As we are celebrating World Water Day, a global event with a theme ‘waste water’, it is imperative for us to know the enormity of water scarcity in India
This World Water Day focuses on ‘waste water’. As India is experiencing acute water scarcity, it is important for us to know the current scenario of water scarcity in India.
Too much water too little to drink
There is life on earth because of water but this water is not enough to quench the thirst of people, as, according to the UNESCO estimates, the total volume of water on earth is about 1.4 billion cubic km, enough to cover the earth with a 3 km deep layer. The world’s oceans cover about three-fourths of earth’s surfaces, out of which fresh water constitutes 35 million cubic km or 2.5 per cent of the total volume. And about 24 million cubic km or 68.9 per cent is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in mountainous regions, the Antarctic and Arctic regions and another 29.9 per cent is present as ground water (shallow and deep groundwater basins up to 2,000 meters). The rest 0.3 per cent is available in form of lakes, rivers and 0.9 per cent as soil moisture, swamp water and permafrost atmosphere.
Widening gap between demand and availability of water
According to the Report by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change on ‘National Water Framework Law’,water availability per capita has been plunging in India due to expanding population. The average annual per capita water availability in 2001 and 2011 was assessed at 1,820 cubic m and 1,545 cubic m, respectively. Over this period, India’s population rose 17.6 per cent from 1.02 billion to 1.21 billion.In addition the report also found that the availability of water may decline to 1,341 cubic m and 1,140 cubic m by 2025 and 2050, respectively. This account testifies the enormity of water scarcity in India.
When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water
India has seen an alarming fall in groundwater levels as it is the largest consumer of groundwater. While 80 per cent of India’s drinking water is provided by groundwater, there is sharp 65 per cent dip in water levels in India’s wells in the last decade.
The states which witnessed this sharp plunge in ground water level includes; Uttar Pradesh, Telengana, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. While industries are overusing groundwater for commercial purpose, there is no safe potable water for the people to drink. Groundwater recharge and depleting reserves of groundwater is a serious concern that remains to be tackled.
Glaciers- Source of rivers are retreating
India’s perennial river like Ganges, Yamuna gets water from glaciers of Gangotri and Yamunotri respectively. Because of these glaciers these rivers flow throughout the length and breadth of country and fulfill the basic needs of people living along its banks.Hence these are also called lifelines of country. But with ever increasing global warming and climate change, its repercussions can already be seen in the form of retreating of glaciers.
As the snow line and glacier boundaries are sensitive to changes in climatic conditions, these glaciers release more water in drought year and less water during flood time to ensure water supply during the lean years. One scary fact related to this is that, the 67 per cent of the glaciers in the Himalayan mountain ranges have retreated in the past decade, making the problem of water scarcity worse.
Incidents of recurrent droughts
Last year many states in India witnessed drought and experienced acute water scarcity. ‘Latur’ a small town in Maharashtra made the headlines due to intense water shortage. The whole situation was so bad that government had to send special water train/ Jal Doot. Similarly, many parts of India also badly suffered the problem of water shortage.
Endnote
Nature has enough for our needs, but not for our greed. This famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi would be apt to mention here for the cause of water scarcity in the country which should be fixed before it’s too late.
Recent Posts
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)