Nearly 200 Constituencies Face Water Scarcity, It's Time To Debate Water Management In India

After more than seven decades of independence and 16 general elections, a good chunk of the Indian population is yet to have access to clean drinking water. If the reports by international publications surfacing every now and then are to be believed, the problem is getting worse and India is heading towards being a water-scarce country unless adequate steps are taken to improve the situation.

Here are some scary facts:

1. Nearly 600 million people face high to extreme water stress in India.

2. Seventy-five per cent of all households do not have water on the premises.

3. Seventy per cent of all the water in the country is contaminated.

These three facts showcased by ¡®Composite Water Management Index¡¯ (CWMI) by the NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) released in June last year show the magnitude of the problem. But, who would bring a solution to this problem?

Reuters

The government, of course. Therefore, with general elections around the corner, think twice before casting your vote and ask your already elected representatives why the situation has gone worse in last one decade and vote wisely to people who have the vision to ensure that your generations won¡¯t live in a water scarce country.

If India still doesn't wake up to this crisis now and tries to fathom the magnitude this crisis can attain in years to come, then it will be too late to recover. The elections are perhaps the occasion when you can choose your representative who not only raises this issue in parliament but also plays a key role in making policies that can turn tables on the depleting water table.

But sadly, the situation is far worse in states which have maximum political might.

Most severely affected states have maximum MPs to elect

According to the report, the states such Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Parts of Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are under extremely high baseline water stress which means the groundwater level in these states depleting rapidly.

CWMI, Niti Aayog

¡°Droughts are becoming more frequent, creating severe problems for India¡¯s rain-dependent farmers (~53% of agriculture in India is rain-fed). When water is available, it is likely to be contaminated (up to 70% of our water supply), resulting in nearly 200,000 deaths each year. Interstate disagreements are on the rise, with seven major disputes currently raging, pointing to the fact that limited frameworks and institutions are in place for national water governance,¡± says the report.

But UP (80), MP (29), Rajasthan (25), Bihar (40), Punjab (13), Haryana (10) and Delhi (7) account for 204 Lok Sabha seats out of 543 which speaks a lot about the electorate of these states as they despite being most affected by the crisis can also contribute maximum in bring the desired change through their vote.

Here, the voters in these states can ask their MPs what policies did they make to improve the water table and help the people get access to clean drinking water.

States with maximum MPs to elect are worse water resource management

According to Composite Water Index Scores (FY 16-17), the states which are most water-stressed are worse performers in water resource management. It means that on the one hand, the water table is depleting faster in these states, the governments in these states have fared poorly in water resource management to contain the rapid depletion of the water table by saving water.

CWMI, Niti Aayog

The state like UP, MP Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland are worst performers in water resource management.

Water scarcity is a real threat and it¡¯s the matter of survival for all of us, therefore it¡¯s time, a clear message shall be passed to people whom we elected and who run the governments that it¡¯s high time to take action and save India from being a water scarce country.

21 Indian Cities will run out of groundwater by 2020

According to the NITI Aayog report, 21 cities in India including that of Delhi, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad and Bengaluru would run out of groundwater by 2020 and it would leave roughly 100 million people grossly affected by it.

CWMI, Niti Aayog

By 2030, 40 per cent of the country's population wouldn¡¯t have access to drink water the present scenario keeps on going.

Nearly, 200,000 die every year due to lack of clean water

According to the report, around 200,000 Indians die every year because they have no access to clean water. Though at present, around 85 per cent of cities in India have access to drinking water despite most cities not having infrastructure for supplying piped water. But only 20 percent of the water supplied meet health and safety standards, the NITI Aayog report says.

ap/representational image

Now let¡¯s put this problem in perspective of the electorate of India and how the voters in India, especially voters from big states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh can make the difference via their vote in order to not only rejuvenate the water-table but also the hope for a prosper tomorrow.

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