India is facing a severe water crisis, with per capita water availability expected to fall to 1,367 cubic metres per year by 2030, according to the Jal Shakti Ministry. The statistic, shared in response to a Rajya Sabha question by Aam Aadmi Party MP Balbir Singh, highlights the looming water stress, defined as anything below 1,700 cubic metres per capita.Singh referred to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report that listed 30 Indian cities facing water scarcity by 2050 and raised concerns about Bengaluru, where water shortages have already affected educational institutions.
The Jal Shakti Ministry cited projections by the Central Water Commission (CWC), which predicted an even worse scenario with annual per capita water availability falling to 1,228 cubic metres by 2050. The ministry stressed that water resources management is a state-level responsibility, with the Centre providing technical and financial support. The ministry has launched various initiatives to improve water availability, such as the Jal Jeevan Mission, which will connect 11.78 million rural households to the water supply network between 2019 and 2024. However, progress is uneven across States. Arunachal Pradesh boasts of 100% domestic water supply, while West Bengal and Rajasthan lag behind with coverage of 50% and 51%, respectively. The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, launched in 2021, aims to improve urban water infrastructure with a budget of Rs 39,011 crore. Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catching Rain Scheme (JSA-CRS), operational from 2021 to 2024, focuses on rainwater harvesting and water conservation, in sync with other schemes like MGNREGS and AMRUT. Despite these initiatives, progress has been uneven.
Delhi has completed only 111 rainwater harvesting projects and 35 traditional water bodies reclamation projects since 2021, with no reuse and regeneration projects or river basin development projects. On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have implemented hundreds of such projects. WWF’s 2020 report lists 100 cities around the world, home to 350 million people, as high risk, including 30 in India, such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Indore, Mumbai and Kolkata. The recent floods in Old Rajendra Nagar, Delhi and severe floods in Bengaluru highlight the twin challenges of water scarcity and managing excess water. These incidents highlight the urgent need for effective urban water management solutions.