India's Water Crisis & Sustainable Management on World Water Day

India is facing a water shortage due to erratic and deficit winter rainfall, with major reservoirs holding only 92% of the water observed last year. This puts the country in a highly water-stressed state as it has only 4% of the world’s water resources, but is home to 18% of its population. The situation is precarious as these reservoirs act as a buffer during times of water scarcity. Also, the possibility of an El Nino phase this year could result in even less rainfall during the upcoming monsoon, further worsening the water crisis.

Climate change and insufficient infrastructure have resulted in approximately 9.1 crore Indians lacking access to safe water in 2021.

A 2019 report by NITI Aayog titled "Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)" stated that India was experiencing its worst water crisis in history. The report indicated that almost 600 million people in India face high to extreme water stress, and approximately 200,000 people die each year due to inadequate access to safe water. India ranked 120th out of 122 countries in the water quality index, with nearly 70% of water being contaminated. It is projected that the country's water demand would be twice the available supply by 2030, leading to severe scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.

A dearth of clean drinking water

Several parts of India have faced severe water shortages. Delhi officials cited a lack of raw water and high ammonia content in the Yamuna river as the cause of the scarcity of potable water in many parts of the city. In Mysuru, a damaged infrastructure led to a significant scarcity of drinking water, while in Mumbai, a week-long strike by private water tankers uncovered the city's severe dependence on them. In West Bengal's Sundarbans, political bottlenecks have led to affluent families with political ties leasing out water bodies, depriving locals of their daily water needs. Moreover, the indiscriminate encroachment of water bodies limits the amount of freshwater available and lessens the reservoirs that can catch and recharge groundwater, which is another resource that India is overexploiting.

Crisis overshadow achievements

Despite the efforts of various NGOs and other organizations, India continues to face a significant water crisis that overshadows its achievements. The government created the Ministry of Jal Shakti in May 2019 by merging the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan, launched in July 2019, followed by the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in August 2019, aims to ensure water conservation and security by providing safe drinking water to all rural households by 2024, focusing on 1592 water-stressed blocks in 256 districts.

The central government has approved 3.6 trillion rupees for providing piped water supply to every household and developing piped water supply infrastructure, reliable supply sources, water quality and treatment plants, and training and research and development.

The JJM's second phase, launched on March 22, 2021, emphasises rainwater harvesting.

According to a status report shared by the Jal Shakti Ministry in December 2021, the JJM had achieved 45.2% of its target, with states such as Goa, Telangana, and Haryana providing 100% tap water connections to all rural households.

The World Bank is supporting the Atal Bhujal Yojana, the government's national groundwater program, to improve groundwater management. This is the world's largest community-led groundwater management program, implemented in 8,220 gram panchayats across seven Indian states.