Water Woes: Saving India’s Dwindling Groundwater is Urgent

Could a new Rs 6,000 crore World Bank-backed scheme for groundwater resources help India’s water problem?

Drought-hit Latur has been sent a bill of about Rs 2 crore by Railways for water train service. (Photo: AP/Rajanish Kakade )

Did you know that India is the largest user of groundwater in the world? According to a World Bank Report, around two thirds of India’s aquifers will be in a critical condition in the next 20 years.

As India gets ready to ink a deal for a Rs 6,000-crore groundwater scheme, we take a look at India’s groundwater situation and how this new scheme could change things.

Drought-hit Maharashtra. (Photo Courtesy: Subrata Biswas/Greenpeace)

A Water-Starved Condition

Groundwater is a critical resource for our country. Over half the irrigated agricultural areas and 85% of our potable water is dependent on groundwater. This reliance on groundwater has sadly not made us more vigilant about safeguarding this resource. A 2016 World Bank report made it clear that our groundwater levels are sharply falling with over 50% of the aquifers showing a downward trend.

Worryingly, the fall in groundwater has a series of consequences:

• Over 50% of the country is already facing high to extremely high water stress.
• Groundwater is our insurance in years where rainfall is below expected levels.
• Over-drawing of groundwater has led to the available groundwater becoming contaminated by high levels of arsenic and fluoride. On top of that, the groundwater available in many parts of the country is severely polluted.
• Climate change is expected to wreak havoc with water levels – if we don’t put sensible precautionary plans in place now, trying to repair the damage later will be close to impossible.

A file photo of residents filling drinking water in containers from a government water tanker. (Photo: Reuters)

The National Groundwater Management Improvement Programme

Partly funded by a World Bank loan, this Rs 6,000-crore scheme has the ambitious goal of “sustainable management of groundwater by addressing supply as well as demand side to reduce groundwater consumption.”

The main features of the scheme are:

• The project will be implemented between 2017 and 2022.
• It especially focuses on the “dark zones” in the country. Dark zones are areas where over-exploitation of groundwater is acute and where the withdrawal of water exceeds the recharge. The dark zone problem is visible across the country – Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are just some of the states facing the dark zone crisis;
• The scheme won’t replace existing water programmes, but will be integrated with them;
• It will look at both infrastructure and policy aspects in an effort to tackle the problem holistically. Thus, it will aim to not just build more rainwater-harvesting units, but also look at policy issues like the monoculture cropping profile in India and the reasons for irrigation inefficiencies in the country.

The Marathwada drought has earlier resulted in a shocking number of farmer suicides (Photo: PTI)

Groundwater: The Legal Framework

In India, the current legal regime gives ownership of groundwater to the owner of the land below which the water flows. Given that water cannot, by its very nature be thought of in a piece-meal manner, this creates huge problems for its management.

Water is also a state subject in India and there are a large number of different state laws dealing with different aspects of water and water management. While this has the advantage of being sensitive to local diversity and socio-economic conditions, it can be inimical for a planned and coordinated water conservation effort. Recognising the need for a harmonious water management framework, the Centre has published Model Bills for states to use in drafting their own laws.

Importantly, there is a fundamental right to water in India. Several cases before the Supreme Court has now established water as a part of the Right to Life under Article 21.

A farmer looks towards the sky, while standing amidst his drought-stricken crop. Image used for representation. (Photo: Reuters)

Conclusion

A number of factors have contributed to this crisis and it’s hard to pin the blame on any one culprit – of course, this means that solving the issue of groundwater exploitation just got that much harder!

It is important to remember, however, that groundwater conservation involves both top-down and bottom-up solutions. It’s critical to involve local communities in stewarding water resources and to avoid a one-size fits all approach towards conservation methods.

(Shalini Iyengar is an environmental lawyer and Faculty at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology)