India Water Crisis: Ensuring Sustainable Economic Growth through Proper Management of Resources
India is facing a new world’s historic water crisis that threatens its future development in terms of economic growth, public health, and environmental sustainability. More than 1.4 billion people and extremely fast economic growth in this country are increasing water demands day by day. This, along with the problem of mismanagement and climate change, adds water scarcity as the main factor degrading the entire nation. The crisis is, therefore, of utmost importance in determining India’s future growth’s very destiny. Water is an essential commodity upon which the agricultural sector, the industries, and the production of energy for the sector and directly for domestic purposes depend.
The Magnitude of India’s Water Crisis
Considering its country-specific situation of water-stress in being land water stressed, India, unlike a global average performance on human development, did the contrary because per capita water availability in the year 2001 had reduced from the estimated 1,820 down to less than 1,500 cubic meters every year for recent years. This report quotes the National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development that per capita availability of water in India shrunks less than 1,500 cubic meters anually. The main factors of this degradation are rapidly increasing population growth rates, sectors increasingly requiring water, and higher withdrawal levels which significantly degrade the groundwater.
The crisis is largely visible in northern and southern India wherein the shortage of water has been on an increasing trend. Rivers such as Ganges, Yamuna, and Cauvery suffer extreme pollution and low water flows that worsen the situation. Declining groundwater levels, which have, for decades, been the predominant source of irrigation and water for drinking, is already felt in many regions. The country stands at the risk of experiencing a looming crisis in terms of water shortage, with devastating effects for its economy and the well-being of its people, given the rising demand for water to this date.
Causes of Water Scarcity in India
It is responsive to various types which are contributors of Indian water crisis, like growing population, mismanagement in the use of the water resource, over-extraction of groundwater, contamination, and climatic change.
Population Growth: Population in India has been growing at a pace very high during the last few decades. Such rapid growth raises the need for water too. Along with the population growth, the demand of water also goes up in the agriculture industries and even urban centers also. The need for water increases by 50% by 2030 which is an enormous burden on already strained water resources.
Over-extraction of Groundwater: Groundwater accounts for supplying drinking water to hundreds of millions of people. However, agriculture coupled with increasing consumption in the cities pushed the extractions too high, so the very steep declines for the groundwater levels. The Central Ground Water Board says that in more than 60% districts of India, are showing a depleting trend of groundwater levels along with some other areas witness over-extraction.
Pollution: Major cause behind the water crisis in India is pollution. Water sources have been getting highly polluted because of industrial wastes, untreated sewage, and runoff from the agricultural sectors. All the rivers of India are vastly polluted and thus a considerable amount of river-based water is rendered undrinkable by industrial effluents and sewage.
Climate Change: Water scarcity in India is rising through climate change. Unpredictable patterns of rains, increasing temperatures, and drought have alerted the nation concerning its water scarcity. Irregular rains and protracted dry spells have both diminished drinking and agricultural water supply. It has put a stress on the water supply across many parts of the nation.
Impact of Water Scarcity on Economic Growth
Water scarcity is one of the major challenges to the economic growth of India. The country has more than 50 percent of its population engaged in agriculture, and it is a major vulnerability to this factor. Water used for Indian agriculture for all irrigation purposes directly hinders crop production, food security, and the farmer’s income. According to a 2020 report by an NITI Aayog, India’s water scarcity may even bring India’s GDP to as low as 6% within 2030.
The lack or inadequacy of water would also impact manufacturing as it is also used in industries for manufacturing, cooling, and generation of power. Due to this, the massive loss and unemployment of people would take place. Hydropower is going to be very seriously affected on much change in the level of reservoirs.
Water scarcity in cities is a threat to civic health and the economy. A few cities are already at critical levels such as Chennai, Bengaluru, and Delhi-affecting millions of its population. Supplying water, maintaining the infrastructure, and treating it for consumption is an expensive affair that drains the public finances and resources to other essential services.
Solutions to Sustainable Water Management
There are plenty of things to be done toward the Indian crisis that include better water management, infrastructure investment, and conservationist practices at all sectors. In a nutshell, some of the most important ones follow:
Improving Water Management: Water usage needs to be optimized in terms of efficient water-management practices such as better irrigation techniques, water recycling, and harvesting of rainwater. The practice of drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation in agriculture helps reduce
wastages of water and improves water usage.
Restoring rivers and watersheds: First of all, the pollution in rivers and watersheds needs priority attention from the government through restoration and revival of such watersheds. Improvements in decreasing pollution, providing amenities for treating wastewater, and proper implementation of the rules might restore the health of water bodies and make clean water easily available.
Groundwater recharge can be integrated besides the development of rainwater harvesting practice, aquifer recharge, and prevention of over-extraction. Government policies and incentives may stimulate more sustainable forms of water management among rural and urban communities.
There is a necessity of serious investments in the infrastructures regarding water, starting from storage and pipelines and all the way to treatment plants. Reliable supply in the context of sustainability cannot become possible without infrastructures, if one uses the concept of modern infrastructures. Here, in the case of modernization of infrastructure, leakage and a lesser loss in efficiency related to the use of water in the context of distribution cannot be present.
Public awareness and education: This problem will only be solved when the public is made aware of how important it is to conserve water and why its use must be proper. This will only be through government-sponsored campaigns, through school programs, and by educating people on responsible use of water.
Water scarcity solutions have always encompassed policy and governance in one integral component. Policies and governance reduce the scarcity of water due to their presence. There has to be such laws brought and enacted by the government in the land that will protect the source of water, manage its usage, and make an equal distribution of it. Decentralized management systems can empower local communities to turn helpful in advocating access to clean water.
Conclusion
Due to the extremely complicated nature of its water crisis, India has demanded action on different fronts to be taken as soon as possible. Extremely high pressures are being put on the country’s water resources due to an extremely high increase in the demand for water and this goes along with continued after effects of climatic change. This country’s water security is absolutely dependent on its sustainable management practice of water, infrastructural investment, and the public sensitized towards this issue. In this way, it may reach a water crisis and thus further process towards sustainable economic growth and development.
Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, 2024