UPSC Express

Headline : India’s water crisis: All stakeholders must come together Editorial 29th Aug’19 HindustanTimes

Details :

Water stress in India:

• India is home to 17% of world’s population, but has only 4% of the world’s fresh water resources.
• At present, 75% of Indian households do not have access to drinking water, and close to 90% of rural households have no access to piped water.
• India is a water-stressed country, and with 1,544 cubic metre per capita annual availability, we are advancing towards becoming water-scarce.
• Five of the world’s 20 largest cities under water stress are in India.
• As per the Economic Survey 2018-19, by 2050, India will be extremely susceptible to water insecurity.

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Economic cost of environmental degradation:

• There are some other aspects that pertain to the economic cost of environmental degradation that India is faced with.
• A 2018 World Bank study pegged the cost of environmental degradation to India at approximately $80 billion per year, which amounts to around 5.7% of our GDP.
• Further, an environment survey of 178 countries ranked India at 155.
• This is extremely worrying, especially since among the BRIC nations, India ranked last.

Water management crucial for India’s future

• Water and its management will determine India’s ability to achieve high economic growth, ensure environmental sustainability, and improve the quality of life.

NITI’s Composite water management index (CWMI) tracking States’ efforts:

• State-led efforts to manage water have been assessed and shared by the NITI Aayog, which has developed the composite water management index (CWMI).
• States are ranked on the management of water and progress in 28 indicators relating to water management.

Community management of water needed:

• Community management of water will be crucial if India is to become water secure.
• For local community driven initiatives, work on community engagement has begun.

Corporations can also play a key role:

• Corporate sector has been playing a role in driving innovation in many sectors.
• Given the magnitude of the challenges India faces, there is a growing role for leading enterprises to help meet development targets.
• In water management, corporations must can a more active role in using their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts towards innovation and conservation of water, along with the dissemination of proven practices that help conserve and harness water recharge.
• Corporations should ensure that their CSR commitment and sustainability initiatives are effective and pervasive enough to make a substantial impact.

Examples of effective initiatives by corporations:

• There are flag bearers for conservation efforts among Indian and multinational corporations, and their efforts must be emulated across the board.
• ITC’s integrated water management:
  • ITC’s integrated water management approach has been a successful initiative.
  • Today, ITC’s integrated watershed development programme covers over one million acres spread across 15,000 water harvesting structures, benefiting over 300,000 people in 43 districts across 16 states.
  • This initiative has generated over six million person-days of employment within project villages, reducing levels of distress migration.
  • It is now extended to implement four large-scale river basin regeneration projects for achieving water balance and year-round environmental flows in select sub-basins in Maharastra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
  • Pilot programme on water use efficiency in agriculture:
    • In addition, a pilot programme at scale on “water use efficiency in agriculture” is also being promoted to enable effective demand-side management.
    • This initiative has yielded water savings of 20% to 45% in crops like sugarcane, wheat, rice and banana.
• Tata’s Water Mission:
  • Tata’s Water Mission aims to provide better access to pure water for six million people spread across 7,000 villages in 12 states, by 2020.
  • Key focus areas are to improve access to safe water and sanitation, and to make a difference through rigorous and technologically advanced interventions.
• Pepsico’s sustainability agenda:
  • Under its 2025 sustainability agenda, Pepsico is said to aim for a global improvement in water use efficiency in high water risk areas of its direct agricultural supply chain by 15% by 2025.
• Mahindra Hariyali programme:
  • Mahindra too is doing extensive work under its Mahindra Hariyali programme.
  • As its climate change resistance movement, the initiative is a social upsurge where tree planting is not merely a duty, but, in fact, is termed a celebration.
  • Since 2007, this initiative has achieved a target of planting 16 million saplings. 

Corporations must make water conservation and management their top CSR concern:

• Many of the CSR activities currently are geared towards water conservation and management.
• But now they need to make it a top priority rather than one of the many avenues where CSR initiatives are undertaken.

Conclusion:

• Water is a critical resource and community water management is a must.
• This will range from corporate engagement to smaller scale community initiatives, to individual efforts.
• Now, the entire ecosystem must work in a cooperative manner to ensure India’s water conservation efforts are forward-thinking, while leveraging synergies from the State, corporations, and the community as a whole.

Importance:

GS Paper III: EconomySection : Editorial Analysis