India Spent Rs 30,000 Cr On Water Conservation In Last 5 Years To Save 60 Crore Affected People

Maintaining that India is facing a severe water crisis, Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has stated in the ongoing winter session of Parliament that the PM Narendra Modi-led ruling dispensation has spent over Rs 30,000 Crores on water conservation during the past five years alone.

The government also clarified that there is no intention to bring ¡®water¡¯ in the Concurrent List from the State List. The Minister stated on the floor of Rajya Sabha that the subject of water was kept in the State List after detailed deliberations in the Constituent Assembly and Centre is of the view to continue with the present arrangement.

Water is the right of states, and it is asserted by members during debates in Parliament but when it comes to bearing responsibility, right from cleaning rivers to the construction of dams, they want Jal Shakti Ministry to take the lead, said the minister. He added that the primary responsibility lies with the states as water is their resource.

The minister said that over Rs 30,000 crore have been spent by the government for water conservation and recharge of the groundwater in the last five years, before calling for collective efforts of the Centre and the States to tackle water issue in the country. He maintained that it is a global problem and India is also facing the heat.

According to a report titled ¡°Composite Water Management Index,¡± which was published by NITI Aayog in June 2018, India is currently undergoing its worst water crisis in history and nearly 600 million people are facing high to extreme water stress.

The report further mentions that India is placed at 120th amongst 122 countries in the water quality index, with nearly 70% of water being contaminated.

But the crisis of groundwater depletion is not the only problem India is faced with. The quality of water that residents in India¡¯s urban and metropolitan cities consume has also come under the scanner in recent years. A recent government report said that Delhi¡¯s drinking water is the worst in the country after it failed in all parameters in quality of piped drinking water.

A vast majority of the samples failed to comply with the requirements of IS 10500:2012 in one or more parameters, revealed a study conducted through the Bureau of India Standards (BIS).

Earlier last month, the minister had also told the Lower House of the Parliament that there is no proposal to make access to potable water a fundamental right. Any such proposal is not under consideration of the government, the minister said during Question Hour, while replying to a question raised by BJP MP Hema Malini. The government has, however, initiated a scheme to provide piped water to every rural household, he had said.