Question : WATER MANAGEMENT

(a) whether the country is considered to be one of the poor managers of water resources;

(b) if so, whether countries like Singapore have done far better through their resources are not more than ours; and

(c) if so, the measures proposed to be taken to improve the water management of the country?

THE MINISTER OF WATER RESOURCES ( SHRI HARISH RAWAT)

(a) The problem of water management in the country gets aggravated due to uneven distribution of rainfall over space and time, rising population, urbanization and industrialization. On the basis of the population indicated in 2011 census, the per capita water availability works out to be about 1,545 cubic meter per year making India a water stressed country. According to Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator, water availability below 1,700m3 per capita per year indicates water stress condition.

(b) & (c) Singapore is a very small country with an area of 660 km2 and a highly developed economy. In land scarce Singapore, the management of land for water catchment and four national taps as main sources of water has to be delicately balanced with the requirements for socio-economic developments. These are (i) water from local water catchments, (ii) imported water from Malaysia, (iii) reclaimed water and (iv) desalinated water from the sea.

However, every country has its own unique situation and circumstances which are not comparable with others.

In India, a developing economy with a population of 1.2 billion, water is a State subject and it is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to take necessary measures to conceive, plan, implement, develop and manage water resources projects.

However, Government of India provides technical and financial assistance to State Governments to encourage sustainable development and efficient management of water resources through various schemes and programmes, namely, “Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP)”, “Command Area Development and Water Management (CAD&WM) Programme”, and “Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies”. Live storage has been enhanced from 15.6 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) at the time of independence to present level of 253.388 BCM to address large temporal variability of water. The Government is also encouraging use of micro irrigation system in water stressed area of the country to ensure optimum use of available water resources. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWA) is monitoring ground water levels throughout the country and identifies over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks, based on which the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) regulates drawal of water for industrial purposes and issues directives regarding conservation, rain water harvesting etc.

National Water Mission (NWM) has been setup with the objective of conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources management. It has been envisaged under NWM to improve efficiency of water use by 20% by the end of XII Plan.

The draft National Water Policy 2012 addresses many of the concerns in water management and has made a number of key recommendations for better water management. The policy also calls for appropriate legal and institutional arrangements for bringing about a paradigm shift in the approach to water management and water governance.

During the XII Plan, schemes like AIBP and CADWM are proposed to be strengthened keeping in view the need to bridge the gap between irrigation potential created and the irrigation potential utilized.