it is an accepted fact that big dams haven’t been of much use
and the dictum of small being beautiful and useful is relevant in the case of
water. Though hydrologists may refer to Raymond Nace about his rejection of
bigness in solving water problems, our great leader, Mahatma Gandhi too had
spoken of viable small units and making each village self-sufficient. Thus, the
committee’s recommendation should concentrate on district-wise approach for
ensuring water availability to all. Then only will it become a true fundamental
right.---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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