Water management index: NITI AAYOG

 Background:-

• Decades of the mismanagement of resources, a lack of awareness about the need for conserving fresh water, an absence of a well-thought-out water conservation policy, coupled with the menace of a population explosion and the public’s general indifference towards keeping our rivers and lakes clean have lead to water crisis in India.
• India is suffering from the worst water crisis in its history and around 600 million people face a severe water shortage, according to a government think tank.
• Approximately 200,000 people die every year due to inadequate access to clean water and it’s only going to get worse as 21 cities are likely to run out of groundwater by 2020.
• By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply.

Composite water management Index:-

• CWMI has been developed by NITI Aayog comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects of ground water, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance
• According to the Composite Water Management Index developed by Niti Aayog, 70% of the water resources are identified as polluted. This is based primarily on data supplied by States for calculating the index.
• The system of ratings for States is based on their performance in augmenting water resources and watersheds, investing in infrastructure, providing rural and urban drinking water, and encouraging efficient agricultural use.
• States such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab and Telangana have initiated reforms for judicious water use, while populous ones such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have failed to respond to the challenge.

How does it benefit:-

• Awarding an index rank should help advance such schemes, making States feel the need to be competitive.
• Composite water management index’s ranking of states/UTs will ensure that principle of competitive and cooperative federalism is actualised in India’s water management system.
• It will help build pressure on states who have not performed well to improve their water management techniques as this is directly linked to agriculture prosperity in different states.
• It can be also utilised to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.
• It will provide useful information for States and also for concerned Central Ministries and Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.
• The CWMIis an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources.

What it will not be able to do:-

Such approaches may not resolve seemingly intractable inter-State river disputes.

What more needs to be done?

Technical measures:-

• Need urgent measures like augmentation of watersheds that can store more good water, for use in agriculture and to serve habitations, and strict pollution control enforcement.

Administrative:-

• Mihir Shah committee has called for a user-centric approach to water management, especially in agriculture. It advocates decentralisation of irrigation commands, offering higher financial flows to well-performing States through a National Irrigation Management Fund.
• Pervasive groundwater governance may optimistically lead to possibilities of transforming the country from a ‘groundwater-deficient’ to ‘groundwater sufficient’ nation.
  Another important issue that needs to be addressed, particularly in urban areas, is the leakage of pipes providing water. Putting in place an efficient piped supply system has to be top on the agenda of policymakers and planners.

International solutions:

Israel - Today, Israel is the most efficient to handle water crisis by adopting innovative technologies, dedicating its greater resources and social consciousness to the water crisis.
Waste water recycling
In many countries waste water is not treated at all, polluting rivers and oceans. Whereas in Israel, nearly 85% of the sewage water is recycled and reused for agriculture.

Peru- 

• Fog Catcher
• It is an invention which traps water drops from fog.

Other measures needed are :-

• Rain water harvesting
• Both in urban and rural areas, digging of rainwater harvesting pits must be made mandatory for all types of buildings.
• Restoring and maintaining water bodies by reviving traditional storage systems:-
• In the ancient past, different types of indigenous water harvesting systems were developed across the subcontinent and such systems need to be revived and protected at the local level. Micro irrigation practices like drip and sprinkler systems have to be promoted in a big way for efficient use of water for agriculture.
• Growing tress
• Mandatory Water recycling in all the apartments, industries and textiles.
• Reusing the waste water from RO. During RO purification process nearly 70% water gets wasted. We can store and reuse it.
• Revolutionize the agriculture practice .
• Creating social awareness among the people about effective usage of water.
• Conscious efforts need to be made at the household level and by communities, institutions and local bodies to supplement the efforts of governments and non-governmental bodies in promoting water conservation.
• Sustained measures should be taken to prevent pollution of water bodies, contamination of groundwater and ensure proper treatment of domestic and industrial waste water.

By: SONAM SHEORAN