Water Security in India: Hope, despair, and the challenges of human development 9781501302343, 9781441189523

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Preface Water is the elixir of life and a building block of mother earth. Only when taps run dry does one realize how critical access to water is for human survival. In less prosperous countries of South Asia, like India and its neighbors, millions of people need no such reminder. People walk miles every single day in search of water that they need to carry home to run their households and save their families from thirst and hunger. Yet the challenge of maintaining the sustainable use of this natural resource has not received the primacy it deserves. As India continues to grow and transform from agricultural to technoindustrial economy, the pace of economic development has continued with little regard for the carrying capacity of its natural resource base. The demand for water has increased with the surge in population, industrialization, and urbanization. With degrading farmland, little available freshwater, and increasing energy demands in an industrializing economy, India stands at the threshold of environmental insecurity. The challenges to mitigate the ill impacts of climate change at this point in time are also looming large for policy makers and institutional bodies. A comprehensive analysis of these issues and their interconnectedness to security is essential to meet these human and developmental challenges. The ensuing book weaves these issues into a narrative that encompasses the paramount significance of this resource for life, livelihood, ecology, and security. In this book, we as authors have chosen to explain water security as an approach based on the concept of human security (a buzzword in the security literature) to counterbalance the competitive behavior of the statecentric approach of conventional security and focus on people as the referent object of security. In this approach, the scale of concern is local: it is the individual, not the state, who is to be secured from the risk that arises from environmental change. So, we begin where the traditional security emphasis ends. Our emphasis on water security emerges from environmental security, a subset of human security, which arose as a result of the changes in strategic circumstances at the end of the cold war and as a broadening of the nontraditional human security approach. The book focuses on the interactions between the people and the environment, in this case, water, and the insecurities that arise out of these interactions. The entities to be secured

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are water and the people, both of which are components of the natural environment; the source of risk is from human activity and environmental/ water change, and the scale of concern is local and specifically focused on water ecosystems. Therefore within human/environmental security interpretations, our concern is not the nation-state but the changes in the natural environment that affect the individual. While the linkage between water and its security implications has been a matter of great concern and contestation among academicians and experts in the security discourse, there is, however, a consensus that as climate changes and the dynamics of demographic pressures and resource scarcity increase in the foreseeable future, the chances of a water-insecure world should not be underestimated. In addition, given the geostrategic environment in which India is placed as a regional hegemon, one needs to acknowledge the importance of water from a national security perspective due to the legacy of partition, historical rivalries, and trust deficit that makes water issues in this part of the world sometimes intractable and a source of regional tension. However, violence over water is an irrational and ineffective means by which to address the development challenges that contemporary India faces if it is to create a water-secure world. The authors believe that efforts should be made on the regional level to enhance our understanding of the potential to be a part of an integrated ecosystem that encompasses issues of equity and sustainable development. Water Security in India: Hope, Despair, and Challenges of Human Development addresses these issues head-on, analyzing the challenges that contemporary India faces if it is to create a water-secure world, and providing a hopeful, though guarded, road map to a future in which India’s life-giving and life-sustaining fresh and marine water resources are safe, clean, plentiful, and available to all, secured for the people in a peaceful and ecological manner. A word of thanks is due to all those people and institutions whose support, input, and knowledge have helped the authors to complete this book. The authors are grateful in particular to Eastern Washington University, Office of the Provost, Office of the Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Social Work, and the Government and International Affairs Program for the support extended to complete this project. Thanks are also due to Professor Geoffrey Gooch, Director, UNESCO Center for Water Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee, Scotland, for providing facilities and access to a wide variety of resources that contributed to the completion of this project. A special word of thanks to Richard A. Matthew, professor at the School of Social Ecology, and the founding director, Center for Unconventional Security Affairs, University of California, Irvine, for being a gracious host and for his insightful comments and suggestions on the draft chapters that helped us improve upon the final manuscript. I would also

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like to acknowledge the Central Water Commission and Water Resources Information System (WRIS) of India for granting the permissions to use the maps in the book. The book could not have been complete without the help of Gail Hapke, who assisted in editing the drafts, and Manisha Sinha, in drawing the figures and tables.

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Foreword Richard Matthew, PhD

According to a 2013 report by UN-Water, “Water security is … the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability” (http://www.unwater.org/topics/ water-security/en/). That same year, the Worldwatch Institute released a report asserting that 2.8 billion people currently are experiencing water insecurity, a number it predicts will increase dramatically in the next decade (http://vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/vs-trend/looming-threat-water-scarcity). These are articulate and influential examples of the widespread and growing concern that water security has become the predominant challenge of the twenty-first century. This fear has considerable empirical support. On the one hand, water is critical to human well-being and security, as well as to poverty eradication and economic development. It is intimately interconnected with other fundamental resources such as energy and food. And it is essential for the provision of the many ecosystem goods and services that humans and other species require in order to survive and flourish. When water is polluted or unavailable, core needs suffer, as there is no substitute for it. Unfortunately, through a wide range of human activities, water quality is being degraded worldwide, and the intricate hydrological cycle that is the backbone of water dispersion and earth systems’ stability is being intensified and distorted. Hence, for example, as many as half of the people living today have been directly affected by flood and drought. The genius of the past is becoming the folly of the present as we bear witness to the many adverse impacts resulting from the vast quantities of human, agricultural, and industrial waste that have been displaced over the past fifty years into bodies of water that must once have appeared fathomless. Simultaneously, we are seeing the inefficiencies and other structural weaknesses of sewage, drainage, and irrigation systems that were not designed to endure the contemporary pressures of rapid urbanization

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and spiraling human demand. Add to this that the momentum already imparted to population growth, urbanization, economic development, and climate change means that these drivers of water insecurity are likely to intensify for decades, and it is not surprising that water has moved onto the agendas of high politics, business strategy, public health, and social justice. Of course, there are other issues—drug-resistant pathogens, asteroid strikes, nuclear war, and the like—that might come to define the greatest challenges of this century, but even in these cases, water will play a significant role, and its scarcity will everywhere amplify suffering. And so we find ourselves on the eve of the Hydrocene, an era in which the well-being of humankind depends in great measure on the resourcefulness we bring to managing the planet’s most abundant resource. While every region of the planet should and must contribute to resolving this challenge, for the next several decades, South Asia may be the linchpin of humanity’s collective effort. Here some 25 percent of the planet’s population survives on a mere 3 percent of its land surface, and water insecurity is widespread and growing. In the past year, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change all have released reports describing groundwater depletion, erratic monsoons, recurrent droughts, and more extensive storms and flooding across South Asia. Expected changes in water availability could threaten the region’s agricultural economies, place pressure on rapidly growing urban areas, impose constraints on economic development, amplify and introduce public health challenges, compel governments to use scarce funds to manage disasters, and contribute to corruption, institutional breakdown, and violent conflict from the level of rural village to the level of subcontinent. Against this background, analysts typically conclude that stronger policies are needed to bring the several countries in this turbulent region together to collectively address the factors causing water stress, to ensure that new sources of water stress do not emerge or grow too large, and to manage the mounting social effects of water insecurity. This is no doubt sound advice, but it is based almost entirely on observations made from a bird’s-eye perspective—from that perspective in which the proximity of China, the existence of nuclear weapons and large standing armies, and decades-old territorial disputes inevitably monopolize attention, and shape explanation and prescription. But as critically important as this type of big picture analysis is, much is lost when our sensing is largely remote. The water coursing through this vast region of ancient agricultural economies and accelerated industrial and post-industrial production triggers tension and innovation at many scales. Until now, however, a richly detailed and analytically compelling picture, crafted at ground level, has not been readily available. This remarkable book is a major step toward filling that gap. I say major step in part because this is the story of water security in India, as opposed to all of South Asia. India does, however, contain about three-

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fourths of the region’s land and people, and so this story tells us a great deal about water security in the subcontinent. The authors, Vandana Asthana and A. C. Shukla, have a particularly deep and intimate knowledge of water in the region, knowledge that unites the rigor of impartial academic research with the experiences and familiarity that can only come from being insiders. In this case, the combination works exceedingly well, and the result is a study that is thoughtful, compelling, and informative. The story begins with a discussion of the concept of water security, followed by a detailed inventory of India’s water resources. In Part II, the authors examine in detail the many factors contributing to water insecurity in India—from wildly inefficient agricultural practices to the virtually unchecked growth in demand for water that is linked to high-speed rates of industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. The real and potentially devastating effects of climate change are discussed, as are a wide range of institutional and policy weaknesses, flaws, and failures. The book concludes with five measured chapters on achieving water security. These chapters capture well the study’s unifying theme of hope and despair. Throughout Part III, the authors display a fine-grained appreciation of the opportunities for—and threats to—making progress through privatizing water, improving or resolving intrastate and state–federal tensions and relations, developing a more robust and effective framework for regional cooperation, and improving water management systems by instilling into them greater adaptive capacity. I have had the opportunity to carry out field research on environmental challenges in South Asia off and on for almost twenty years. My personal experiences have persuaded me that effective solutions can only be imagined—and successfully implemented—when they are based on a dialectic that enables a shared grasp of how innovation, equity, hardship, and aspiration are experienced and understood by people operating at different scales—from local to global—of human motivation and activity. In this sense, this book agrees with my own academic instincts and commitments. But it is a far more sophisticated engagement than anything that I have been able to achieve, and I have learned a great deal from reading this study. I have learned much about water in India, both as the form of capital that India identified and harnessed to support its rapid economic development and as the matrix in which rich spiritual and cultural values and beliefs are embedded, and through which they remain powerful and accessible. I learned much about the enormous challenges India faces to achieve water security for a fifth of the world’s population, and also much about the reasons why we may feel hopeful that it will succeed in this quest. I finished the study with a far deeper appreciation of how readily we search in South Asia for regional solutions before fully assessing the enormous opportunities for progress that lie within the state. I thoroughly

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enjoyed—and I respect—the author’s balanced analysis at both domestic and regional levels. This book does what good scholarship should do. It adds to our knowledge, improves our understanding, and provides empirically grounded suggestions for addressing issues that are important and that require careful, objective analysis. I am honored to introduce it to the many readers who understand—or soon will understand—just how important India and South Asia are likely to be to the fate of humankind in the twenty-first century. Richard A. Matthew (BA, McGill; PhD, Princeton) is a professor at the University of California at Irvine, and the founding director of the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs (www.cusa.uci.edu).

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Acronyms

ADB

Asian Development Bank

AIBP

Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program

ARWSP

Accelerated Rural Water Supply Program

ATMs

Automated Teller Machines

BBMB

Bhakra Beas Management Board

bcm

Billion Cubic Meters

BDR

Bangladesh Rifles

BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BOD

Biochemical Oxygen Demand

BOO

Build, Own, Operate

BOOT

Build, Own, Operate, Transfer

BSF

Border Security Force

CEPI

Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index

CETP

Common Effluent Treatment Plant

CGWB

Central Ground Water Board

CII

Confederation of Indian Industries

COD

Chemical Oxygen Demand

CPCB

Central Pollution Control Board

CPIM

Community Participation in Irrigation Management

cm Centimeter CSE

Center for Science and Environment

CUPS

Control of Urban Pollution Series

CWC

Central Water Commission

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ACRONYMS

CWINC Central Waterways Irrigation and Navigation Commission DALY

Disability-Adjusted Life Year

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DDWS

Department of Drinking Water Supply

DFID

The Department for International Development

DO

Dissolved Oxygen

DPR

Detailed Project Report

GAP

Ganga Action Plan

GBM Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna GBB Ganga–Brahmaputra–Barak GDP

Gross Domestic Product

GEMS

Global Environmental Monitoring System

GOI

Government of India

GWDT

Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal

GWH

Gigawatt Hours, unit of energy

GWP

Global Water Partnership

ha Hectare HYV

High Yielding Varieties

IAR

India Assessment Report

ICARM

Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management

IIM

Indian Institute of Management

IL&FS

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited

INTACH

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage

IRWD Act

Interstate River Water Disputes Act

ISRO

Indian Space Research Organization

IWMI

Integrated Water Management Institute

IWRM

Integrated Water Resource Management

JNNURM

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

JRC

Joint River Commission

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km Kilometer KWDT

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal

LPCD

Liters per Capita per Day

LPG

Liquid Petroleum Gas

MAF

Million Acre Feet

MCM

Million Cubic Meters

MGD

Million Gallons a Day

mha

Million Hectares

mhm Million Hectare Meters, unit to measure reservoir capacity MINARS

Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources

MLD

Million Liters a Day

mm Millimeter MNCs

Multinational Corporations

MDGs

Millennium Development Goals

MOA

Ministry of Agriculture

MOEF

Ministry of Environment and Forests

MORD

Ministry of Rural Development

MOU

Memorandum of Understanding

MOWR

Ministry of Water Resources

MPN

Most Probable Number

MW

Megawatts, measure of energy

NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NCIWRD National Commission on Integrated Water Resource Development NCR

National Capital Territory

NCS

National Conservation Strategy

NDMP

National Disaster Management Plan

NGO

Nongovernmental Organizations

NGRBA

National Ganga River Basin Authority

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NHPC

National Hydropower Commission

NIUA

National Institute of Urban Affairs

NLCP

National Lake Conservation Plan

NOIDA

New Okhla Industrial Development Authority

NRAP

National River Action Plan

NRCD

National River Conservation Directorate

NRCP

National River Conservation Plan

NREGS

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

NRHM

National Rural Health Mission

NSSO

National Sample Survey Organization

NUSP

National Urban Sanitation Policy

NWC

National Water Commission

NWDA

National Water Development Agency

NWP

National Water Policy

OEFC

Overseas Economic Corporation Fund

PIM

Participatory Irrigation Management

PRIs

Panchayat Raj Institutions

PSP

Private Sector Participation

PPP

Public–Private Partnerships

PTI

Press Trust of India

RFSTE Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology ROIC

Report of the Irrigation Commission

SAARC

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SACEP

South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme

SESA

State of South Asia Environment

SMEs

Small and Medium Enterprises

SPCBs

State Pollution Control Board

SSIs

Small Scale Industries

SYL

Sutlej Yamuna Link

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ACRONYMS

TC

Total Coliform

TBS

Tarun Bharat Sangh

TDS

Total Dissolved Solids

TERI

The Energy and Resources Institute

TMC ft

Thousand Million Cubic Feet

TOI

Times of India

TSS

Total Suspended Solids

ULBs

Urban Local Bodies

UN

United Nations

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNEP

United Nations Environment Programme

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UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UPPCB

Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board

USAID

United States Agency for International Development

WB

World Bank

WCD

World Commission on Dams

WHO

World Health Organization

WLC

Water Liberation Campaign

WMO

World Meteorological Organization

WRIS

Water Resource Information System

WUAs

Water User Associations

WWF

World Wildlife Fund

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CHAPTER ONE

Introducing the concept: Water security The end of the cold war and the disintegration of the Soviet Union brought about a shift from excessive preoccupation with military engagements and the east–west struggle. Scholars began to shift their attention away from the established approaches of international relations and security studies that had long focused on borders, war, and weapons. There has been a renewed interest in security studies, and the core issue of what is to be secured, and how, has come to occupy our thoughts (Collins, 2007). A narrow, conventional point of view has emphasized national security, where the state is the object to be secured and the way to secure it is through military power, via realist or liberal means. The goal of security studies has therefore been closely tied to the defense of a state’s sovereign interest through organized force. “At its most fundamental level, the term security has meant the effort to protect a population and territory against organized force while advancing state interests through competitive behaviour” (Dabelko and Dabelko, nd). This state-centered form of analysis has dominated international relations since the end of World War II, when the discipline started to assert its own autonomous identity. New thinking about security emerged only in the late 1980s, challenging the dominance of this traditional approach in the national security literature to include the alternative approaches of peace studies, critical security studies, human security and the securitization model for the study of security. Further, an effort was made to broaden the scope of security to include nonmilitary and nontraditional elements, such as societal, environmental, and economic security, in an increasingly global and interdependent world. Security studies has come to be regarded as a “contested concept” because “the meaning of security is not an ontological given but changes across time” (Weaver, 1995), and it therefore has a different meaning in every tradition within security studies. The differences in determining who or what is to be secured, and against whom, have been in the forefront of the debates in security studies. But as Collins (2007: 5), in

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his book Contemporary Security Studies, remarks, “It may be that you find the traditional explanation of how security can be achieved and conceived more convincing, which is fine so long as you reach that conclusion with an understanding of other approaches. Alternative approaches to traditional/ national security literature are characterized under peace studies, critical security studies, gender security and human security.” The changing conceptions of security are part of the larger transformation in the way the working of the international system is perceived. The statecentric security discourse, especially, is barely valid and cannot adequately capture the fundamental problems of security facing the bulk of the population in developing countries. For the millions of people in South Asia, efforts at ensuring state security hold little meaning as long as they are steeped in poverty, lack water access and sanitation, and face hunger, malnutrition, and illiteracy. When their very survival is at stake and their physical surroundings and economic base are severely threatened by resource depletion and environmental degradation, and their daily life is affected by conflict and strife, the concept of national security in its traditional military sense ultimately loses its salience. The trajectory of change in this part of the world needs to move from security through arms to security through sustainable development and from an exclusive stress on territorial security to a much greater stress on human security. This chapter introduces the debates on human and environmental security (of which water is a subset) to lay the theoretical framework for understanding India’s water security challenges.

Theoretical framework The transition from a realist perception of security in international relations to a more novel approach began with the presentation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Report in 1994. Human security became the new referent for security in the discipline, focusing on “the individual, requiring cooperation among the various actors in the international community, including governments, international organizations and civil society” (MOFA, 1999). The UNDP Report described human security as a condition in which people are given relief and safety “from such chronic threats as hunger, disease and repression. And second it means protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily life—whether in homes, in jobs or in communities” (1994: 23). Its perspective was reinforced in a 2003 report, “Human Security Now,” released by the International Commission on Human Security. The emergence of this concept can be attributed to the renewed focus on issues of human development and poverty relief, now that it is possible to move human and financial resources away from the cold war military and a traditional security agenda that

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emphasized external threats in the dynamics of a bipolar world. Human security, therefore, was seen as essential for human development; without minimal stability and security in daily life, there could be no development— human or otherwise (Suhrke, 1999). In other words, “Human security relates to the protection of the individual’s personal safety and freedom from direct and indirect threats of violence. The promotion of human development and good governance, and when necessary, the collective use of sanctions and force are central to managing human security” (Bajpai, 2000). Defined in more generic terms, human security encompasses human development, secured food and water, employment, and environmental security. Fundamentally, it encompasses the security of people against threats to life, health, human dignity, and personal safety and grants them freedom from want, deprivation, and violence. Thus, human security has a preventive, integrative, and intergenerational aspect that contrasts sharply with its insular, aggressive, and myopic national counterpart (Khan, 2003: 69) as human well-being is linked with a sustainable development process that is expected to be efficient, equitable, and distributive. In Migration, Globalization and Human Security, Graham and Poku examine the concept as follows: Rather than viewing security as being concerned with ‘individuals qua citizens’ (that is, toward their states), our approach views security as being concerned with “individuals qua persons.” … Human security is concerned with transcending the dominant paradigmatic orthodoxy that views critical concerns of migration—recognitions (i.e., citizenship), basic needs (i.e., sustenance), protection (i.e., refugee status), or human rights (legal standing)—as problems of interstate politics and consequently beyond the realm of the ethical and moral. (2000: 17) Thus human security refers to the security of the individual in his environment, community, and surroundings. As Leaning and Arie explain, Human security is an underlying condition for sustainable development. It results from the social, psychological, economic, and political aspects of human life that in times of acute crisis or chronic deprivation protect the survival of individuals, support individual and group capacities to attain minimally adequate standards of living, and promote constructive group attachment and continuity through time. Its key measurable components can be summarized as: a sustainable sense of home; constructive social and family networks; and an acceptance of the past and a positive grasp of the future … . (2000: 37) Critics, however, observe that while “the discourse in human security has become dominant in international policy circles, it has had so little impact

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on policy outcome” (Chandler, 2008: 428). One of the reasons cited by Wilson Centre’s Geoffrey Dabelko is that the field of human security is still peripheral to the overall scope of military planning. He makes the argument that it is not about replacing traditional approaches but diversifying into other approaches. Others like David Welch, professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, echo the concern that the concept of human security is not specific enough. The approach is “so expansive as to reduce the concept to a synonym for ‘any bad thing’” (Monahagan, 2008). Richard Matthew, professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at the University of California, Irvine, stated that the concept of human security is important as a lens that sharpens interdisciplinary work. It’s about how to bring together economic, ethical, environmental, and governance elements “to bring people dignity when things fall apart” (Monahagan, 2008). However, the scholarly debate on the merits and demerits of the concept should not discount the importance and privilege that human security is accorded in the international relations literature as a meaningful policy norm. Human security has seven major components as identified in the UNDP Report of 1994 comprising economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security. Environmental security emerged as an important concept in security studies with the growth of environmental consciousness and the rise of environmentalism that began in the developed world in the 1960s. While environmental security carved a niche for itself in the 1990s, the genesis of the concept can be traced back to the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring that explained the impact of DDT, a pesticide on animals and food chain raising the awareness of environmental issues for the first time. The Limits to Growth argument (Meadows et al., 1972) and the international oil crisis of the 1970s also raised the awareness that we exist in a finite world where resources are limited. Among the other attempts to engage in this debate were Richard Falk’s Endangered Planet and Harold and Margaret Sprout’s Towards a Politics of Planet Earth, which argued that the international political system needs to comprehend and collectively respond to common environmental problems, as they pose threats to national well-being and international peace (Collins, 2007: 185). Lester Brown’s Worldwatch Paper, entitled Redefining National Security, highlighted the inability of military resources to manage environmental problems: “Neither bloated military budgets nor highly sophisticated weapons systems can halt deforestation or solve the firewood crisis” (1977: 37). However, it was not until 1983 that Richard Ulman’s article attempted to redefine security, with the idea that environmental change can be a cause of armed conflict, although Ulman conceded that it was difficult to incorporate a concern for nonmilitary threats into the security approach of a world dominated by cold war rivalry and national security concerns; but he also

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contended that these issues such as competition over resources, population growth in developing nations, and transboundary migration could result in insecurity and conflict. In his opinion, A threat to national security is an action or sequence of events that: (1) threatens drastically and over a relatively brief period of time to degrade the quality of life for the inhabitants of a state or (2) threatens significantly to narrow the range of policy choices available to the government of a state or to private, non-governmental entities (persons, groups, corporations) within the state. (1983: 133) In the foreword to a literature review on the subject, Mark Halle (2000: 1) pointed out that “the relationship between environment and security feels right. It seems intuitively correct to assume a direct correlation between environmental degradation on the one hand and social disruption and conflict on the other.” While this idea is not without controversy, there exists a sizeable literature that places environmental concerns as a central issue on the security agenda. Environmental security carved a niche for itself in the 1990s and created the intellectual and policy space for itself to enter the mainstream area of security as one of the “new” security issues (Dalby, 1992). A literature review in this area reveals that the discourse on environment and security is an area of rich and lively debate that has earned scholarly and policy salience (Najam, 2003). Two schools of thought figure prominently in this discourse (1) Environmental Change and Violent Conflict and (2) Environmental Change and Human Security.

Environmental change and violent conflict This school of thought seeks to answer the critical question of whether environmental change contributes to armed conflict. Its predominant focus has been to reveal causal links between environmental degradation and violent conflict. Various case studies by Gurr (1985), Timberlake and Tinker (1985), Westing (1986), Myers (1987), Libiszewsk (1992), Boge (1992), Homer Dixon (1991, 1994), Peter Gleick (1991, 1993), and others have tried to demonstrate that resource scarcity is a contributing factor to interstate conflict. The literature on resource scarcity provides evidence for introducing the element of nonmilitary threats into the modern conception of security. Food, water, and oil are examples of resource scarcity that play an important role in precipitating a conflict. In the early writings of this school Myers (1987) linked population growth, environmental change, and violent conflict although he argued that the links between them are not straightforward. Poverty in developing countries and technology in developed countries

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constitute critical variables in the process. Gleick (1991) argued that there were clear connections between environmental degradation and violence where resources could be strategic goals or tools, while resource inequalities could trigger conflicts. The pioneer work of Homer Dixon in the Toronto Project (1991) uses selective case studies in the developing world (e.g. South Africa and Pakistan) to demonstrate how environmental change leads to conflict. However, this link alone could not directly substantiate the causal connection between environmental change and conflict. Homer Dixon’s theory was critiqued for lacking evidence to support the scarcity/conflict theory. Additionally, though, Homer Dixon (1991) cited variables including ethnicity, class, religious structures, and regime legitimacy that mediated this relationship. He argued that environmental scarcity could result in a diffuse form of subnational conflict that would lead to ethnic and religious clashes, civil strife, and internal strife among populations affected by these scarcities, thus threatening livelihood and economic production (Homer Dixon, 1994: 39). This civil strife could affect state stability internally, and forced migrations of environmentally vulnerable populations could lead to interstate conflicts. Critics argued that he downplayed natural factors like climate change and ozone depletion that would also be the driving factors in the future. The literature in this school has evolved over the years to redefine the paradigm of security, focusing principally on the potential of environmental change to generate and/or amplify conflict. More specifically, it links scarcity of resources such as food, water, and oil to direct conflict. In other words, environmental resource scarcity and degradation, resulting from environmental change, cause environmental stress. The consequences of environmental stress include poverty, food and water insecurity, poor health conditions, displacement, and disruption of the social and political institutions, which then contribute to conflict under a certain set of unfavorable contextual factors. These contextual factors comprise economic vulnerability and resource dependency; institutional, socioeconomic, and technological capacity; cultural and ethno-political factors; patterns of perceptions, violence-potential and internal security structures; political instability; international interaction, and mechanisms of conflict resolution (Lietzmann and Vest, 1999). These factors are influenced by environmental change, causing social, economic, political, and demographic consequences, which in turn affect security. Antecedent political and economic variables also represent the necessary and sufficient conditions that are truly responsible for the conflict (Brock, 1992; Lipschutz and Holdren, 1990). The other approach in the environmental change and violent conflict research seeks to learn from peaceful responses to environmental change rather than conflict. The focus of this research has been to emphasize cooperation between states over shared water resources like rivers and seas (Conca and Dabelko, 2002). This literature highlights the idea that

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cooperation among states and groups is also an outcome of common environmental problems. Detailed field based study of places that have experienced environmental problems and violent conflict is another way of approaching the literature of this school of thought. For example, inadequate distribution of wealth and returns from resource extraction has led to violence in West Kalimantan (Peluso and Horwell, 2001) and the Niger Delta (Watts, 2001). The case studies, however, show a range of intervening variables of economic, political, and cultural nature that produce and sustain power that cause violent conflict than actual material environmental change that take place (Collins, 2007). The dominant literature in the field thus concedes that environmental change is not an immediate cause of conflict but it can be an exacerbating and aggravating factor leading to conflict. Finally, there are others like Duedney (1991), who bases his case against linking environmental degradation as a security issue on the argument that in a highly interdependent world, given the likelihood of technological innovation and an efficient trading system, alternatives for resource scarcity might mitigate some of the challenges of acute environmental conflict. In “Environmental Security: A Critique,” he argues that environmental problems are conceptually unlike national security problems that focus on external aggression and therefore it is dangerous to use the language of security to these problems. There are others who are also concerned about environmental degradation as a major issue but oppose the redefinition of security (Bruyninckx, 1993; Conca, 1994; Dalby, 1992, 1994; Diebert, 1995).

Environmental change and human security An emerging trend within this evolution has been a move toward greater emphasis on the concept of environmental change as a human security issue (Dabelko et al., 2000; Elliot, 2001). This second school of thought represented by the works of Mathews (1989) Mische, (1989; 1992), Renner (1989), and Myers (1993) argues that because “security implies freedom or protection from serious threats to human well-being … , whatever poses such a threat, be it in military, economic, resource, food, or environmental realms, becomes a security problem.” Many analysts argue that despite the traditional, state-centric focus of security, in essence, the quality of life of individuals is bound to be affected by the depletion or degradation of environmental resources. Mathews’ work on Redefining Security refers to human activities that have transformed the earth and the ecosystem. Using environmental variables, she centers her environmental security concerns on population increase, deforestation, global warming and greenhouse gases, and ozone depletion. Arguing for a comprehensive and cooperative

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understating of security, she mentions “environmental strains that transcend national borders are already beginning to break down the sacred boundaries of national sovereignty” (Mathews, 1989: 162). This definition of Norman Myers (1993: 31) also brings the debate closer to the notion of human insecurity: Security applies most at the level of the individual citizen. It amounts to human well-being; not only protection from harm and injury but access to water, food, shelter, health, employment, and other basic requisites that are due of every person on earth. It is the collectivity of these citizens’ needs—overall safety and quality of life—that should figure prominently in the nation’s view of security. A more holistic definition in this school of thought comes from Thomas and Wilkin’s Globalization, Human Security, and the African Experience (1999), which describes human security as a condition of existence in which basic material needs are met, and in which human dignity, including meaningful participation in the life of the community, can be realized. Such human security is indivisible; it cannot be pursued by one group at the expense of another. The pursuit of human security must have at its core the satisfaction of basic material needs of all mankind. At the most basic level, food, shelter, education and health care are essential for the survival of human beings … . The qualitative aspect of human security is about the achievement of human dignity which incorporates personal autonomy, control over one’s life and unhindered participation in the life of the community. (4) Environmental balance is therefore essential to people’s quality of life. Food, water, and shelter are some of the basics for human survival and are provided by natural resources. “Depletion and degradation of these resources affect human survival, well-being, and freedom  …  (thus) human security (is conceptualized) as the objective—the ultimate end—of all security concerns” (Chen, 1995). This definition broadens the scope of the concept of security by recognizing that “an individual’s personal protection and preservation comes not just from the safeguarding of the state as a political unit, but also from access to individual welfare and quality of life. Human security, in short, involves the security of individuals in their personal surroundings, their community, and their environment” (McLean, 2013). Given the world’s contemporary trends, the UNDP (1994) outlook on environmental security should find unanimous agreement across the globe. Driving today’s concerns are the tremendous pressures that rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization have imposed

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on the carrying capacity of the earth. Global water shortages that have expanded at an unprecedented scale in recent decades make a very disturbing picture. Lack of availability and declining quality of water supplies cast a shadow over future availability of water for human wellbeing and life. Land degradation, decline in soil quality, and air pollution are other concerns that need immediate attention. These issues occupy the ecological agenda of the world and a global effort by the states, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society participation is needed to deal with these challenges for a balanced and restored environment for survival of mankind. Thus environmental change has a direct relationship with human security, and it is due more to anthropogenic activities than to natural biocentric or environmental changes. “The essence of this global problématique is that human beings, by virtue of their numbers and the magnitude of their activities are causing biogeochemical changes in the earth’s system that is taking place many times more rapidly than those occurring naturally” (Soroos, 1991). The linkage is obvious and beyond debate. Considering the criteria mentioned earlier as essential to a holistic understanding of human well-being, which is bound to be affected by water shortages or land scarcity, Suhrke (1999) argues that “the central task of a policy inspired by human security concerns would therefore be to protect those who are most vulnerable … . It is self-evident that those exposed to immediate physical threats to life or deprivation of lifesustaining resources are extremely vulnerable … . Other persons can be placed in equally life-threatening positions for reasons of deep poverty or natural disasters … .” There is no doubt that this debate continues due to a lack of consensus among academics and scholars in a shift away from state-centered realist interpretations of international relations to a broader understanding of security and its components. Although the concept of human and environmental security may be limited in its philosophical and theoretical status due to a lack of consensus in the intellectual discourse, it has emerged as a comprehensive, salient, and urgent term in the global and regional policy circles charged with solving real-life challenges threatening society.

Water security Against this background, what does “security” mean in relation to water in India and South Asia? Quite simply, water has been and remains one of the most persistent sources of stress at every level: international, national, community, and even individual. From a different perspective,

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the deterioration of water quality—whether in the form of urban pollution, run-off contamination, or soil degradation—highlights the water and human security links and the deep relationship between water quality and human health and well-being. The Chair of UN-Water and Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Jarraud (2013), commented that “security has now come to mean human security and its achievement through development. Water fits within this broader definition of security—embracing political, environmental, health, economic, personal, food, energy and other concerns—and acts as a central link between them.” According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP): Water security represents a unifying element supplying humanity with drinking water, hygiene and sanitation, food and fish, industrial resources, energy, transportation and natural amenities, all dependent upon maintaining ecosystem health and productivity. While there is no universally accepted definition of water security, Box 1.1, which outlines the different definitions of the concept from different sources, provides a general understanding of the concept.

Box 1.1: Water Security Definitions

T

he capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socioeconomic development, for ensuring protection against waterborne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability (UN-Water, March 2013). Reliable access to water of sufficient quantity and quality for basic human needs, small-scale livelihoods and local ecosystem services, coupled with a well-managed risk of water-related disasters (Water Aid, 2012). The availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies (Grey and Sadoff, 2007). ...  emphasizing that water is critical for sustainable development, including environmental integrity and the eradication of poverty and hunger and is indispensable for human health and well-being (UN General Assembly, 2005)

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A

comprehensive definition goes beyond availability to issues of access. Access involves issues that range from a discussion of fundamental individual rights to national sovereignty rights over water. It also involves equity and affordability, and the role of states and markets in water’s allocation, pricing, distribution and regulation. Water security also implies social and political decision making on use—the priority to be accorded to competing household, agricultural or industrial demands on the resource (Gutierrez, 1999). Water security is essential for human access for health, wellbeing, economic and political stability. It is essential to limit risks of water related hazards. A complete and fair valuation of the resource, sustainability of ecosystems at all parts of the hydrologic cycle and an equitable and cooperative sharing of water resources is very necessary (Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, 2009). The greatest water problem [is] our inability to link environmental security, water security and food security. Water security is linked to a safe water supply and sanitation, water for food production, hydro-solidarity between those living upstream and those living downstream in a river basin and water pollution avoidance so that the water in aquifers and rivers remains usable, i.e. not too polluted for use for water supply, industrial production, agricultural use or the protection of biodiversity, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems in rivers and coastal waters (Falkenmark, 2001).

The term “water security” has been used in the literature both at an academic level and by many international and nonprofit organizations. However, different framings of water security are available based on differences in discipline, scales, geographic locations, and different approaches. Contemporary framings of water security vary in emphasis from water quality to water rights, to protection from floods and droughts, and variation in scales from community, watershed, or national and transboundary scales. In a comprehensive review of the water security literature, Cook and Bakker (2012) identify four interrelated themes that dominate the published research on water security: water availability and quantity; human vulnerability to hazards; human needs (development related); and sustainability. The focus on water availability and quantity has been key to water security assessment tools in the first thematic literature on the subject. Key resources include Falkenmark et al. (2007) and Falkenmark and Molden (2008) that combine water stress and water shortage to understand water security. Their approach looks at the withdrawal of water from rivers and aquifers (blue-water resources) based on demand leading to water scarcity,

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as well as estimating population-driven shortages by measuring the number of people that have to share each unit of blue-water resources. Under this perspective, water security exists when humans have access to sufficient, safe, affordable water to satisfy their needs for drinking, washing, and livelihoods (Rijsberman, 2006). The second theme, as Cook and Bakker analyze, relates to water security as an issue of vulnerability due to water-related hazards. UNESCO-IHE (2009) makes a case for having an infrastructure and systems approach that involves protection against floods and droughts, and safeguarding access to water services and functions. US EPA regards water security as prevention against contamination of water by potential terrorist or malicious acts (Crisologo, 2008; Minamyer, 2008). Water security is also considered in this context an essential part of drinking water infrastructure security (Staudinger et al., 2006). A third theme in the literature covers human needs that tend to include a broad range of issues such as access, food security, livelihood, and human development. The UNDP’s human security program emphasizes these aspects of security (UNDP, 1994). Water security can be defined as “all aspects of human security pertaining to the use and management of water” (Jansky et al., 2008: 289). A definition of security from the 1990s appropriately sums up the idea as a “condition where there is a sufficient quantity of water at a quality necessary, at an affordable price, to meet both the short-term and long-term needs to protect the health, safety, welfare and productive capacity of positions (households, communities, neighborhoods, or nation” (Witter and Whiteford, 1999: 2). Within this approach, Cook and Bakker argue that there exists a tendency to relate water security with food security (Biswas, 1999), crop water security (FAO Land Division Water Development, 2000), reservoir water storage for irrigation (El Saliby et al., 2009), and also extend from reservoir storage to the entire hydrological cycle (Oki and Kanae, 2006; Tuinhof et al., 2005). From this perspective, they argue, “water security is either threatened by water scarcity or risk of inundation that can be attributed to an inability to manage water” (2012: 97). The last of these themes discussed is one of sustainability. According to the Global Water Partnership, “Water security at any level from the household to the global means that every person has access to enough, safe water at affordable cost to lead a clean healthy and productive life, while ensuring that the natural environment is protected and enhanced” (Global Water Partnership, 2000: 1). This framing includes seven variables: meeting basic needs, securing food supply, protecting ecosystems, sharing water resources, managing risks, valuing water, and governing wisely (Cook and Bakker, 2010: 97). Academic scholars in various parts of the world have frequently used this definition. For example, Canadian researchers defined water

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security as “sustainable access on a watershed basis, to adequate quantities of water, of acceptable quality, to ensure human and ecosystem health” (Dunn and Baker, 2009: 11). Indian geneticist Swaminathan draws on the GWP definition and states that water security “involves the availability of water in adequate quantity and quality in perpetuity to meet domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecosystem needs” (2001: 35).

Broad and narrow framings of the term “water security” These different definitions of water security raise questions of conceptual/ broad and operational/narrow framings in water security since the term is still evolving and also has diverse meanings based on different disciplines that emphasize different aspects of security on different scales, as well as including geography, sociocultural, scientific, or political and economic contexts. Broad framings are generally conceptual and paradigmatic, while narrow framings are likely to be operational based on empirical research, lab based studies, and modeling (Cook and Bakker, 2010: 99). The broad framing of water security is more comprehensive and provides a means to respond to recent calls for a “clear vision or direction about a desired end state for a catchment or a river basin” (Mitchell, 2006: 52). In other words, it provides a framework, which lends itself to a “vision,” which is normatively goal oriented and analytically robust (Cook and Bakker, 2010: 98). Despite the operationalization challenge of the broad and integrative framing of water security, the conceptual and paradigmatic view of this approach suits well with the interdisciplinary sweep of the book and our goal to integrate the multiple stressors that affect water security. As Cook and Bakker (2010)suggest, the narrow and broad framings of water security could be allied to complement each other as necessary by drawing conclusions on a national scale, and also including a grounded analysis of subnational and social variations of water security—for example, studying a river basin or a watershed on a community scale. Additionally, the broad and integrative concept is also useful and complementary to governance processes and needs to happen at the policy level (Cook and Bakker, 2010: 100) because good governance is an imperative for successful management of the multiple stressors on water environments (UNWWAP, 2006; 2008). From this perspective, adopting a broad and integrative view of water security that considers access, quality, as well as human needs and ecological health (Figure 1.1), we identify four broad categories of water “insecurity” that affect human development:

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Availability and reliable access

Sufficient quantity and quality

1. Meets basic human needs and development 2. Creates livelihoods 3. Provides local ecosystem services

Figure 1.1  Water security framework 1 Water availability and access, which includes water needs for diverse

purposes (adequacy, reliability, dependence, vulnerability, etc.). 2 Water quality challenges (prevention or control of pollution and contamination including point and nonpoint sources of pollution). 3 Water abundance, disasters, and the need for flood damage preparedness and control. 4 The international context of water management in India and water sharing among basin states. Availability, access, and quality become key components when analyzing freshwater availability versus human consumption. Availability refers to the physical presence of adequate water supplies while access is about structural inequity and challenges. Water availability, however, does not automatically constitute water security. The availability of water for use at the right place, time, quantity and quality, and the ability of people within a particular country or region to actually receive or gain access to clean freshwater constitutes some of the key variables while defining water security (Regmi, 2007). The quality of these resources affects both the availability and access. These seemingly three distinct types of problems can all be present in a region experiencing water stress or water scarcity, although availability may be more dependent on physical or environmental factors, whereas access may be more dependent on social or political factors. “Perfect storm of food, water and energy shortages—caused by a combination of population growth, triggering new rural and urban demands, and global climate change which threatens to decrease the net available supply in many areas of the globe and to aggravate already contaminated supplies” (Tarlock and Wouters, 2009) can be characterized as a state of water insecurity (Figure 1.2) that is currently becoming a global concern and challenge. Depletion, degradation, or inequitable distribution of water resources poses a very serious, complex, and potentially wide-ranging threat to human well-being and quality of life. This threat could manifest in a number of ways, such as directly in the form of a lack of availability over freshwater resources, human health problems in the short term, or indirectly, by causing large-scale migration, ecosystem degradation leading to loss of ecosystem services, and food shortages in the long term. Where

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Long-Term Impacts

• Material • Institutional • Behavioral Drivers

Visible Symptoms • • • •

Depletion Degradation Shortage Access and availability

• Water pollution • Diseases • Salinity • Water logging ShortTerm Impacts

• Ecosystem degradation • Biodiversity loss • Climate change • Loss of ecosystem services • Challenge for human development

Figure 1.2  Sources of water insecurity and its impacts both water endowments and the number of consumers remain more or less fixed, there is considerably less cause for concern, but in the case of arid and semiarid regions like India and parts of South Asia, with high population growth rate and its material, institutional, and behavioral drivers, the threat of resource depletion or degradation is a constant source of insecurity precisely because of competition among an increasing number of potential users and sectors. Few people actively engaged in India’s water sector would deny that the Indian subcontinent faces serious problems in the sustainable use of water resources for human development. As the population of India continues to surge, the demand for water is increasing substantially, without a concomitant increase in water resources. The different regions in India are beginning to experience moderate-to-severe water shortages, brought about due to simultaneous effects of growth in agriculture, industrialization, and urbanization. The overexploitation of water, along with improper management practices, has set a dangerous trend that threatens the very availability of water resources for future generations. Water scarcity due to lack of availability and bad water quality has forced people to take desperate measures often leading to further depletion of existing resources. What are the factors that drive water insecurity in India? How do Indian water resources and their availability, access, quality, and transboundary character affect the parameters of water security? How can we manage these resources for a secure water future? To answer these questions, we adopted a mixed-methods approach. The methodology is largely a desk study reviewing secondary literature in the form of institutional and governmental reports and data and then doing a content analysis of how the information impacts water and the people. Besides being grounded in the region and having worked in the country and the subcontinent for the last several years,

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the authors draw on their own experiences as well as qualitative interviews conducted with experts in the country. There exists excellent literature on water resources in India and South Asia in general and from a sociocultural (Bandyopadhyaya, 2009; Baviskar, 2005, 2007, 2008; Mehta and Rayner, 2010; Shah, 2008), economics (Kumar, 2010), legal (Cullet, 2009; Cullet and Konan, 2011; Iyer, 2009), and management (Jairath and Ballabh, 2010; Kumar, 2009; Vaidyanathan, 2001, 2006, 2013) perspective in the form of research and countryspecific information in governmental archives, articles, journals and book publications, reports of the World Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute, and academic writings. However, the literature on water security has focused more on conflict studies, bilateral tensions, geopolitics, and political discourse. For example, “Water Security for India: The External Dynamics,” a report published by the Institute of Defense and Strategic Analysis (2010), only speaks to the transboundary implications of water but does not explore the human aspects of water security. Waslekar (2005) in his book The Final Settlement: Restructuring India-Pakistan Relations argued that the next war would be on water. Most authors in the security framework speak to bilateral issues or water challenges with the neighbors where the focus is on the conventional aspects of state-related security. Other authors like Crow et al. (2010) and Ahmad and Ahmed (2000) look at case studies of the Ganga and Brahmaputra basin from a national and regional perspective. Most literature focuses on India–Pakistan, India–Bangladesh, India–Nepal, and now India–China relations. Chauhan (1992) in his book Settlement of International and Interstate Waters Dispute in India looks at means of solving interstate and intrastate conflicts in India. Chellaney’s (2011) Water: Asia’s New Battleground argues that Asia will see new tensions and probable wars over water. Shantha Mohan et al. (2010) writes on the prospects of transboundary conflict and cooperation in India in their book River Water Sharing: Transboundary Conflict and Cooperation in India. Similarly, Water Conflicts in India: A Million Revolts in the Making by Joy et al. (2009) speaks of sixty-three case studies of conflict around contending water uses; dams and displacement; equity-access-allocations; micro-level conflicts; water quality; transboundary conflicts; privatization; sand excavation and mining. Iyer (2008) in his publication India’s Water Relations with Her Neighbors speaks on India and its river water problems with neighbors in spite of bilateral agreements made by riparian states of the region. In his book Water: Perspective, Issues and Concerns (2003), he highlights some of the key challenges that India faces in the context of water. Strategic Foresight Group report “The Himalayan Challenge: Water Security in Emerging Asia” (2010) attempts to deal with water security in the midst of the material and institutional challenges along with the geopolitics of the region. There have been several articles written from time to time in various journals on India and South Asia’s water security. For

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example, Asia Policy 16 (2013) focuses on a roundtable on Himalayan water security where the geopolitics of the region (Shah and Giordano, 2013), challenges of climate change (Matthew, 2013), and transboundary rivalry (Wirsing, 2013) are the key highlights. Over the recent years, emphasis on water and human security has been placed in the region through projects funded by international foundations and regional think tanks with the outcomes being published in the form of reports and journal articles or edited volumes on human security. These challenges of water access and its impact on peoples’ security remain scattered in the literature but lack a comprehensive volume on the subject. Water Security in India: Hope, Despair and Challenges of Human Development is an attempt to fill this gap and emphasizes the broad, comprehensive, and integrative approach while also dealing with the paradigm of water security. Distinct from the state-centric discourse, which calls into question the realist tradition that has dominated the region for the past several decades, the book adopts the environmental change and human security approach.1 Focusing on the people and their interaction with the natural environment and moving away from the water securitization trends of the region and politicization of water within states in India, the authors adopt a broad integrative framing of water security in a rapidly growing and modernizing country like India.

Water in India: A microcosm of global water challenges India’s progression of the increasing water footprint has links with growing population, industrialization, urbanization, conventional developmental economics, and unsustainable agronomy. This section discusses these developments—best characterized as a microcosm of water insecurity trends around the world. It is common knowledge that while earth’s surface is covered by nearly 70 percent water, freshwater resources are limited to just 2.5 percent of which only 1 percent is easily accessible to society. The rest of it is trapped in glacial and snowfields. In essence, only 0.007 percent is available to feed people and fuel growth of over a 7 billion population. While this availability is constant, revolving within the nature of the hydrological

However, given the volatility of the region and the history of partition, we do acknowledge the national security concerns of the states in transboundary waters and attempt to reconcile them with the human development challenges of the region (discussed in Chapter 9). Also keeping in view the anthropocentrism of such a framing, we recognize and acknowledge the ecosystem as an integral component of human and water security thus adopting a broad and integrative approach to water security.

1

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cycle, over the years water has become scarce in many parts of the world as countries become water stressed due to population increase, economic growth, competition among sectors, and changing weather patterns. The United Nations Report (2009) mentions that water use has grown more than twice the rate of population increases in the last century. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas affected by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change. The 2009 World Water Development Report revealed that nearly half of the global population (about 4 billion people) would be living in regions of high water stress by 2030. The fact that the percentage of population affected by water scarcity will increase from a mere 8 percent in 2000 (508 million people) to 47 percent within nearly three decades has dire consequences for global water security. The report also stressed that increasing demands for food, water, and energy will strain resources in almost all regions of the world, especially in developing world. The world will also see a rise of middle class, not poor, in most countries of the world (National Intellgence Council 2012). This impact is largely going to be felt in the developing countries of Asia and Africa already experiencing various forms of water stress leading to a rise in consumption patterns. South Asia2 hosts 24 percent of the world’s population (1.64 billion people) and nearly half of the world’s poor. If we include China (1.36 billion) and South Asia together, they host 42 percent of the world’s population based on 2012 estimates. Thirty-six percent of population lives in India (1.22) and China (1.36) alone, and by 2040, India (1.52 billion) and China (1. 45) will be hosting 37 percent of the world’s population. The finite water resource, growing population, and water consumption patterns project an increase of 55 percent in global water demand by 2050. Such a scenario poses the greatest challenge facing the humanity for providing energy, food, and clean water to every person (WWDR, 2014). The global water challenge thus lies in not only providing access and availability to safe drinking water to people, but managing issues of the food–water–energy nexus, and increasing the security and resilience of a country to meet water needs. Most of the challenges of providing water security center around developing and emerging economies. Countries like India and China are emblematic of these global water challenges but are unique in their own ways of contested histories, a rising population,3 and rapid economic growth,4 where water-dependent sectors such as agriculture, industry, and urban areas are often growing at an unprecedented rate. The rise of the Asian powers has the potential to shape not only world politics but also India is the largest country in South Asia. China and India are the two most populous countries of the world constituting 36 percent of the world’s population. 4 Fastest-growing economies. 2

3

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world development and security. Therefore, what happens in this part of the world has global ramifications. Part I of the book reviews the water resources of India and the concept of water security. Part II of the book discusses the relevance of India’s water security through a schematic set of drivers, and Part III explores the opportunities and challenges for making progress toward water security.

India: A growing economic power house India is experiencing rapid economic growth. A National Intelligence Council Report released in 2012 titled “The Global Trends 2030” speaks of a radical transformation of the world. India and China will be the emerging economic powerhouses and “Asia will enjoy the global power status it last had in the Middle Ages … . it took Britain155 years to double GDP per capita, with about 9 million people in 1871. The US and Germany took between thirty and sixty years with a few tens of million people but India and China are doing this at a scale and pace not seen before: 100 times the people than Britain and in one tenth the time. By 2030 Asia will be well on its way to returning to being the world’s powerhouse, just as it was before 1500” (2). India and China will account for 40 percent of the world’s growth in the next few years (Ernst and Young, 2011). The World Bank also considers that India will join China as an “emerging economy growth pole” by 2025, which could help in strengthening the global economy. India’s expected robust growth in the next 15–20 years will surpass that of any individual advanced economy except the United States. World Bank modeling suggests that together China and India will serve twice as the engine for growth of the United States and the Euro zone combined by 2025 (World Bank, 2011). Many contend that China is expected to remain ahead of India until 2030 before India bridges this gap (Global Trends 2030), while others believe that it will be the largest economy by 2050 becoming an economic powerhouse. Considering the scale at which India is expected to grow, the implications for water resources are enormous to cope with mainly because of the growing demand that will come from the industrial sector in manufacturing, thermal, electricity (Chapter 4), and domestic use. Apart from this demand there will be other challenges of pollution of water quality, and its implications on human security.

The rise of the middle class There is a global rise of middle class with development and growth inducing increases in consumptive water use. Such a trend is also seen with the growth of middle class and Indian economy. India’s global middle class, at

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around 50 million people, or 5 percent of the global population, is currently much smaller. But projections of middle-class growth estimate its increase to about ten times its current size amounting around 583 million people in 2025 (Ernst and Young, nd; MGI, 2007). Over 291 million people will move from desperate poverty to a more sustainable life (MGI, 2007). India’s share of global middle-class consumption in percentage will rise from less than 10 percent in 2010 to 55 percent in 2050. This rise in the middle class in India and in general especially in the developing world will create 2 billion additional consumers against the 1 billion that currently consume threequarters of global consumption. Such an explosion will mean a scramble for raw materials and manufactured goods. “Water may become a more significant source of contention than energy or minerals out to 2030 at both the intrastate and interstate levels” (National Intelligence Council, 2012). Most rapid growth of the middle class will occur in Asia, with India somewhat ahead of even China over a long term. Demand for consumer goods rises sharply with the growth of the middle class that will increase pressure on energy and water resources. More affluence will also bring a shift in dietary prescriptions to diversified animal/meat products and domestic water use patterns. For example, there is an increase in demand for meat, egg, and dairy products in China; similar changes can be predicted for India. The water demand for growing food and feed will also rise. The Goldman Sachs study indicated that resource constraints are going to be “arguably tighter than what Europe and US experienced in the 19th century” (Global Trends 2030, 2012: 10).

Population and urbanization India is set to surpass China in population growth by 2050. Chapter 4 discusses the pressures of population and urbanization on water. As global population in urban areas expand, half of India’s population will also be urbanized by 2025. According to the UN, between 2011 and 2030, there will be an additional urban population of 276 million in China and 218 million in India. India and China will together account for 37 percent of the total increase in urban population by 2030. “By 2030, few forested reserves, wetlands, and freshwater sources will be located on the perimeter of the impact zone of this fine-meshed urban network. Rapidly growing cities are likely to compete to secure freshwater catchment and land for housing growth, bringing greater prosperity to some nearby agriculturists, but setting up further tensions over freshwater rights, water quality, and urban expansion” (Global Trends 2030, 2012: 26). Providing energy and water in the cities will be a challenge for both India and China. India’s cities will need 94 billion liters of potable water that will not be easily available (MGI, 2007). Sanitation will also need to be upgraded. Water and energy infrastructure

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challenges will be huge and a lack of commensurate infrastructure build up will have major impacts on human development and quality of life. With the recent rise in urban sprawl, peri-urban water security will be at risk, while food and water demands also rise exponentially with urbanization.

Water–food–energy nexus Water is deeply connected with food and energy, and it is this nexus that needs to be understood for addressing balanced growth and development challenges. The anticipated demand in these three sectors is a consequence of the global trends in population growth, industrialization and expanding middles classes, with significant challenges to security, as these are essential for the functioning of societies. Certain commonality in this nexus includes the following features: • All three areas have many billions of people without access (quantity or quality or both). • All have rapidly growing global demand. • All have resource constraints. • All are “global goods” and involve international trade and have global implications. • All have different regional availability and variations in supply and demand. • All have strong interdependencies with climate change and the environment. • All have deep security issues, as they are fundamental to the functioning of society. • All operate in heavily regulated markets. • All require the explicit identification and treatment of risks. (Bazilian et al., 2011: 7897) The Global Risks Report, 2011, defines the water–food–energy security challenge as follows: A rapidly rising global population and growing prosperity are putting unsustainable pressures on resources. Demand for water, food and energy is expected to rise by 30–50% in the next two decades, while economic disparities incentivize short-term responses in production and consumption that undermine long-term sustainability. Shortages could cause social and political instability, geopolitical conflict and irreparable environmental damage. Any strategy that focuses on one part of the water-food-energy nexus without considering its interconnections risks serious unintended consequences. (World Economic Forum, 2011: 8)

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Irrigation has made an enormous impact on agricultural development in India and contributed to the achievement of higher levels of food security in the region. Irrigation has been a powerful tool in providing self-sufficiency in food grain production but has been highly energy intensive leading to depletion of aquifers and groundwater beyond recharge. “Agriculture, groundwater and electricity sectors are bound in an invidious nexus of mutual dependence where the growth of one sector (agriculture) is being supported by unsustainable trends in the other two sectors (groundwater and electricity), so much that even growth in agriculture is being threatened” (Mukherjee, 2011). Pumping and moving water for irrigation requires great amount of energy. A lot of modern farm equipment also needs gasoline and fuel as well as some form of power. Apart from agricultural production, water is also needed to process food increasing significantly energy use being based on modern technology. These factors affect the poor and the marginalized populations that are considered most vulnerable and permeating systemic and geopolitical risks given the volatility of the region. Energy is also used for urban water supply in cities and wastewater services. Working toward maintaining economic growth, India and its South Asian neighbors and China are seeking new sources of electricity building dam in the Himalayan region. The South Asian countries taken together are constructing 400 hydropower dams providing 1,60,000 MW of power, three times that of the United Kingdom. Similarly China has plans to build around a 100 dams on rivers rising in Tibet and sixty more in Mekong in an effort to harness energy needed to promote economic growth and agricultural production. While the increased demand for food and feed will put additional pressure on domestic food production and food imports, IFRI Report says that this will not affect international prices for cereal (IFRI Report, 2001). India and China will face other vulnerabilities such as degraded waters, unsustainable groundwater extraction for irrigation, and slowing agricultural investments that could create difficulties in expanding agricultural growth. This could depress economic growth and raise food prices if India fails to implement trade liberalization policies, leading to a rise in the already existing malnourishment. Therefore, it is crucial to address unsustainable patterns of agricultural growth, which are discussed in Chapter 3.

Climate change The challenges of the water–food–energy security nexus are going to be exacerbated by climate change. Chapter 5 discusses the global climate change phenomena. Many Indian and Asian cities are vulnerable to

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the severe weather connected to climate change, which amplifies storm surges and flooding of low-lying areas.

Regional dynamics of South Asia The challenge of water security in South Asia is not only confined at local and national levels, but it has wider implications to Asia. India and South Asia face similar challenges of environmental change and water security. Certain domestic solutions for improved water governance, sustainability, and water rights may be common on a regional scale keeping in view the local context but the transboundary nature of the Himalayan region is still hostage to partition history of the subcontinent. This stalemate challenges states not only from a national security perspective but also impacts human development and peoples’ well-being. From a human development perspective, the availability, access, and quality of clean freshwater is increasingly characterized as a security issue, especially in a region that is predominantly agricultural, but heading toward industrialization and urbanization in an integrating, globalized world. Steeped in poverty, the states, on the one hand, need provisioning of potable water to meet basic needs for human development, and, on the other hand, shared waters infringes upon the interests of other nations, creating discord and aggravating the problem of insecurity. The challenge lies in reconciling the interdependencies of domestic and interstate/regional actions and repercussions created by promoting economic development and meeting water needs upstream in one country while being accused of depriving the same benefits to the downstream riparian—a situation called “hydro hegemony” in the case of India vis-à-vis Pakistan and Bangladesh. Managed well, these shared rivers can be mutually beneficial for societies among countries sharing their waters, but managed improperly it could increase cross-border tensions hampering the goals of human development. Chapter 9 discusses these challenges and advocates for the creation of a resource community based on trust and transparency.

Water: An example of “wicked problems” Water issues in India thus constitute another example of “wicked problems” (Rittel and Webber, 1973) that society may not completely understand. From a waterscape perspective, “wicked problems” are ones that are multicausal and have a systemic effect. They require a keen grasp of the larger context as well as an understanding of the interrelationships among the full range of underlying causal factors. They often require long-term, holistic,

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collaborative, and innovative approaches. The complexity and dynamics of wicked problems are such that a lack of understanding of these issues may result in the occasional failure of policy change or adjustment. Yet water is a resource that we cannot do without. Its function ranges from serving human life, providing food and drinking water, regulating health, providing recreation and aesthetics, and serving as a powerful cultural symbol and political weapon.

Are there straightforward solutions? Since water is indispensable to our existence, its management should naturally be a priority. The water ecosphere is dominated by human behavior, sustained and vitalized by ecological and natural processes. India holds a distinct position among the vast comity of nations because of its massive natural resource base, high tech and biotech industries, and enormous human resources. While there exists a vast water resource, it is undermined in pursuance of unsustainable developmental strategies that are eroding the natural resource base, and adversely affecting people’s quality of life, exposing them to strife and insecurity (Asthana and Shukla, 2003). A sense of despondency descends as these multiple stressors impact water security in India. The Indian case is not monolithic but complex and “no one size fits all” solution exist for management of water. Among the pool of different policy resources available, one set of policy options may be valid on one scale while a different set of management options may apply at another scale. Even in problems of similar scales the solutions may vary based on availability, geography, and feasibility. Therefore, our model in this book is a complex one describing a set of schematic tools that may or may not work in every single situation. Chapter 7 looks at privatization as an option. Chapter 8 reviews intrastate disputes, and Chapters 10 and 11 look at some of the different management alternatives and some micro-scale success stories that could be used to create a secure water future for India. In a country as diverse as India, where the availability of water is limited in time and space primarily during the four months of the monsoon in the region, there will always be different collaborating solutions toward water security. The policy makers seem to face a fork. There are decisions in policy and investment that can lead the country in a direction of water security, while other decisions will lead to increased vulnerability and poverty. What policy makers need to do is to calibrate the leverage in policy tools to move the system forward. Steps toward a future of water security will have enormous benefits for people’s quality of life and well-being but by contrast, failure to implement reforms or make adequate investments can cost enormously in terms of human

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misery and economic growth. As a society moves forward and modernizes, there will be trade-offs in certain places, and policy makers will need to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t and adapt and repurpose policy tools toward the end goal—that is water security—because in essence water touches the lives of billions of people, and issues surrounding its access, availability, and quality are fundamental to the human security process.

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CHAPTER TWO

Water resources of India Water is essential for life on earth. For an agrarian society such as India, which supports enormous urban populations as well, the ready availability of freshwater is of paramount national significance. As the National Water Policy of India (2002) stressed, water is a “prime natural resource, a basic human need and a precious national asset.” Although India’s utilizable water resources appear sufficient to meet the country’s present needs, the overexploitation of water resources is expected to continue increasing in response to tremendous pressures of growth in population, urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture. Increasing shortages are being felt at the local levels which are bound to expand regionally as the pressure of population continues to grow. The planning and development of water resources must therefore be governed with national perspectives in mind. To establish the necessary background for a study of such complex and critical planning considerations, this chapter provides an overview of hydrological conditions, availability and demand, river systems, groundwater, and uses of water in India.

Hydrological conditions Rainfall in India occurs mainly during the monsoon season (June–September), but the pattern of rainfall is greatly influenced by mountain formations in the country. The Himalayas constitute the major mountainous regions of the north, extending to about 2,500 km in length. They are divided into three distinct ranges: the Greater and Middle Himalayas and the lower Sivaliks. The major hills in the Indian Peninsula are in the Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, Aravallis, Vindhyas, and Satpura ranges. In the northeastern parts of India, the Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia hills form the bend ranges of the Himalayas. The alignment of the hills with respect to prevailing winds and their elevation profoundly influence the distribution of rainfall all over India, making freshwater abundant in some areas and

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acutely scarce in others. The average annual rainfall over India is 105 cm, which is the largest anywhere in the world for a country of comparable size (Rao, 1975); however, it fluctuates widely. Over the Khasi and Jaintia hills, it is 1,000 cm; in the north in the Brahmaputra valley, the rainfall is 1,142 cm in a year and as much as 104 cm in a day. On the other hand, in the extreme west, Rajasthan’s annual rainfall is as low as 10–15 cm. On the west coast of India, heavy rainfall occurs annually along the slopes of the Western Ghats up to an average value of 600 cm, but in certain nearby areas it is as low as 50 to 60 cm. On the east coast, the rainfall is highest near the coastal areas and decreases inland. Mount Abu in the Aravalli range experiences an annual rainfall of 160 cm while in the surrounding plains it is barely 60 cm. The Himalayas in the east have an annual rainfall of about 500 cm, but only about 280 cm on the western side of the high mountain area.

Rainfall While rainfall occurs mainly during the monsoon season (June–September), there is also wide geographical variation in the annual distribution of the number of rainy days in India. (A rainy day is defined as a day on which 2.5 mm or more of rain is recorded.) The pattern of rainy days generally follows the annual rainfall pattern. But what is important to note is that in areas like the Western Ghats, Assam, portions of Sub-Himalaya, West Bengal, and some higher elevations of the Himalayas up to Punjab, the rainy days number up to more than a hundred, in strong contrast to extreme West Rajasthan where the number of rainy days is less than ten. In peninsular India, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and the semiarid regions of Madhya Pradesh have about forty and fifty rainy days per year. In Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and adjoining Andhra Pradesh, there are between fifty to seventy-five rainy days. On the west coast at Alleppey in Kerala, the number is as high as 137 per year. Thus, while variability is high during individual months, the country receives a fairly stable rainfall over the year as a whole with areas of uncertainty in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab. Seasonal distribution of rainfall is mainly concentrated in the period from June to September, known as the principal rainy season, when more than 75 percent of the annual rainfall is received all over the country except in Kashmir and the extreme south peninsula where the amount is only about 2.5 cm. North and Central India receive well-distributed and occasionally heavy rainfall. Severe floods occur in Assam and Bihar due to the rising of rivers in spates of heavy rainfall in Himalayan catchment areas. During the postmonsoon period of October to December, the southern peninsula region, particularly Tamil Nadu, south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, Assam, and some

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parts of Kashmir receive limited rainfall. The winter rainfall of January and February is limited only to Kashmir and neighboring states to an average of 20 cm in Kashmir and 5 cm in other states. This winter precipitation is particularly beneficial in increasing the accumulation of snow in the lower ranges of the Himalayas and in watering the winter crops in northern India. From March to May, rainfall occurs in Kerala, Assam, and Jammu and Kashmir. Due to the pattern of rainfall, annual surface water available in river basins varies a lot. On the whole, though, the overall rainfall in the country is fairly stable, but there are some deficiencies in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and peninsular India. Storms and depressions also have their impact on water availability in the region. From August through September, the maximum number of storms and depressions occur over the north of the Bay of Bengal, ultimately passing inland into West Bengal on the Orissa coast. Rainfall occurs in the regions exposed to these moving storms and is as high as 10 cm to 20 cm a day. Monsoon depressions play a very critical role in the distribution of monsoon rain over northern India and the peninsula. These traveling disturbances yield copious rain in the entire area from north coastal Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, east Uttar Pradesh, and the Punjab hills, varying from 1,000 mm to 2,000 mm. Cyclones also occur, on the east coast during pre-monsoon (April–May) and postmonsoon (October–November) seasons. Some of them are of severe intensity and cause havoc and devastation. However, it is believed that when the requisite number of rainfall fails to materialize during the monsoon period in any given year, the resulting shortfall leads to drought. Thus, while total precipitation in India is fairly constant, its distribution in time and space shows considerable variance. Precipitation is greater in the rainy season of 3–4 months; other seasons have drastically lower quantities. Total precipitation is roughly 400 million hectare meters (mhm) (4,000 billion cubic meters)—a constant resource in all times to come, up to 2025 (Nag and Kathpalia, 1975) or even persisting through 2050. (After about 2050, global climate change may accelerate and significantly alter rainfall patterns.) Rainwater that is not lost through evaporation appears as 115 mhm surface water, and 215 mhm percolates into soil. The surface water comes from both rainfall (105 mhm) and snowfall (10 mhm). The total surface flow is 180 mhm (before evaporation), and percolation into the soil is 215 mhm.

Water resources The principal water resources of India comprise (1) surface water through streams and rivers and (2) groundwater.

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Surface water in India consists of twenty-two major river basins1 (CWC, 2011). Of these twenty-two river basins (Figure 2.1), there are thirteen major river basins that are spread over 81 percent of the geographical area comprising a catchment area of 2.6 million km2 (Table 2.1).

Figure 2.1  River basins in India Source: (CWC, 2011)

This has been revised in consultation with the Central Water Commission which recognizes twenty-four river basins (MOWR, 1999), although it is the twenty-two basins that are referred to in common usage as the GBM basin being considered as one category.

1

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Table 2.1: River basins of India S. No.

Basin Code

Name of the River Basin

 1

B1

Indus (up to Border)

 2

2a

Ganga

 3

2b

Brahmaputra

 4

2c

Barak and others

 5

B3

Godavari

 6

B4

Krishna

 7

B5

Cauvery

 8

B6

Pennar

 9

B7

East-flowing rivers between Mahanadi and Pennar

10

B8

East-flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari

11

B9

Mahanadi

12

B10

Brahmani and Baitarni

13

B11

Subarnarekha

14

B12

Sabarmati

15

B13

Mahi

16

B14

West-flowing rivers of Kutch, Saurashtra including Luni

17

B15

Narmada

18

B16

Tapi

19

B17

West-flowing rivers from Tapi to Tadri

20

B18

West-flowing rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari

21

B19

Area of Island drainage in Rajasthan Desert

22

B20

Minor river basins drainage to Bangladesh and Myanmar

Source: (CWC, 2011)

These river systems that spread over many states in the country can be classified into two groups: the perennial rivers of the Himalayan region and the seasonal rivers of peninsular India. The former are fed by melting snow and glaciers of the Himalayan region. They are often uncertain in their behavior due to meandering in their flow or drastic changes in river courses caused by landslides and seismic activity in the region. The peninsular rivers originate at much lower altitudes and flow through more geologically stable areas. As a result, their behavior is more predictable. The flow patterns of the two groups of river systems are different. In the peninsula, the flow is characterized by heavy discharges during the monsoons, followed by low discharges during the dry months. In the Himalayan systems, the rivers are fed by melting snow and glaciers. Although seasonal dry weather leads to annual cycles of ice depletion, the flow is never reduced as much as in the peninsular region.

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Himalayan rivers The main Himalayan river systems are those of the Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra.

The Indus system The Indus River is one of the greatest rivers of the world and consists of six major rivers. It arises north of Mansarovar in Tibet and flows through Kashmir for a distance of 650 km in a northwesterly direction. It then moves past Nanga Parbat into Pakistan. In the plains its main tributaries are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. Under the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, India and Pakistan share the waters of the Indus River system with three rivers Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej being allocated to India and three other rivers Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab being allocated to Pakistan with limited upper riparian rights to India.

The Ganga system The river Ganga originates at Devprayag where two rivers, Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, meet. It first flows southward and later moves southeasterly through the Great Plains of Farakka to form the apex of the Ganga delta. Over its long course of 2,525 km (approximately 1,560 miles), it is joined by numerous tributaries. One of the major tributaries is the Yamuna, which has its source close to the Ganga; the Ghaghara, which arises in the Himalayas east of the Ganga; and the Kosi, which arises in the mountains of Nepal. It contributes water to about 37 percent of the Indian population and covers a cultivable land area of 5,09,994 km2 (Shiva and Jalees, 2002: 14).

The Brahmaputra–Barak system The Brahmaputra arises in Tibet where it is known as Tsangpo. When it emerges from the foothills in Arunachal Pradesh, it is known as Siang and Dihang. It becomes the Brahmaputra after being joined by the Dibang and Lohit rivers in its flow through the Assam valley. The river has smaller catchments than either Ganga or the Indus and enters Bangladesh with the waters of many tributaries. Flowing southward to join the Ganga in its course through the plains, it divides into many channels and forms numerous braids, which enclose islands. The Brahmaputra–Barak basin has a total water availability of 11,782 cubic meters per person which remains underutilized.

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Peninsular rivers The peninsular rivers fall into two categories, the coastal and the inland. The coastal rivers are comparatively small streams. Only few of these rivers drain into the sea on the east coast, but as many as 600 drain on the west coast. Although the west coast rivers drain only 3 percent of the basins, they are particularly important because they contain as much as 14 percent of the country’s water resources (ROIC, 1972: 21). The inland rivers are of great antiquity. They are stable and well defined in their courses. The rivers flowing westwards—like the Narmada, Sabarmati, Mahi, Luni, and Tapi—have narrow, elongated catchments, while the eastflowing rivers—the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Subarnarekha, and Brahmani—are less turbulent and more predictable than the Himalayan rivers.

Water yield of the river basins Sixty percent of India’s water resource potential is found in the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna (GBM basin; also called Ganga–Brahmaputra– Barak system) river systems, which account for 33 percent of the geographical area of the country. However, due to topographic constraints and spatiotemporal variability, the availability of water is only 48 percent of the total water potential in the Ganga basin, and only 4 percent of the total water potential in the Brahmaputra basin is utilized. Eleven percent of India’s water resources come from the westward-flowing rivers south of Tapti, covering 3 percent of the area, and the remaining 29 percent of the water resources lie in the river systems spread over 64 percent of the land area (MOWR, 1999). The Himalayan rivers, Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra, are snow fed and are thus perennial in nature and characterized by large summer flows, while the peninsular rivers are dependent on the monsoons and therefore seasonal. Rivers like Godavari, Krishna, Pennar, and the Cauvery pass through large tracts of low-rainfall regions and as such carry much less water than rivers passing through good rainfall areas. Yet, southern rivers and east-flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari utilize a higher percentage of the available utilizable water resource potential.

Estimates of India’s water resources Estimates of India’s surface water resources have been made from time to time. In 1949, Dr. A.N. Khosla estimated surface water resources using highly refined empirical relationships. He divided the country into six regions based on the river systems they contained: (i) rivers falling into Arabian Sea excluding Indus,

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(ii) the Indus basin within India, (iii) rivers falling into the Bay of Bengal other than the Ganga–Brahmaputra system, (iv) the Ganga, (v) the Brahmaputra, and (vi) the Rajputana. The total annual flow of all the river systems was found to be 1,673 bcm (ROIC, 1972: 45). The Central Water and Power Commission during 1954–1966 estimated the surface water resources of different basins in the context of irrigation potential. This study was mostly based broadly on statistical analysis of the flow data and supplemented by rainfall–runoff relationships where flow data were meager or not available. The country was divided into five zones, again according to river systems: west-flowing rivers; east-flowing rivers; the Indus basin; the Ganga basin; and the Brahmaputra– Barak basin. The annual water resource of all these basins taken together was estimated as 1,881 bcm. The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) estimated 1,850 bcm of total annual water resource (with 1,800 bcm available in an average year) based on a water balance approach that included rainfall, percolation of water in soils, evaporation, and evapotranspiration. After reviewing several different estimates of average river flows made by several agencies, the Central Water Commission revised the estimate of India’s average annual water resource potential in 1988. The average annual flows of the Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Mahanadi, Subarnarekha, Sabarmati, Narmada, Tapi, and the west-flowing rivers were connected for utilization of groundwater draft. Water resources in other basins were estimated on the basis of Khosla’s formula, resulting in a total of 1,879.45 bcm for twenty basins. A committee of the Central Water Commission (CWC) was assigned by the Ministry of Water Resources in January 1989 to reassess the surface water resources in the country. The results of the committee were published by the CWC and may be summarized as follows: 1 The estimated total water resource of the twelve basins was reassessed

to be 505.454 bcm (these twelve river basins are Godavari, Krishna, Pennar, Subarnarekha, Brahmani–Baitarni, two basins of east-flowing rivers, Sabarmati, Mahi, Tapi, and two basins of west-flowing rivers). 2 The water resource of the Barak (Meghna) sub-basin was estimated by the Brahmaputra Board only for the Barak portion up to the border of India and Bangladesh. The water resource of the entire Barak sub-basin was estimated to be 48.360 bcm on the basis of proportion of catchments area. 3 The annual flow series at Garudeshwar site, for a basin area of 89,345 km2 on the Narmada River, was calculated for the period 1891–1970, based on the observed flows at this location during 1948–1990. Water resources for the entire Narmada basin were estimated to be 45.64 bcm on a pro-rata basis. 4 No fresh attempt was made to estimate the water availability of Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, and Cauvery rivers. In

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1988, a correction was carried out in the estimates by taking into account the effect of utilization of groundwater. The same estimates were considered by the CWC in 1993. Total water resources of the above river basins were thus estimated as 1,150.5 bcm. 5 The estimate of water resources of rivers draining into Myanmar and Bangladesh could not be carried out due to want of reliable runoff data, but the quantity was roughly assessed as 31 bcm by CWC in 1988. In 1993, the CWC used average water runoff in the river system to estimate the total water resources of the country at 1,869.35 bcm (India, 2002). The National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development Plan (MOWR, 1999: i) estimates the total water resources of the country as 1,953 bcm (432.94 bcm groundwater and 1,520 bcm surface water). Due to variability in time and space and topographical challenges, the usable surface water resources are 690 bcm; total replenishable groundwater is estimated at 432.94 bcm (1,123 bcm) and usable groundwater resources are estimated at 396 bcm; total usable water resources are 1,086 bcm, although the estimate does not include water resources of areas of north Ladakh not draining into Indus and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. The Central Water Commission estimates utilizable water resources as 1,123 bcm (690 bcm surface water and 433 bcm groundwater) (Table 2.2).

Table 2.2: Water resources of India Geographical area

329 million hectare

Estimated annual precipitation

4,000 bcm/year

Natural runoff (surface water and groundwater)

1,869 bcm/year

Estimated utilizable water resources

1,123 bcm

Estimated utilizable surface water potential

690 bcm/year

Groundwater resources

433 bcm/year

Available groundwater resource for irrigation

361 bcm/year

Net utilizable groundwater resource for irrigation

325 bcm/year

Surface storage

225

Waste water regeneration

45,133 ml/day

Source: Central Water Commission (2011)

The National Water Development Agency estimated surface water resources of sub-basins in the Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Pennar, Brahmani–Baitarni, Mahanadi, two basins of east-flowing rivers, westflowing rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari, and west-flowing rivers from

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Tapi to Tadri, except for the rivers of the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The mean flows of these basins were obtained from the mean flows of their sub-basins as given in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3: Internal surface water resources S. No.

Name of the River Basin

1

Indus (up to Border)

2

Average Annual Potential in the River km3/bcm*

Utilizable Flow (Excluding Groundwater) km3/bcm

73.31

46.00

a) Ganga

525.02

250.00

b) Brahmaputra, Barak, and others

585.60

24.00

3

Godavari

110.54

76.30

4

Krishna

78.12

58.00

5

Cauvery

21.36

19.00

6

Pennar

6.32

6.86

7

East-flowing rivers between Mahanadi and Pennar

22.52

13.11

8

East-flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari

16.46

16.73

9

Mahanadi

66.88

49.99

10

Brahmani and Baitarni

28.48

18.30

11

Subarnarekha

13.37

6.81

12

Sabarmati

3.81

1.93

13

Mahi

11.02

3.10

14

West-flowing rivers of Kutch, Saurashtra, including Luni

15.10

14.98

15

Narmada

45.64

34.50

16

Tapi

14.88

14.50

17

West-flowing rivers from Tapi to Tadri

87.41

11.94

18

West-flowing rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari

113.53

24.27

19

Area of island drainage in Rajasthan Desert

Neg

–

20

Minor river basins drainage to Bangladesh and Myanmar

31.00

–

1,869.35

690.32

Total Note: * 1 km3 = 1 bcm

Source: http://www.cwc.nic.in/main/webpages/statistics.html#2

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37

Despite this overall abundance, the per capita availability of water was reduced from 5,177 m3/year in 1951 to 1,816 m3/year in 2001 and 1,588 m3/year2 in 2010 (CWC, 2010) due to increase in population from 1951 to 2010. Predictions are that per capita availability of India as a whole is likely to be reduced to 1,401 m3 in 2025 and the country may face severe water stress by 2050 with a per capita availability of only 1,191 m3 (CWC, 2011). During the summer season, as the flow becomes meager, there is an allround shortage of water throughout the country. The situation may be aggravated in the future due to increasing scarcity in the river basins at local and regional levels as population grows. With the present usable capacity of 550 bcm of water, pressures are bound to increase, particularly when more than 80 percent of this supply is consumed by irrigation and industries. This condition would situate India as water-stressed state on a national scale.

Water abundance and floods In several parts of India, water arrives in huge overwhelming quantities overflowing into land, beyond its normal confines causing floods. Floods in India have devastated huge areas of human habitation and incurred enormous damage in terms of lives and material. Floods in India affect 7.6 mha of land. They destroy rural and urban agglomerates and standing crops. Villagers and farmers are the worst affected. Recent floods in Bihar and Jharkhand in India and in Pakistan in 2008 have caused catastrophic disruption. It seems that the more humans try to tame rivers and reduce the destructive power of nature, the more nature rebounds with greater vengeance as if heralding its supremacy. Still, some measures work better than others.

Water scarcity and drought areas The hydrological conditions of complex mountain winds, the orientation of mountains, and the variability of rainfall, storms, and cyclones lead to excessively low rainfall areas in well-defined pockets of the Indian region. Droughts affect a sixth of the geographical area of India. About 40 mha and 12 percent of the population is drought prone. For example, in Rajasthan, the Bay of Bengal monsoon clouds are unable to cross the Himalayan barrier

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that if the per capita availability of water falls below 2,000 m3/year, the state is characterized as water-stressed, and water scarce if the per capita availability falls below 1,000 m3/year.

2

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as the winds reach northwest. The moisture from the clouds is extracted by the Aravalli range in the Eastern Ghats, and clouds passing beyond Aravalli are left with little potential for rain. It is this deficiency that led to the formation of the Rajasthan Desert. Rajasthan is one of the most droughtprone areas. Andhra Pradesh is a state facing recurrent drought where no district is risk free. The areas that receive less than 60 cm of annual rainfall are the most drought-prone areas. The National Commission on Agriculture has estimated seventy-four districts and thirteen states in India as drought prone on the basis of detailed studies.

Surface water development through storage A total storage capacity of about 225 bcm has been created in the country due to the completion of the major and medium projects. The projects under construction will contribute to additional 64 bcm while the contribution expected from projects under consideration is 107 bcm (CWC, 2011). Once all projects are completed, the likely storage capacity will be 396 bcm. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh together account for about 70 percent of total live storage capacity in the country. The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh account for 72 percent of the total storage of projects under consideration (CWC, 2010).

Groundwater resources The first scientific assessment of groundwater resources was undertaken in 1954 when the Exploratory Tube Wells Organization was set up in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at the Central Government for purposes of deep exploration, so as to assess the total amount of groundwater. Then, in 1966–1967, the Department of Agriculture initiated a centrally sponsored groundwater survey and investigation program under the auspices of the Central Ground Water Board, which became the organization officially designated for the study of groundwater resources. The Central Ground Water Board periodically estimates the total groundwater draft for the country as a whole. This figure provides the basis for estimating the extent of groundwater utilization for different years. Return flows from irrigation use are assumed to be 10 percent to 20 percent of the water diverted from the reservoir for irrigation. In case of localized use of groundwater for irrigation, the return flow is assumed to be negligible. The return flows from domestic and industrial uses either from groundwater or surface water sources are assumed to be

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70 percent to 80 percent. Table 2.4 illustrates the annual replenishable ground water resources by states in India.

Table 2.4: Annual replenishable groundwater resource by state S. No

Name of the State

Total Annual Replenishable Groundwater Resource (bcm/Year)

1

Andhra Pradesh

2

Arunachal Pradesh

3

Assam

27.23

4

Bihar

29.19

5

Chhattisgarh

14.93

6

Delhi

7

Gujarat

8

Goa

0.28

9

Haryana

9.31

10

Himachal Pradesh

0.43

11

Jammu and Kashmir

2.7

12

Jharkhand

5.58

13

Karnataka

15.93

14

Kerala

15

Madhya Pradesh

37.19

16

Maharashtra

32.96

17

Manipur

0.38

18

Meghalaya

1.15

19

Mizoram

0

20

Nagaland

0.32

21

Orissa

23.09

22

Punjab

23.78

23

Rajasthan

11.56

24

Sikkim

25

Tamil Nadu

26

Tripura

27

Uttar Pradesh

28

Uttarakhand

2.27

29

West Bengal

30.36

30

Andaman and Nicobar

36.5 2.56

0.3 15.81

6.84

0.08 23.07 2.19 76.35

0.33 (Continued  )

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Table 2.4: Annual replenishable groundwater resource by state (Continued) S. No

Name of the State

31

Chandigarh

0.02

32

Daman and Diu

0.01

33

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

0.06

34

Lakshadweep

0.01

35

Puducherry

0.16

Total

Total Annual Replenishable Groundwater Resource (bcm/Year)

432.94

Source: Water and Related Statistics, Central Water Commission, 2010

Groundwater estimates are obtained by administrative units of the Central Ground Water Board, then redistributed and readjusted to obtain corresponding basin estimates. The potential groundwater resource has two components: (1) static reserves and (2) dynamic reserves. The static reserves are 10,812 bcm but they cannot be exploited except in exceptional circumstances because they are nonreplensihable. The dynamic reserves are estimated at 432.94 bcm and can be used as they are replenished seasonally. Due to the hydrogeological variations in the country, the groundwater development potential also varies widely in different states and regions. The major source of groundwater recharge is rainfall, which contributes 67 percent of recharge. Though rainfall has been the principal source of groundwater recharge, canal seepage and return flow of irrigation were also found to contribute significantly to groundwater recharge in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, where the estimated quantity of recharge from these additional sources ranges from 43 percent to 49 percent. In the states of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, the estimated quantity ranges from 24 percent to 28 percent (CGWB, 2004). Earlier, the jurisdiction of CGWB was confined mainly to the alluvial and semi-consolidated areas, but over time the board has also undertaken exploratory programs in hard rock areas to fully evaluate groundwater potential. The Indo-Gangetic alluvial plain, with an area of around 25,000 bcm, is one of the largest groundwater reservoirs in the world. In 1986, a World Bank Consultant conducted a study on the depth of occurrence and thickness of freshwater aquifers, utilizing the findings of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), which, together with Oil India Limited, carried out seismic surveys, geological mapping, and exploratory drilling in this area (Verghese, 1990: 76). The World Bank study discovered good prospects for encountering deep freshwater aquifers under very high hydrostatic pressure, which can be tapped as free-flowing water without any need for pumping,

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but the explorations could not begin due to factors of inter-state challenges of river basin water requirements. Of the replenishable groundwater resource, nearly half of it is located in the GBB river basins. The Indus basin accounts for another 25 percent of the replenishable groundwater. Groundwater remains a steady source of water for all. Nearly 93 percent of groundwater draft is used for irrigation, while the remaining 7 percent is used for domestic and industrial requirements (CGWB, 2006). Groundwater remains an overexploited resource, causing problems of groundwater pollution and seawater ingression in coastal areas. Whether demand is high or low, utilizable surface water remains constant at 690 bcm while net groundwater availability stands at 396 bcm (MOWR, 1999), as computed for years 2010, 2025, and 2050 in Table 2.5, but the demand for water increases as industrialization, urbanization, and population burgeon.

Table 2.5: Availability of water resources in low and high demand 1997–1998

2010

2025

2050

High

Low

High

Low

High

Low

High

Low

Surface Water

690

690

690

690

690

690

690

690

Groundwater

396

396

396

396

396

396

396

396

1,086

1,086

1,086

1,086

1,086

1,086

1,086

Total of 1,086 Surface- and Groundwater

Source: Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India, 1999

Marine water resources Marine water resources are critical to navigation, fisheries, industrial and domestic products, seafood, oil, and gas. Access to the sea is of exceeding national importance, as well, because a landlocked country has to depend on neighboring countries for its trade and business. Additionally, in recent times, we have begun to realize the significance of oceans and seas to both economic development and environmental balance. India has a rich coastline bordering the Eastern and Western Ghats. The nation is wedged between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea and connected to the Indian Ocean. A cradle of ports including megacities like Mumbai, Panaji, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Nellore, Vishakhapatnam, and Kolkata, and smaller ports like Okha and Dwarka, characterizes the coastline of India. These port cities provide a livelihood to millions of people through fishing alone. In Kolkata, the fish catch and dried supplement foods provide sustenance to millions of people. Marine waters also provide turtles, as well

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as shrimp, lobster, and other arthropods that are packed and sold as food. The fish, shrimp, and lobster trade in particular is the mainstay of people in the coastal areas. Port cities with sandy shores support beautiful beach resorts, while those with rocky shores are known for infinite oceanic wealth in the form of sea products. Kelps such as Lamanaria and Saragassum are sources of iodine, Gracellaria of agar-agar and Mannitol, and a host of other marine algae yield vitamins, proteins, and minerals. Some of the algae, like Chondrus crispus, Ulva lactuca, and Phorphyra species, are eaten as a lettuce in coastal areas. Algae are also consumed in East Asia in the form of a preparation known as kambu. Navigation through Indian ports provides gateways for cargo shipments to other countries and serves as the backbone for exports and imports. Maritime transport remains the cheapest in the world, technically feasible and economically viable for large cargos that are difficult to airlift. Due to the significance of port cities, sea wealth, and benefits of navigation and transportation, marine waters are interlinked with national security. The waters of the South Asian seas wash the coastlines of five states, thereby raising issues in maritime boundary delimitation within the region. Two of South Asia’s states are islands and the others are coastal states. Three other states in the immediate region are landlocked. Under the provisions of a 1982 convention, coastal and island states claim maritime jurisdiction in the northern waters of the Indian Ocean basin. These boundaries are all in dispute, as are the boundaries between India and Pakistan in the Arabian Sea and between India and Bangladesh. A full service of coast guards protects and uses the coastline of India. Naval ships constantly watch for any intruder within the Indian zone that threatens the security of the nation. Marine shores and waters are also used by armed forces in safeguarding the nation during wartime. The treasures of the ocean also hold great promise for fulfilling India’s future energy needs, as oil and gas exploration in Bombay High and further prospects in Vishakhapatnam, Bhuj, and Kutch demonstrate. Although the full potential of these resources has not been harnessed, because oil and gas mining is in a transient phase and full-length mining has yet to be operationalized, this wealth is certainly within reach.

Freshwater ecosystem services and water security: The critical link The ecosystems in which we exist provide several benefits either directly or indirectly for human health and well-being of individuals and communities. These have been characterized as ecosystem services that these resources

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Ecosystem services

Human well-being

Supporting Security

Provisioning

Regulating

Basic material for good life

Health Cultural

Figure 2.2  Ecosystem services and human well-being Source: Millennium Ecosystem Service Assessment, 2003: vi

render to us for our development, existence, and survival in this world. The benefits that arise from these freshwater ecosystems that include rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, swamps, floodplains, and groundwater system are central to human well-being. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report, 2003 (Figure 2.2), elaborates on the functions of these ecosystem services and its value for human development emphasizing how humans are critically dependent on these resources for their survival. Among all the resources (land, air, water, and biodiversity) that are essential for sustaining the ecosystem and the services they provide to human beings, water is definitely a very critical component. No living organism can exist without water. Water resources on this planet can be characterized as: (i) finite—there is a fixed quantity on our planet; (ii) sensitive—it can be easily degraded by human activities; and (iii) irreplaceable—it has no substitute in all its uses (Illueca and Rast, 1996). There are also direct links of water, land, and the atmosphere in the hydrologic cycle via the pattern of precipitation, runoff, infiltration, and evaporation (UNEP, 2009). In India too, freshwater ecosystems provide a wide variety of services that include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and other supporting services.

Provisioning services These are services that include “products obtained from ecosystems” (MA Report, 2005: 40). These include freshwater availability for household needs, food, fisheries, hydropower, and transportation.

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Drinking water Water fulfills the domestic and drinking water requirements of the population of India. Potable water is not only essential for human well-being but also adds to manpower production days that could be lost due to bad water quality and its consequences of disease. The domestic and drinking water required for a person per day is 45.5 L in rural areas and 137 L in urban areas. The overall population of India in 1980 was 660 million, and the consumption of water was 9,646 million kL per day (Rao, 1975). Water was enough to meet the needs of the population with a per capita availability of 5,177 m3/year in 1951 but population growth and urbanization trends are imposing constraints on the service that water has been providing to us. The trends in urban use of water over rural increased by 15 percent during the period 1901–1991. The urban population will increase 4.33 percent by the year 2016, making it 30.04 percent of the total population. Such projections clearly show that water demand will grow faster than population since urban populations use more water per capita and these populations are increasing in proportion to rural populations. Wells are the main sources of water supply in rural areas. About 5,70,000 villages depend on wells for drinking water. However, supplying water from wells in the hard rock areas becomes very difficult, because the water is brackish and contaminated by fluoride. In urban areas, the problem of water supply is even more difficult as water needs to be transported over long distances involving both huge expenditure and labor; this has led to drilling of groundwater wells for domestic and household needs.

Water for food A critical service that water provides for human well-being and survival is the production of food. Water influences the food-production process in the choice of crops and the amount of yield due to the availability of water. India uses water for irrigation purposes to the maximum extent, exceeding 85 percent of total consumption. Except for rain-fed crops, both summer and winter crops depend upon irrigation water. With increasing population comes a corresponding increase in demand for food. Expansion of agriculture is therefore required, and this in turn impinges upon the demand for irrigation in India. The government envisages augmenting its utilizable water budget through interbasin transfer and storage of water and, within about 50 years, through river linking.

Water for economic and industrial development India needs enough water to supply its rapidly growing industrial sector. With a growing economy, water becomes critical in the manufacturing and

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45

production of goods by industries. Water therefore helps in the creation of the final product. For example, paper and pulp industries use water as a diluting agent to form smooth sheets using fibers. Water is used to create beverages. It can be used as a cooling agent during iron and steel production. Water is also used in agro-processing industries to create food products. All industrial processes—textiles, mining, chemicals, and thermal—need water to manufacture goods and contribute to the economy.

Energy and hydropower Energy is another important service that water provides. Water is used instream to generate electricity through hydroelectric plants. Hydropower is an important and clean source of energy. India needs hydropower for peak energy requirements. However, in spite of the large hydroelectric potential of 84,000 MW at 60 percent load factor, the present development of hydropower in India is only 38,106 MW, which is 21 percent of the total power generation installed capacity. India needs to develop its hydropower potential especially in the northeastern region which has a potential of 93 percent and in the north with a 60 percent capacity yet to be developed.

Navigation and transport Inland navigation is an important service that water ecosystems provide. Inland transport has many advantages over rail, road, and air. Water transport is cheaper because water offers less friction. In water, one horsepower can pull 4,000 kg as against 150 kg for road transport and 500 kg for air. The data show that the average distance covered by freight is 150 km, 260 km, and 150 km by rail, road, and air, respectively, per day. The cost per ton per mile comes to 3 mills (one mill = 0.1 cent), 15 mills, and 65 mills for water, rail, and road transport, making water transport clearly the cheapest option (Rao, 1975). Although countries around the world use inland and oceanic waters for navigational purposes, inland navigation has never developed in India. For the most part, this is because most of the rivers run east to west and none north to south. In the absence of north–south waterways, inland navigation never caught on. Despite a network of waterways spreading over 15,000 km in length, most of India’s water transport system is in disuse due to poor maintenance. Only half of canal and river waterways extending about 2,500 km are fit for navigation by steamers. These waterways are located in the Ganga–Brahmaputra basins and constitute 60 percent of all inland water traffic. The east and west coasts have a similar number of navigational waterways. The following sections describe these waterways in more detail.

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Major river waterways The Indus: Water transport takes place on Jhelum between Khandel and Baramula, covering 170 km and connecting Nagin, Mansabal, and Wullar lakes. The Ganga: This river is navigable between Farakka and Varanasi, but steamers can ply only from Kanpur to Buxar. The Yamuna: Boats can be used up to Agra. The Gomti: Navigation is possible up to Lucknow. The Ghagara, Rapti, Gandak, and Kosi: Boats can be used for navigation in these rivers only during monsoon season. Navigation in the canals of these rivers is not possible except in Ghagra from Dorighat to Ravelganj, Yamuna from Allahabad to Avgasi, and Gomti from Ganga to Naugaon. In Bihar, Ganga provides a 185-km waterway from Patna to Buxor, and the Ghagra, Gandak, and Kosi rivers provide a 413-km waterway from Patna to Rajmahal. In West Bengal, Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly is navigable from Rajmahal to Jalangi and Farakka Barrage through the diversion of a Ganga feeder canal to Bhagirathi and supports navigation to sand heads. Likewise, Rupanarain is navigable for 83 km and Haldia for 32 km. Tidal rivers also connect Sundarban areas. The Brahmaputra: This waterway can be used for navigation from Sadiya to Kolkata, but steamers can ply up to Nemati only. The Barak: This river provides navigation for Kachar District. The Torsa, Teesta, and Mahananda: These rivers are navigable by small country boats made of wood. The Narmada, Tapi, and Subarnarekha: Narmada is navigable up to 160 km from the north, Tapi 25 km up to Surat from the sea, and Subarnarekha 30 km from the sea. The Mahanadi: This river is navigable from the sea to Sambalpur. The Godavari: The branches of Godavari–Gowthami Godavari and Vasistha Godavari are navigable for 40 km below Anicut. The Sabri and Krishna: The Sabri is navigable before its confluence with Godavari and the Krishna from the sea up to Vijayawada.

Medium and minor river waterways Some of the west–coast rivers also provide navigation for short distances. Purna in Gujarat is navigable for 14 km, and there are forty-four other navigable tidal rivers in Maharashtra, each 5–40 km totaling 580 km. In the Goa river system, Mandri is navigable for 40 km and its tributaries for 30 km. Similarly, Zuari is navigable for 65 km, Kalindi for 29 km, Sharva for 29 km, Marai and Buhablang for 32 km, and Vedaranya for 57 km (Rao, 1975).

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Coastal canal waterways Two coastal canals—one in the east and the other in the west—interlink waterways. The east canal begins from the Rasulpur River in Midnapur in West Bengal to Balasore, Orissa. Half of this distance, about 105 km, is navigable. In south India, Buckingham canal connects the Kommamuru canal of the Krishna system with the Mercaneru backwaters of South Arcot. The west canal runs from south Trivandrum to Baliapatanam. The coastal region is navigable by boats from the Kommamuru canal up to Kakinada. Ponnani to Quilon is full of waterways except between Varkala tunnel and Kodungathu bridges. But the canal is navigable from Badagra and Baliapatanam.

Fisheries Fish provide an important source of food, especially among rice eaters in areas such as West Bengal and Bihar who depend on it as a protein supplement. Therefore, fisheries production is of great commercial value in India as well as an important source of livelihood. India produces 1.7 million tons of fish, of which 35 percent is from freshwaters. The maritime fisheries are another rich source of fish in India. Some of the fishes like eel are known to migrate from sea into the rivers and vice versa and contribute to the fishing resources of the country. Similarly, hilsa migrate from the sea shore into estuaries of rivers and add to fishery resources. The migration of such fish needs to be facilitated for continued productivity. Ganga is the richest river in fish fauna, ranging from mahseer to carp. The upper reaches of the Indus River contains brown trout. Brahmaputra has several species of carp and hilsa. In other river basins, rainbow trout and other species are found. Certain lakes like Loktak, Kolleru, Wular, and others in mountain areas are rich in fisheries. Myriads of freshwater tanks and ponds are scattered throughout the country. Some of the common varieties of freshwater fish are Catala catala, Cirhana mrigala, Labeo rohita, Labeo kalbasu, Puntius ticto, and others. In brackish waters, fish and prawns are commercially important sources of protein. In maritime fisheries, shrimps, lobsters, mullets, and prawns are important food resources. And finally, prawns from Sundarbans and the backwaters of Kerala are rich sources of protein.

Regulating services The “benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes” are given below (MA, 2005: 40).

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Freshwater ecosystems provide a lot of regulating services. A robust and healthy water ecosystem can help in the prevention of disease control, detoxification, and purification of water. For example, the function of breaking up the wastes and detoxifying the water increases the resilience of the rivers and as a consequence the security and well-being of the individual. They also help in regulation of floods. One traditional form of flood-control strategy is the construction of dams, barrages, and other embankments. Dams help in controlling flood flows to a limited extent provided they are planned with flood control as an objective and a flood cushion is created. Flood plain zonings are another way to deal with such disasters.

Cultural services These include “nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences” (MA, 2005: 40).

Tourism, recreation, and sports Large numbers of rivers, streams, lakes, tanks, and other water bodies are spots for tourist attractions, and provide scenic value, recreation, and sports. Near such spots, tourist centers and resorts are developed for recreation and attract lovers of water sports. However, much more still needs to be done to maximize the development of recreational, tourist, and sports activities in India.

Spiritual Most rivers in India are worshipped as a goddess. On several occasions in different times of the year, people flock to these riverbanks and render their salutations and prostrations to the river. Millions bathe on full moon days and it is believed that bathing in specific rivers relieve them of the sins committed by them. The rivers are considered the medium between the human and the divine. Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery are some of the rivers that hold a lot of cultural and spiritual value to the Hindus. Many religious festivals are celebrated on their banks. These rivers are considered rivers of wisdom, enlightenment, devotion, and inspiration. People believe in the healing touch of the rivers and millions pray on several auspicious occasions. All these services seem to be at risk due to unsustainable water use practices. Water systems are very sensitive to anthropogenic activities. “Every time we access, develop, transport or utilize water resources, we leave an impact that may degrade the service provided by the river,

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lake, wetland or groundwater aquifer that supplied the water in the first place. Water security, therefore, depends on how well we can address disturbances to these water systems which can, in turn, affect their services” (UNEP, 2009). Water security fulfills many functions in human and ecological life. Water is used for domestic purposes, drinking, irrigation, fishing, industrial resources, energy, transportation, and natural aesthetic amenities. The entire biological activity of the earth revolves around water. Water is also used for navigational purposes in certain parts of India. All these services depend on maintaining a healthy freshwater ecosystem. Continuing evidence of the economic and human development benefits inherent in sustaining ecosystem services are being undermined in a country that has 16 percent of the world’s population, holds 4 percent of the world’s water resources, and 2.45 percent of its land area (Iyer, 2001; UNICEF, 2013). Given the vast economic potential that these figures imply, it is ironic that the distribution of the most essential resource, water, remains highly uneven in time and space and vast populations in India live in areas of acute scarcity of water (MOWR, 1999). As population grows and India modernizes, the demand for water increases. Irrigation accounts for 85 percent; domestic use 6 percent; industrial uses 6 percent; and energy development 3 percent. By 2050, the demand for nonirrigation sectors is bound to grow. Estimates are that the demand will grow 2.2 times in industry, 2.6 times in the domestic sector, and 3.7 times in the energy sector during 2010–2050 (Thatte et al., 2009). The total demand for water is supposed to grow from 656 bcm in 2010 to 1,069 bcm by 2050 (Thatte et al., 1009). The National Commission on Integrated Water Resource Development indicates that currently nine out of twenty river basins do not have water for industry or other uses. It is estimated that Ganga and east-flowing rivers like Mahanadi and Pennar will face severe availability problems by 2050. “Based on availability and priority of use, river basins like Indus and Sabarmati did not have any residual water left for industrial and other uses even in 2010” (Gaur and Amarasinghe, 2011). Given the increasing sectoral usage, the challenges of availability, quality, and access that India is likely to face are becoming key issues in India’s water security. India needs to grapple with critical water-related issues and hydrological conditions exacerbated by human activities and the direct and indirect drivers of change. An in-depth assessment of these drivers will enable us to assess the challenges of water security in India for a comprehensive analysis of the problem and sustainable resource management dynamics.

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CHAPTER THREE

Agriculture and irrigation development in India Water, food, and the general well-being of people are integrally linked. Water contributes to achieving food security by influencing the food-production process. A critical relationship exists between water resource management, agriculture, and food security. India is an agricultural country and agriculture forms the mainstay of the Indian economy despite massive industrialization during the Five-Year Plan periods. The agricultural sector constitutes 52 percent of the labor force and about 10 percent of the total value of the country’s exports (MOA, 2012). Indian agriculture is spread over about 60 percent of the land area, and 76 percent of the population are farmers (World Bank, 2010). The contribution of agriculture and agro-industry was 56.5 percent of gross domestic product in 1950–1951 but has gradually declined to 13.7 percent in 2012–2013 at 2004–2005 prices (Economic Times, 2013). Despite the decline, however, the contribution of agriculture to the national income is still much higher than that of England, the United States, Germany, Canada, or Australia. Indeed, agriculture dominates the Indian economy to a great extent. The income per capita generated in agriculture is about 50 percent of the national average. Indian exports contribute 5 percent of the world’s agricultural exports, and India stands tenth globally in agriculture and food exports. Agriculture provides raw materials for leading industries such as cotton, jute, textiles, sugar, tobacco, edible and nonedible oils, leather, and plantation products. Agriculture contributes substantially to the exports of India. Agricultural products like tea, coffee, cashew nuts, spices, tobacco, raw jute, raw cotton, sugar, oil cakes, vegetable oils, nuts, kernels, and resin are major export earners for the nation. Agriculture also provides fodder for livestock and poultry. Although there has been a slowdown in agriculture since the 1990s, it still forms the backbone of the Indian economy and is responsible for India’s robust food security.

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India’s self-sufficiency in food production is capable of feeding its population of over a billion people. The Green Revolution gave an unprecedented boost to food production, but the “fatigue of Green Revolution” characterized by stagnation in yield levels and a need for larger quantities of fertilizers and water to produce the same yield as in 1970 makes the food scenario murky. There is a growing problem of impending food crisis due to damage to the ecology and a shortage of water and land as well as an increasing population. India is no exception to such challenges. “Who will feed India in the next 20–30 years?” M.S. Swaminathan, the man who pioneered the Green Revolution in India, replied, “Indian farm families.” The new slogan for these farm families is the Evergreen Revolution, which is projected to occur through farming systems that can help to produce more from the available land, water, and labor resources without ecological or social harm. Such optimism in India is not just the conviction of M.S. Swaminathan, for constant strides are being made to translate this into a reality. The threat to this dream lies in the unsustainable use of water in current agricultural practices. Agriculture consumes nearly 85 percent of the available water resources. Given the paramount importance of agriculture to the Indian economy and to food security, irrigation is of primary importance. It is also the largest user of water. Evidence of irrigation has been found since the settled agricultural patterns of the Indus Valley Civilization in India. Ancient Indian civilization engaged in practices of irrigation from wells, tanks, and canals and directly from rivers. Much of this indigenous science was disregarded during the colonial period when large-scale developments took place in this field. The East India Company, which came as a trading company, realized the magnitude of India’s wealth and began investing in harnessing water through irrigation in the later decades of its rule. An irrigation policy built on trade foundations disregarded the pragmatic social and ecological factors inherent in indigenous irrigation practices. A major portion of the British investment was on canal irrigation, a technology that provided the investors with increased revenue, but in the process led to inequity in water distribution through the emergence of certain property rights and ecological destruction.

Irrigation and canal development in British India During the British period, structural changes in irrigation not only began and were agreed upon (Cotton, 1874), but were also considered important enough to be disseminated as the only scientific technology for the development of canals (Buckley, 1880). The enormous revenue earned through canal development further fueled the British interest in irrigation. By

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1892, the British had constructed 43,800 miles of canals and distributaries in India, irrigating some 13.4 million acres at a capital cost of Rs.382.6 million. By 1912, the government of British India had a return net revenue of 4 to 5 percent per annum on the investments of all major works. By 1945–1946, about 74,656 miles of canals and distributaries served about one quarter of India’s cropped area. A total of Rs.1,544 million had been expended on the system, at an average rate of Rs.47 per acre, bringing in an average annual net revenue, in gross receipts less working expenses of Rs.138.3 million, of about Rs.4.2 per acre (Whitcombe, 1982: 677). Overall, colonial investment in canal irrigation yielded an 8–10 percent return consistently until 1945 (Whitcombe, 2005). The major focus of the British remained on surface water irrigation until the late 1930s when they turned toward tube well irrigation. Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur Cotton, who was the architect of canal construction in British India, realized the enormous revenue potential of irrigation. He categorically stated, “Water in India is more valuable than Gold of Australia.” His statement was backed by hard data and rationale at that time (Cotton, 1885: 130). Cotton dreamt of “connecting the whole of Indian navigation with Yangtze and the internal navigation of China thus giving India a private entrance into China, and in the fray uniting the immense population of India and China” (Cotton, 1885: 130). Apart from the revenue earned through irrigation, canal irrigation provided more agricultural production with less labor and brought high returns from the market. Cotton’s vision was that since canal-irrigated agriculture was less labor-intensive and more productive, that labor could be utilized for producing what India could best produce for the foreign world. Cotton remarked, “All that is wanted is water; and this want supplied, everything else will almost follow” (Cotton, 1885: 159). However, the British had virtually no experience in irrigation and were particularly struck by the sophisticated works of the Moghul rulers and kingdoms in the south. While Cotton considered traditional Indian society for the most part backward, he did value the financial success of irrigation works, and he encouraged learning the lessons from native engineers (Cotton, 1874: 24). The British initially did nothing to repair the existing works, but a subsequent fall in revenues compelled them to think about maintenance. The breakdown of the traditional irrigation system in Madras led Cotton to request the Corps of Engineers to take responsibility for management and repair of these works. It was from this point onwards that management, construction, and repair fell into the hands of the army. The responsibility of irrigation works was vested with the military board until the 1850s when the civil department of public works was set up (Stone, 1984). Being militarily managed and conceived, these projects had strong disciplinary features of regulation and obedience. Irrigation systems were repaired and constructed

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with an eye for revenue. This was followed by a centralized bureaucratic system whose primary interest in irrigation again was maximization of revenue through an elaborate but low-cost administration for large-scale irrigation systems, which was nonetheless useless for small, communitybased harvesting systems and irrigation structures (Shah, 2011). The British saw irrigation as an end in itself rather than a handmaiden of agricultural development (Singh, 1998: 39). Irrigation works in British India started with renovation, improvement, and extension works in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Recurrent famines and droughts during the nineteenth century compelled the British to promote development of irrigation as a protection against drought and famine. The century saw thirty-one famines and the estimated mortality rate was about 32.4 million (Jha, 1984). In India, early efforts were made to improve and revive old irrigation works. In this connection, the East India Company took up three important irrigation schemes, namely construction of the two Jamuna (Yamuna) canals—the Western Yamuna Canal in Punjab and the Eastern Yamuna Canal in the United Provinces— and the reconstruction of the Cauvery delta system in Madras (Report of the Irrigation Commission, 1972: 60). The outbreak of famines in 1832– 1833 further necessitated early completion of these irrigation projects. The period from 1836 to 1866 saw the completion of four new major works like the Upper Ganga Canal, the Upper Bari Doab Canal, the Krishna, and the Godavari Delta Systems. However, modern irrigation works are said to have begun in the third decade of the nineteenth century. It was on these works that the foundation of the modern canal irrigation was laid. Since these projects were executed in haste, problems of water-logging and salinity in certain areas made them unhealthy. Siltation of canals was also a problem. Finding their own desilting process expensive, the British resorted to scientific innovation for a solution. Gilmartin (1994) mentions in his work on the Upper Bari Daob Canal, that in the 1880s and in the 1890s R.G. Kennedy designed the slope of the canal using a mathematical formula which gave a particular velocity to water without causing silting or scouring. The silting of canals was seen as faulty design, and irrigation science was soon to remedy this problem. It was in this way that the real development of irrigation began only after the second half of the century. Until 1850, the total area under irrigation was only 3 million acres (Jha, 1984: 58). Encouraged by the results from these early projects, the British undertook many large irrigation works in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Ganga Canal opened in 1854 with a capacity of 8,888 ft. Among the other works of this century are the Godavari and Krishna canals in South India and the Upper Bari Doab in North India. One of the most successful canals now in Pakistan is the Lower Chenab Canal, built and brought into operation toward the close of the nineteenth century. In the undivided province of Bengal, many irrigation works both public and private were

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also taken up. The construction of Sone Canal in South Bihar, Tribeni Canal, and Madhubani Canal was taken up following a recurrent spate of droughts and famines. The famines of 1866, 1873–1874, and 1877–1878 caused the British to rethink the problem. On the recommendation of the Famine Commission of 1880, the government decided to set apart Rs.15 million annually for the Famine Relief Fund, of which Rs.7.5 million was to be spent on the construction of “protective irrigation works” (Indian Irrigation Commission Report, 1901–1903: Para 111). The indispensability of a planned irrigation development policy was reinforced by further famines of 1897–1898 and 1899–1900, which actually led to the formation of the irrigation commission. The commission laid down a policy for selection, financing, and maintenance of canal works. The chief function of the First Irrigation Commission was to report on the desirability of the extension of irrigation as a means of protection against famines. It recommended in 1903 that “every extension of irrigation increased the security of food supply of the country in years of drought and in these days of cheap railway freight the produce of irrigation can be carried to those parts in which it is required” (Indian Irrigation Commission Report, 1901–1903: Para 114). According to the First Irrigation Commission, the gross area irrigated by public works was about 7.5 mha. Out of these, 4.5 mha were from productive and protective works and 3 mha from minor works like tanks or inundation canals for which no separate accounts were kept (Report of the Irrigation Commission, 1972: 61). The First Irrigation Commission in 1901 is considered as a landmark in the history of modern irrigation systems in India. Irrigation was a central subject before the Montague–Chelmsford Reforms of 1919. With the introduction of provincial autonomy in 1937, all powers were transferred to provincial governments. The total area irrigated in 1900 was 13.4 mha. By 1945, the total irrigated area was 23.5 mha, of which 8 mha were in the present territory in Pakistan (Report of the Irrigation Commission, 1972: 68). The consolidation of rights and holdings of small peasants gave way to the permanent settlement and the Ryotwari System. Under the Permanent Settlement Act of 1784, hereditary rights of ownership were given to zamindars (landlords) who had rights to a part of the collected revenue. As rents were fixed in perpetuity, the state did not have any interest in the irrigation works. Due to the financial success of irrigation works in the south, the colonial state started showing an interest in irrigation in the north, but not without the levy of a direct water charge. In her pioneering work on canal irrigation, Whitcombe (1982: 677) demonstrated that commercial interests drove the British to repair the works in Delhi and Tanjore via the East India Company. The revenue from the sale of water and the taxable value of land was far above the expenditure incurred on the repair of these tanks.

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Similarly, irrigation in the Indus basin during the British period was developed for three reasons: (1) generation of revenue; (2) desire to prevent droughts in the wake of the famine of 1837–1838, which led the British to improve the Western Yamuna Canal in certain parts of North India; and (3) rehabilitation of the Sikh soldiers defeated in 1846 and disbanded in 1849. The construction of canals provided Sikhs employment and made land cultivable by irrigation (Aloys, 1967). After old construction works were repaired, the British advocated the construction of new works to enhance revenue and patronage. It was from here that the British moved to building perennial canals, provided with headworks, which can withstand the flow of floods. These headworks did not necessarily extend across the entire stream. They were constructed as weirs and later barrages. The idea was to head up the water sufficiently in times of low flow so that it could pass into the head regulator of the canal and at the same time allow unobstructed flow in times of floods. This technology provided flexibility and did not affect ecology as adversely as present-day dams. However, between 1890 and 1895, only one-fifth to one-fourth of the total expenditure on productive works was given over to irrigation. The droughts that followed raised the demand for irrigation. As a result, in 1895–1896, the total capital outlay on irrigation works increased by 33 percent over the 1885–1886 allocation, doubling irrigation capacity. Total revenue rose by 47 percent and net revenue by 62 percent. It was still the old works of “native origin” that brought in the revenue (Whitcombe, 1982). With the advent of canal irrigation, the production of staple food crops declined in favor of more lucrative commercial crops, and the peasantry was coerced into cultivating these crops. Such a situation could do little to decrease the ravages of scarcity during drought conditions (Whitcombe, 1972). A water tax had to be paid whether it was used or not in that year or whether or not there was a reliable supply from the canal (Hardiman, 2002). The Indian irrigation systems played their part in spreading disaffection with the company’s rule. The grievances of villagers in the swamped and saline tracts of Karnal and Muzaffarnagar and the intimidation of the weaker people by the stronger strata of society in the Eastern Yamuna Canal led to the attacks on the canal installations during the revolt of 1857 (Singh, 1998: 47). The Famine Enquiry Commission of 1944 was appointed to investigate the Bengal famine, and it made a thorough assessment of the food situation in the country. It recommended that if agricultural production was to keep pace with the growth of population, there was a need for major investments in irrigation in not only public works but also private works. The Grow More Food Campaign, launched in 1943 and later integrated into the First Five-Year Plan, placed emphasis on minor irrigation works.

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Irrigation since 1950 The net irrigated area in the Indian subcontinent that included the British provinces and princely states during 1944–1947 was about 28.2 mha, the largest in any country of the world (ROIC, 1972: 69). The partition of the country brought about a drastic change on the subcontinent. The irrigation works were divided among the successor states; however, the distribution of irrigated area was far from even. India got more than its share of population, but less than its due share of land resources. It was deprived of the surplus grain-producing areas and most of the Indus irrigation system. As a result, India became an importer of food grains. (ROIC, 1972: 59) Eighteen percent of the population of undivided India and 23 percent of its geographical area went to Pakistan. Although the cultivated area that went to Pakistan was about 16 percent of the total, most of it enjoyed irrigation facilities or an assured rainfall. On the other hand, areas that fell to India’s share contained a higher proportion of poor-quality land located in areas of precarious rainfall with little or no irrigation. The irrigated area in undivided India constituted 48 percent of the total cultivated land. On partition, Pakistan received 31 percent of the area of undivided India. Major canal systems including the Sutlej and the Indus were given to Pakistan. East Bengal was earlier part of Pakistan and now constitutes Bangladesh. Bangladesh forms part of an area with assured rainfall and good crops of rice and jute. The irrigation works that remained in India were mostly old works meant to ward off famines rather than increase yields. The net irrigated area in the Indian Union in 1950–1951 was 20.85 mha. Recognizing the crucial importance of developing irrigation to increase agricultural production, giant schemes like Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley, and Hirakud projects were taken up (ROIC, 1972: 71). From the First Five-Year Plan to the Eighth, the utilization of irrigation potential increased from 22.6 mha to about 80.76 mha. By the end of the Tenth Plan (2002–2007), the irrigation potential created and utilization achieved was reported as 123.3 mha. The percentage utilization of total potential created was 73.9 at the end of 2006–2007. In addition, if all major, medium, and minor irrigation projects were taken into consideration, then out of 140 mha of ultimate potential 88.1 percent has been created of which 73.9 percent has been utilized at the national level (CWC, 2010). About 40 percent of the cropped area is irrigated, and this was further increased after projects under construction were completed. Consequently, food production quadrupled from about fifty million tons in 1950 annually to a record of 252 million tons in 2011–2012 (MOA, 2012).

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Water is critical to India’s agriculture sector. More than 60 percent of the country’s agriculture is rain fed. This rain-fed area produces more than 8 percent of coarse grains, pulses, oilseeds, and cotton (Gulati and Kelley, 1999). Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh are exceptions, having irrigation rates of 94 percent, 79 percent, and 67 percent, respectively (Ministry of Agriculture, 2001). These irrigation areas are the cornerstones of the Green Revolution and account for close to 70 percent of total production of wheat in India. A major part of freshwater in India is used for agriculture and drinking purposes (Bohle et al., 2000), and the major source of irrigation water is through a series of canal networks. There are six major canals, providing the irrigation from North to South India. Only some of the important canals are briefly described here.

The Agra Canal The Agra Canal is an important irrigation work constructed in 1873 starting from the Okhla Barrage covering Delhi, Faridabad in Haryana, Mathura, and Agra districts of Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Bharatpur Rajasthan. This canal receives its water from the Yamuna at Okhla, about 22 km downstream in Delhi. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation during cultivation of the rabi crops. The canal had become old and a modernization project was created to increase the carrying capacity of the canal. Total potential of the project after its modernization is 2,09,721 ha. Total potential created is 1,97,520 ha (WRIS-India, 2013).

The Ganga Canal This canal system irrigates the Doab region between the Ganga River and Yamuna River. It is divided into two canals—the Upper Ganga Canal and the Lower Ganga Canal. Originally constructed during 1842–1854 for an original head discharge of 6,000 cusecs, the Upper Ganga Canal is the original Ganges Canal, which starts at the headworks of the Bhimgoda Barrage constructed in 1991–1992 after replacement of the old weir at Har-ki-Pauri at Haridwar. It benefits nine districts such as Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Mathura, Agra, Mainpuru, and Etha. It is one of the oldest irrigation systems of Uttar Pradesh and serves a command area of 9.24 lakh ha1 in western Uttar Pradesh besides augmenting water to Agra and Lower Ganga Canal systems. It has a distribution system of 4,061.9 miles (6,537 km). The Lower Ganga Canal completed in 1878 has created and utilized irrigation potential of 527 thousand hectares. The 1

(10 lakhs = 1 million).

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canal has increased agricultural prosperity in these states, and the irrigation departments of these states actively maintain the canal against a fee system charged from users (WRIS, 2013).

Indira Gandhi Canal This is one of the biggest canal projects of India. It starts from the Harike Barrage, a few kilometers below the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas rivers in Punjab, runs south-southwest in Punjab and Haryana and mainly in Rajasthan for a total of 650 km, and terminates near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The construction of this canal was started in 1958 and the first phase is nearing completion. The canal traverses seven districts of Rajasthan. The canal remains under construction with the objective of converting the part of Rajasthan through which it runs from a wasteland to an agriculturally productive area. It was earlier known as the Rajasthan Canal and its name was changed in 1984. This canal uses water released from Pong Dam and provides irrigation facilities to the northwestern region of Rajasthan, a part of the Thar Desert. It consists of a Rajasthan feeder canal and 445 km of the Rajasthan main canal, which is entirely in Rajasthan. It also provides water for drinking and domestic uses. After the completion of the second phase of the Indira Gandhi Canal, irrigation facilities would be available in an area of 6,770 km² in Jaisalmer District and 37 km² in Barmer District. An irrigation facility has already been provided in an area of 3,670 km² in Jaisalmer District. The canal has transformed the barren deserts of Jaisalmer into lush green fields. Crops of mustard, cotton, and wheat now grow in this semiarid western region of the state, which was previously full of sand and incapable of producing crops. Indira Gandhi Canal has transformed this arid region into a “green granary.” Besides providing water for the crops, the canal also supplements the drinking water needs of hundreds of people in the far-flung areas of Rajasthan. After the completion of the second phase of construction work, the canal will be on the way to reclaim the Thar Desert and increase the spread of fertile land. Since 1965, afforestation efforts were started once water was available in the area by taking up plantation/greening drives to stabilize the sand dunes and check the spread of desert.

Assessment of canal irrigation in India While canal irrigation has substantially benefited India’s population over the years, it has come under criticism for a variety of reasons. In the 1900s, canal irrigation was better in terms of productivity, operation, and maintenance, but the last 100 years have shown that it has failed as a

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commercial venture. Irrigation dues have remained stagnant for decades; public irrigation in India has failed to deliver water where and when it is most needed, and the socioeconomic returns the canals were designed to provide have failed to materialize (Shah, 2011: 71). Researchers have noted that surface water irrigation systems were underutilized and only a fraction of the designed command actually benefited from the irrigation water (Daines and Pawar, 1987). Poor management and maintenance were key problems: Repetto (1986: 4) mentioned this when he wrote, “Public irrigation systems themselves are sinking under their managerial, economic and environmental problems”—a situation that continues even today. With higher withdrawals in the headreach by farmers, the lower reaches of the design command began to rely on groundwater sources for irrigation. Apart from Operation and Maintenance (O&M) challenges, political interference in design, supply, and management has led to pump irrigation taking over the gravity flow of canal irrigation in India. Pump irrigation is also in use from the canals and where canal irrigation first drove out wells from the regions, the trends seem to be reversed since the 1990s and is taking place at a national scale (Selvarajan, 2002; Thakkar, 1999: 19). The percentage decline/increase of land area under different types of irrigation from 1996–97 to 2002–3 is illustrated in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1: Percentage increase/decline in canal irrigation area for India Land Area

Decline

Area under canal irrigation

13.8%

Area under tank irrigation

42.4%

Area under all other sources

  28%

Area under groundwater

Increase

More than 9%

Source: Janakrajan and Moench, 2006

Indian canal systems were designed to mobilize and move around some 300 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water in a normal year. According to the CWC, these irrigate some 30 million out of a total 37 million ha that can be potentially irrigated. The volume of water storage needed to irrigate a hectare is around 10,000 m3/ha. The Land Use Survey data suggest that the volume of water storage often reaches to 20,000 m3/ha, a good deal of which creates water logging or evaporates without producing any benefit (Shah, 2011: 82). With pump irrigation economy spreading, an all-India National Sample Survey (NSS) of 78,990 farm households in 1998 showed hardly any difference in the average gross irrigated area per sample household in villages served with government canals and those without the canals. The study found that privately owned irrigation facilities had

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taken over through hired pump sets that cultivated a large part of land (NSSO, 1999: 39). Another large-scale survey found that in 2002, 76 percent of the 4,646 villages surveyed had irrigation facilities, but most were in the form of tube wells. Out of the villages having these facilities, 76.2 percent were irrigated in this manner. The pump irrigation economy has started to deliver water in the command and the areas not under the command design (Shah, 2011). The excessive irrigation and intensification of agriculture over the years has caused environmental degradation and created new wastelands. The problem of water logging has arisen due to excessive irrigation, seepage from canals, and lack of drainage. These factors resulted in the rise of the water table, the development of salinity, and finally the submergence of land. Salinization is also the result of a need for more water in the cultivation of crops such as wheat and rice grown for economic gains. These canal systems were constructed and maintained during the British colonial period when the cultivation of cash crops increased. Following partition, the largest irrigation network built by the British became a part of Pakistan, and India embarked upon its own water resource development program through a series of dams and canals to meet its agricultural needs and create food security. The following section discusses some of India’s dams built in the post-independence era.

Dams and water resource development India ranks third in the world after China, USA, and Russia in terms of number of dams. The largest numbers of dams have been built in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh (Figure 3.1). These dams play a very important role in the water resources development of the nation. Most dams in India are constructed, maintained, and owned by state governments but there are certain dams that are controlled and owned by organizations like Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation (THDC), and National Hydro Electric Power Corporation (NHPC). The national perspective focused on a supply-based paradigm for supply management as the only alternative to meet water needs for such diverse purposes in a sustainable manner. In the postcolonial independent era, India regarded big dams and megaprojects as a symbol of development. It is commonly accepted that India has about 4,839 big dams spread over various parts of the country with 358 dams (Table 3.2) under construction (CWC, 2013). Of these, forty-two large dams were built in the beginning of the twentieth century; by 1950, 250 additional dams were built, and the

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2,000 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 West Bengal

Other States

Uttarakhand

Uttar Pradesh

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

Orissa

Punjab

Maharashtra

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Karnataka

Jharkhand

Jammu &Kashmir

Gujarat

Himachal

Bihar

Chhattisgarh

Andhra Pradesh

Series1

Figure 3.1  State-wise distributions of large dams in India Source: CWC, 2012/2013.

rest were constructed in the second half of the twentieth century. Roughly half of the total number of large dam projects was built during the period 1970–1989 (The India Country Report to the World Commission on Dams, Large Dams: India’s Experience, June 2000). Some of the major dams in various states listed below include:

Table 3.2: Large dams in India (completed and under construction) State Andhra Pradesh

No. of Dams  334

Bihar

  24

Chhattisgarh

 257

Gujarat

 666

Himachal

  19

Jammu & Kashmir

  14

Jharkhand

  77

Karnataka

 231

Kerala

  59

Madhya Pradesh

 906

Maharashtra

1,845

Orissa

 204

Punjab

  15 (Continued  )

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Table 3.2: Large dams in India (completed and under construction) (Continued) State

No. of Dams

Rajasthan

211

Tamil Nadu

116

Uttar Pradesh

130

Uttarakhand

19

West Bengal

28

Other States2

28

Total

5,197

Source: CWC, 2013

The most significant contribution of large dam projects was to increase food grain production from 51 million tons in 1950–1951 to almost 209 million tons in 1999–2000 (WCD, 2000). This helped bring the nation to the threshold of self-sufficiency of food and ensured food security for its population, although the increase in productivity was largely due to the Green Revolution in India, characterized by high-yielding crop varieties coupled with fertilizer and water input. Availability of sufficient irrigation, however, was a prerequisite for the absorption of chemical fertilizers triggering high yields. Apart from feeding more than a billion people, the dams have also provided hydroenergy, for domestic and industrial needs. The hydroenergy produced by dams contributed about 17.55 percent of total energy generated by India estimated at 39,623.40 MW (MOP, 2013). The contribution of dams in flood control has been limited in the absence of flood cushions, since water must be released from dams for their safety. In a sense, the flood-control strategy using dams has been only moderately successful. In spite of the benefits cited by dam proponents, dam building in India has been considered very controversial due to the social, economic, and environmental costs that far outweigh its benefits. In this section, three of the most historic and controversial dams are briefly discussed in terms of their long history of protest and questionable benefits. These dams were constructed to store rainwater from rivers that flow away to sea without utilization during rains. This stored water is used in the lean water seasons and is transferred to water-scarce areas, and it is also used to control floods and generate hydroenergy. Other states include: Andaman and Nicobar(2), Arunachal(1), Assam(4), Goa(5), Manipur(5), Meghalaya(6), Sikkim(2), Tripura(1), and Haryana (1).

2

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Bhakra Nangal Dam The Bhakra Nangal Dam symbolizes the developmentalist policies of India. This dam is the earliest river valley development project undertaken by independent India. It was conceived long before India became independent, and works commenced in 1946. Soon after independence in 1948, the project was reoriented and launched and was completed in successive phases in the 1970s. Dedicating the Bhakra Nangal Dam to the nation in October 1963, the then prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru said, “This dam has been built with the unrelenting toil of man for the benefit of mankind and therefore is worthy of worship. May you call it a Temple or a Gurdwara or a Mosque, it inspires our admiration and reverence.” The Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi undertook a detailed performance analysis of Bhakra Nangal Dam in 2003 vis-à-vis its socioeconomic and environmental impacts over the last five decades. It stated that the dam had fulfilled in a sustained manner all objectives envisaged in the Project Report and in addition rendered many incidental and indirect benefits far beyond what was anticipated. The report claimed that the project benefits outweighed whatever social and environmental costs had been paid. On the other hand, Unravelling Bhakra, a three-year study published on the impacts of Bhakra Nangal Dam contests these claims that the broad developmental impacts of the project, in particular its contribution to food security in the country, cannot be solely attributed to the dam alone. “Bhakra project is accorded overwhelming, at times the sole credit for rescuing India from hunger and famine, and more importantly, helping her regain selfrespect, to get out of the demeaning position of having to accept rotten wheat as food aid under the PL 480 program” (Dharmadhikari, 2005: ix). According to the report, Our study has shown that this argument is widely off the mark. The agricultural success of Punjab and Haryana has been a short burst of prosperity that is not only stagnating but is plunging into economic, ecological and social crisis. And even this short burst has had little to do with Bhakra. Hence, the use of Bhakra as an argument to justify other large dams is a highly specious argument. (233) The report claims that Bhakra did not create any new irrigated areas. The driving force behind the irrigated growth was tube well irrigation that began in Punjab in the 1960s, HYV (high yielding variety) seeds, and chemical fertilizers. A huge part of the production in Punjab and Haryana today comes from the areas dependent on unsustainable extraction of groundwater—43 percent for Punjab and 34 percent for Haryana (Dharmadhikari, 2005). The report concludes that Bhakra has been given undue credit for the Green

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Revolution, and it should not be a model for making large dams. The process of dam building continued during the 1960s, and several other big dams were conceived and constructed in the decades beginning in the 1960s up to the 1990s. One of the most controversial dams that received international attention has been the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Madhya Pradesh.

Sardar Sarovar Dam Conceived in 1946, this project was to be built on a 1,300-km stretch of the Narmada River that spans the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The project envisaged 30 big dams, 135 medium dams, and 3,000 small dams with a final height of 138 meters. Construction began in the 1980s. It was estimated that with a 75,000-km canal network the project will irrigate more than 1.8 mha of land, mostly in Rajasthan, and provide drinking water to drought-prone areas of Kutch and Saurashtra in Gujarat. The opponents of the project claim that the benefits projected by the government are highly exaggerated and instead the project will displace more than 320,000 people and adversely affect the livelihood of thousands of others. One of the main projects, Sardar Sarovar Dam in India came under controversy right from its inception in the 1980s. It was argued that the development efforts in the Narmada valley would result in the flooding of the traditional lands of over 250,000 tribal people living on the banks of the Narmada River in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. In total, over 1 million people were adversely affected (Asia Watch, 1992). The project was undertaken by the state governments of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, supported by the central government of India. It was at one time partially funded by the World Bank and Japan’s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, and has been the subject of an unprecedented independent review commissioned by the World Bank (Independent Review, 1992). The Morse Commission Report, submitted in 1992, deprecated the “environmental and social tradeoffs (that) have been made and continue to be made without a full understanding of the consequences,” noting that rehabilitation and environmental issues had not even been considered. This led to the withdrawal of the bank, but as a monument of great pride, the government decided to fund it. Opposition to the dam has grown since 1988 when numerous social action groups shifted from their earlier stance of seeking a comprehensive resettlement package. On the local level, the objective was first limited to obtaining proper resettlement compensation. On the international level, the certain destruction of pristine wildlife areas motivated the first campaigners in countries other than India to raise their voice; the concern for the environment was quickly blurred by a compelling concern for the rights of

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tribals. Once it became clear that the authorities involved would not be able to properly compensate the people being ousted, the campaign on the local level became an antidam campaign (Jordan and Van Tuijl, 1997). Since then, representatives of rural communities along the Narmada and independent nongovernmental organizations or social action groups have lobbied prime ministers of India; chief ministers of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh; state and national bureaucrats; the Japanese government and the World Bank; and other governments funding the bank. These actions relied on the formation of alliances among organizations and movements across India and on international linkages with nongovernmental organizations in more than twenty countries (Fischer, 1995). A petition filed in 1994 halted the construction of the dam, but a Supreme Court judgment in 2,000 went in favor of constructing the dam with a rider that every 5 meters of height increase has to be followed by proper rehabilitation and resettlement of people displaced. This has led to the mass protests of the NBA (Save the Narmada Movement) and fasts by its leader Medha Patkar when government adopted an indifferent stance to people’s problems. In post-independence India, the Narmada Bachao Andolan against the building of the Sardar Sarovar dam has brought into focus serious issues regarding the planning of development projects and the paradigm of development itself. Critics believe that the dam-building process has exposed the fraud, deceit, and suppression perpetrated in the name of “public purpose” and “national interest.” Evidence in the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) points to the economic insolvency, undue favors, irregular disbursal of funds, and indiscriminate market borrowing that plagued the project. The CAG report (2004) as cited in Upadhyaya (2006) that covered three districts under the Saurashtra pipeline states, The gross average daily intake during the two years of its operation [December 2000 to November 2002] was 119.80 million liters a day against the envisaged capacity of 287 million liters a day [42 per cent] only. Of the envisaged coverage of 1,860 villages/ towns, benefit reached only 543 [29 per cent] villages. The CAG report goes on to state that “of the 1.51 million beneficiaries, 1.42 million [94 per cent] in 503 villages/towns were supplied with raw water as there was no filtration arrangements at the headworks, exposing them to the risk of contracting water-borne diseases” (Upadhyaya, 2006). The report reprimanded the government for its failure to supply water to the targeted population. The CAG Report (2004) as cited in Upadhyaya (2006) covering Kutch, Jamnagar, and Rajkot districts states,

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As a result of the delay in the execution of the distribution works, the gross daily intake from May 2003 to June 2005 was 145.17 million liters a day [29 per cent] against the envisaged capacity utilization of 500 million liters a day and only 415 out of 1,342 targeted villages/towns were covered. The CAG report blames the Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board as well as the consultant in the monitoring and execution of works for the failure to deliver the benefits to the people. The rehabilitation work also remains incomplete. Sardar Sarovar Project has been mired in controversy ever since its inception, not just on the plank of the technical feasibility but also due to the enormous social, environmental, financial, cultural and human costs that have to be paid, over generations. An intense people’s movement in the valley has, in its 3 decades old existence, which runs parallel to the project work, raised and continues to ask serious questions on the large scale displacement of people from their communities and livelihoods and the magnitude of environmental damage that the Project would cause. These questions have become even more relevant in today’s context when the dam is sought to be taken to its full height of 138.68mts, despite considerable evidence of non-compliance on various conditions in the clearances, laws and judgments. (Independent People’s Tribunal, 2010) The tribunal held the governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh responsible for violating the right to life, livelihood, and rehabilitation of thousands of oustees of the Sardar Sarovar Project causing illegal and unjustifiable displacement of adivasis and other farmers, fisher people, and the like. The tribunal expressed deep concern for these people who stand the risk of being destitute and deprived in the absence of proper rehabilitation in a timebound manner.

Tehri Dam This dam is a major hydroelectric project centered near the town of Tehri in Uttarakhand in India, built on Bhagirathi River, the main tributary of the sacred River Ganga. The Tehri Dam has a height of 855 ft (261 m) and is the fifth tallest dam in the world. It is one of the multipurpose projects conceived in 1949 to provide drinking water, electricity, and irrigation. With a reservoir storage spread over 20 square miles, it is the tallest dam in India with a 260.5 meter height. The dam construction affected the Tehri town and thirty-seven villages fully and eighty-eight villages partially. The dam is

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enormous with huge capability. It has the capacity to generate 2,400 MW of power, to irrigate an area of 2,70,000 ha, to stabilize irrigation over an area of 6,00,000 ha, and to supply 270 million gallons of drinking water per day to areas of Delhi and for towns and villages in Uttar Pradesh (THDC, nd). The Tehri Dam was planned with an initial budget of four million dollars, but on completion the construction cost had increased to over a billion US dollars. The Tehri Dam has also witnessed active protests against its construction. Sundarlal Bahugana, a noted environmentalist and Gandhian, led these protests. His philosophy, “Let Ganga be free of pollution and let Ganga flow freely,” became the launching slogan of the Save Himalayas and Save Ganga movement. Bahugana led a long protest extending over two decades. He lived in a tent pitched on the bank of Bhagirathi, protesting, organizing dharnas and seminars, publishing booklets, and making people aware of the cause. Other NGOs like Mattu Sangthan and Jal Biradari were also associated with the struggle. Social activists and civil society are still engaged in helping displaced people get proper resettlement. The INTACH study predicted the useful life of the dam will be reduced to 62 years by the huge volumes of sediment that will be trapped in its reservoir. A recent study shows that the cost of electricity per unit from Tehri is almost twice the average cost of power supply in the neighboring states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. But in spite of the protests, the dam construction continued and the dam became complete in 2006 when Russia’s leading heavy machinery manufacturer commissioned the first out of four units of the controversial Tehri Hydro Power Plant, which is part of the ambitious Tehri Hydro Power Complex. Controversy over the social and ecological aspects of the dam remains. Rehabilitation of the people affected still remains incomplete and past estimates range to about 67,500 people whose lands have been fully or partially submerged and have to be compensated and rehabilitated.

Controversy over large dams The experience of large dam construction in India was not pleasant. Despite the government’s developmentalist approach, the dam projects were not well received by the local people. The human impacts of resettlement have brought misery to the local populations through displacements, which include change in lifestyles and livelihoods, agonies of separation from their native places, and adapting to new habitations. The resettlement impacts poor and tribal communities most severely. More importantly, there are weak mechanisms of rehabilitation and inadequate compensations. Landbased resettlement scatters well-knit communities to unfamiliar places and forces people to go through the difficult process of learning new survival

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skills. For example, report on resettlement of persons displaced by Srisailam Dam across the Krishna in Andhra Pradesh refers to payment of commissions and bribes from out of the compensation received. While speaking of good amenities and housing, the study mentions sharp declines in income and work and problems in finding fuel and fodder. For example, the Fact-finding Committee on the Srisailam Project (SOC, 159) found: that the replacement value of one acre of dry land was around Rs.5000, and for one acre of wet land Rs.13800. The compensation actually paid was only Rs.932 and Rs.2,332 respectively. In this way, the amount paid as compensation was five times less than the amount that would be required by the negatively affected persons to purchase agricultural land of equivalent quantity and quality. (WCD, 2000) Several cases were filed in the district courts challenging the quantum of compensation. The Tehri Dam was the center of a popular movement led by Sunderlal Bahuguna. It was to this effect that a World Commission on Dams was established in 1998. The report of the commission concedes that “dams at any costs or dams at no cost” are both extremist positions in a world of growing water and energy demands. While major developmental projects cannot be negated, minor and medium projects can be encouraged. The commission has accepted equity, efficiency, participatory decision making, sustainability, and accountability as core values that should guide a proposed project. It considers that there should be demonstrable public acceptance of the key decisions (Thakkar, 1999), as there has been a growing understanding that those relocated feel powerless and alienated when uprooted from familiar surroundings in which they have lived for generations, and that actually results in weakening social cohesion and insecurity in existence. This weakening tends to impact state stability in the form of popular environmental movements, threatening “Jal Samadhi” Dharnas (sit outs) and hunger strikes. Development projects like the Tehri Dam and the Sardar Sarovar Dam are testimony to this leading to tensions between those who bear the social cost of the project and those who gain hydropower, drinking water, and irrigation benefits. Overall, serious questions have been raised over the social and financial viability of existing large dam projects, and it is said that the dams have failed to achieve projected targets and the revenue generated by them is insufficient to even maintain them. The dams are constructed in the interest of political economy, but communities suffer due to corruption, intermediaries engulfing any major financial gain, and inequitable cost-benefit ratios. Systems of care, protection, compensation, resettlement, and rehabilitation remain largely insensitive to community needs leading to a fundamentally disenfranchising experience.

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Loss of forests and biodiversity has also aroused great passions among environmentalists. A vast amount of land is submerged in such megaprojects, and the worst affected are the poor and the marginalized tribal communities. The Koel Karo Project has still not come through because of the resistance of the tribals to giving up 870 ha of land. The Sardar Sarovar also submerged 2,732 ha of forestland. While states provide compensatory afforestation, this cannot substitute for the natural forests or for the socioeconomic and ecological costs incurred by these projects. Many a movement against water resource development projects has been fueled by the local interests of people in their livelihoods and their love for the ecology of their native places. Indeed, many believe that large dams are no longer economically and technologically viable as a solution to water problems. Some do rate them as signs of development, but unless technical issues of terrain, economics, and affected population are targeted appropriately, such projects are bound to create a furor in the region. These environmental impacts of dams are varied and depend upon the specifics of location, habitat of people and animals, types of construction, geographic conditions, and area involved in the construction. However, some of the environmental impacts commonly witnessed are given below: ● The dams are usually located in natural areas unaffected by excessive human interference. These areas are peaceful and full of tranquility. The construction of dams involves a lot of activity and destroys the natural conditions, making life difficult if not impossible for flora, fauna, and people to survive. ●

Large dam projects transform the ecology by submerging huge chunks of land and its biodiversity.

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The impounding of lotic water adversely affects fish, aquatic flora and fauna, and water quality.

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By submerging an area, dam construction disrupts movement of animals and people of the area. They have to circumvent the body of water to cross the area. In many cases, local species vanish under such conditions when kept in a closed area.

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The noise, dust, and intervention of work vehicles during dam construction alter the environment to such an extent that the area becomes unsuitable for the living conditions of animal species.

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The loss of forested area also forces decline in biodiversity.

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The impounding of water in the dam poses a public health problem by breeding disease vectors that would not breed so easily in flowing waters.

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The creation of a large, impounded body of water brings about change in the ecology of the area.

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●

Dams constructed in seismically active areas face threats from earthquakes, and if any breakdown happens in the dam due to natural calamity, the water of the dam will spill abruptly, flooding the lower areas and resulting in massive loss of life and property.

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Dam constructions change the total complexion of rivers downstream as it checks the water flows of rivers and canals over which the dams are constructed and impacts water quality as it impairs the self-purification capability of flowing waters. The reduced silt and nutrient load downstream impacts the fertility of land for agriculture in lower riparian areas as well as industry dependent on silt and sand mining.

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The submergence of land sometimes causes damage to religious and historical places.

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Dams can bring about water logging and salinization of land and sometimes loss of agricultural land.

While dam authorities plan to execute mitigation measures, it is seldom easy to mitigate nature to perfection. The increasing awareness about alternative strategies that are technically feasible, economically viable, and socially friendlier have been instrumental in the growing disenchantment over large dam projects. Practically all big dam projects have remained controversial, largely protested and resisted by people and agency of civil society. Many of these struggles have diminished the value of these massive projects and highlighted the weaknesses of policy planning that failed to prevent harm to the ecology and to the people.

The megaproject of interlinking rivers In spite of the controversies over large dam projects, policy makers have continued to show a persistent interest in interbasin water transfers. The then-Ministry of Irrigation formulated a “National Perspective Plan” plan for water resources in August 1980, which led to the establishment of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) in 1982 to study basinwide surpluses and deficits and explore the possibilities for storage, links, and transfers through the interlinking of major rivers. It was in this context that the National Commission on Integrated Water Resource Development (Ministry of Water Resources, 1999) observed that optimal utilization of land and water should be aimed at fully exploiting intrabasin surpluses before considering interbasin transfers. The commission did not discuss in detail the Himalayan component as data on the Himalayan rivers is classified as confidential. NWDA’s Himalayan component thus requires a more detailed study and the actual implementation is unlikely to be

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undertaken in the immediate future. In the case of the peninsular rivers, after careful examination of the water balances in the various basins, the commission observed that there was no imperative need for massive water transfers. The assessed needs could be met with more efficient utilization of intrabasin resources, except in the case of Cauvery and Vaigai basins where water could be transferred on a limited basis from the Godavari River. The National Water Development Agency has studied the resources of different basins, assessing availability for the transfer of surplus in the Mahanadi– Godavari–Krishna–Pennar–Cauvery links and diverting the west-flowing rivers of Kerala and Karnataka eastward, though it is difficult to persuade Orissa and Andhra Pradesh that there is surplus in the Mahanadi or the Godavari. Although the NCIWRD (National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development) observed that there was no imperative need for interlinking rivers, the government decided to go ahead with the interlinking of rivers project (ILRP). The benefits cited by the National Perspective Plan was an additional gain of 25 mha of irrigation from surface waters, 10 mha by increased use of groundwater, totaling to 35 mha and 34,000 MW of hydropower generation. Other benefits include mitigation of drought and flood control; industrial and domestic water supply; navigational facilities and employment generation; fisheries, pollution, and salinity control; recreational facilities; infrastructural development and socioeconomic development (NWDA, 1980). The Central Water Commission Report (2011) states that the water demand by 2050 is going to be 1,450 bcm creating a deficit of 327 bcm based on estimated utilizable resources of 1,123 bcm; interlinking projects could give the country 200 bcm and thus reduce the deficit to 127 bcm. A major assumption of this project by the government of India was based on its conviction that given the problem of water availability in the region, all states will cooperate and this will not entail any intrastate or interstate conflict. Interbasin transfers and supply sharing of basin water to fulfill the needs of states in terms of irrigation, hydropower generation, municipal and industrial uses, and navigation and transport would be agreed upon by states. Eventually the interlinking river project aims at transferring waters of Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins to the peninsular areas of South India across the Vindhyan Mountains. This project has two components, which are discussed below (http://wrmin.nic. in/interbasin/perspective.htm).

The Himalayan component This component would transfer water from the Brahmaputra and Ganga system westwards to southern Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, and eventually to the southwest (Figure 3.2).

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1. Kosi−Mechi 2. Kosi−Ghagra 3. Gandak−Ganga 4. Ghagra−Yamuna* 5. Sarda−Yamuna* 6. Yamuna−Rajasthan 7. Rajasthan−Sabarmati

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8. Chunar−Sone Barrage 9. Sone Dam−Southern Tributaries of Ganga 10. Manas−Sankosh−Tista−Ganga 11. Jogighopa−Tista−Farakka (Alternate) 12. Farakka−Sunderbans 13. Ganga (Farakka)−Damodar−Subernarekha 14. Subernarekha−Mahanadi *FR Completed

Figure 3.2  Links identified in the Himalayan component Source: “National Perspective Plan,” NWDA (1980) http://nwda.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/2079852609.JPG

The peninsular component This component would connect Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennar, and Cauvery, Ken–Betwa, Parbati–Kalisindh–Chambal, Par–Tapi–Narmada, Damanganga–Pinjal, and so on (Figure 3.3). There was also a plan to partially divert certain rivers flowing into the Arabian Sea and linking them with rivers flowing eastward into the Bay of Bengal.

Proposed river links The Himalayan component proposes fourteen canals (Figure 3.2) and the peninsular component sixteen (Figure 3.3). In the Himalayan component, many dams are slated for construction on the tributaries of the Ganga and Brahmaputra in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The project intends to link the

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1. Mahanadi (Manibhadra)−Godavari (Dowlaiswaram)* 2. Godavari (Inchampalli)−Krishna (Nagarjunasagar)* 3. Godavari (Inchampalli)−Krishna (Pulichintala)* 4. Godavari (Polavaram)−Krishna (Vijayawada)* 5. Krishna (Almatti)−Pennar* 6. Krishna (Srisailam)−Pennar* 7. Krishna (Nagarjunasagar)−Pennar (Somasila)* 8. Pennar (Somasila)−Palar−Cauvery (Grand Anicut)*

9. Cauvery (Kattalai)−Vaigai−Gundar* 10. Ken−Betwa* 11. Parbati−Kalisindh−Chambal* 12. Par−Tapi−Narmada* 13. Damanganga−Pinjal* 14. Bedti−Varda 15. Netravati−Hemavati 16. Pamba−Achankovil−Vaippar* * FR Completed

Figure 3.3  Links identified in the peninsular component Source: “National Perspective Plan,” NWDA (1980), http://nwda.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/4771054686.JPG

Brahmaputra and its tributaries with the Ganga and the Ganga with the Mahanadi River to transfer surplus water from east to west. The scheme envisages flood control in the Ganga and Brahmaputra basins and a reduction in water deficits for many states. The peninsular component envisages river interlinks to benefit the states of Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, and Maharashtra. The linkage of the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers is proposed to feed the Krishna, Pennar, Cauvery, and Vaigai rivers. Transfer of water from Godavari and Krishna entails pumping 1,200 cusecs of water over a crest of about 116 meters. Interlinking the Ken with the Betwa, Parbati, Kalisindh, and Chambal rivers is intended to benefit Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

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The river link network envisages knitting together ten major rivers across the nation, unheard of in human history. There are perspectives that argue that this project can really benefit water-scarce and drought-prone areas, increase irrigation potential and food security. There are others who believe that the project is likely to alter the geography of the country, impose ecological risks, and inadvertently distribute pollutant loads across the rivers, raising questions of accountability for sources of pollution and displacement of people. There are vital questions to be answered over risks and other critical issues.

Challenges and risks in the interlinking river project Critical issues to be addressed in the ILRP include risk assessment and technological challenges in transferring water from one basin to the other. The water surplus during July–October in the donor area of the Ganga– Brahmaputra basin is not available at the time needed (January–May) in the peninsular rivers recipient area. Utilizing surplus waters, therefore, will require enormous holding reservoirs, as the direct transfer of surplus water is not possible. In spite of all conventional safety designs in building dams and reservoirs, the element of risk cannot be ignored where human interaction with large ecosystems is taking place on such a massive scale. M. Tully (2003) described the impacts on human activities as the most valid argument against the project. Reductions in flooding by diversion of water will cause reductions in land fertility and promote desertification. Reduction in river flows because of diversion of water will reduce purging of pollutant concentrations in certain river stretches and intensify water pollution there. Such transformations will also impose ecological risks of a nature that are bound to have unprecedented effects. To secure the National Water Grid, the interlink infrastructure will also require unprecedented security arrangements and enormous resources, stretching defense and police forces thin. The construction of dams and excavation of thousands of kilometers of canals will cause massive population displacement. Dams will flood towns and canals will make villages disappear by cutting through thousands of kilometers of fertile land, leaving millions to a life of uncertainty. Does the present government have the right to impose these uncertain risks on society in the name of development and water security (Asthana and Shukla, 2005)? Even managing water within one river basin can bring states into conflict. Envisaging the interlinking of ten rivers passing through several states and involving issues of riparian rights between competing nation-states may indeed be all set for a modern Mahabharata fought over water. For example, riparian rights and their enforcement were at the root of the disputes over the sharing of Cauvery River waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,

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as well as many other such disputes among other states of the nation. If Indians are unable to solve conflicts arising within a basin to share a river, large-scale interbasin transfers of water by interlinking rivers may lead to water conflicts on an unprecedented scale. Such a megaproject also needs enormous funds, and, national funding apart, may need global capital. Financing may become dependent on private sources, the World Bank, or the Asian Development Bank, which could constrain the economic and political independence of the nation and push the water sector into privatization—a hotly contested domain. There are also issues of overall feasibility of the project throughout the year as surplus water is only available in the rivers during monsoons and the project benefits are thus confined to this period. In the international context, supply sharing has been a matter of big versus small, with problems over supply in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. In issues of interbasin transfers, such diversions do indeed cause the liveliest concerns, often leading to protests and resistance in the exporting region sparked by the elemental importance of water for life and the economy (Verghese, 1990). A similar concern has been voiced in the case of the Himalayan basin. A major concern of Indian experts has been to try and harness the Brahmaputra River by a link canal passing through Bangladesh. This scheme would take the river westwards and southwards to waterdeficient regions elsewhere in India. The mighty Brahmaputra River flows in a remote corner of the country and then drains the bulk of its water into the Bay of Bengal without being tapped as a water resource. A desire to transfer these flows to areas of high water demand and scarcity seems natural. An initial Indian proposal to Bangladesh in the 1970s, proposing the construction of a gigantic Brahmaputra–Ganga gravity link canal— originating at Jogiphopa in Assam, traversing through Bangladesh, and feeding into the Ganga above Farakka—was summarily rejected by Bangladesh for many reasons. An alternative link canal through the Siliguri “chicken neck” would involve large lifts that present formidable engineering challenges. Brahmaputra water is likely to remain out of bounds. Bangladesh has often contemplated a Brahmaputra–Ganga transfer within its own territory. Nepal has likewise identified certain water-deficient zones that might at some stage import water from surplus basins. The sharing of basin waters is thus preconditioned on mutual understanding, data sharing, resolution of differences over water use, and sharing within and between basins, as well as finding the will to cooperate. But the question remains—how far is this supply sharing practical in view of the geopolitical, physical, and economic realities of the region? The Garland Canal, proposed to connect the Ganga in the north to the Cauvery River in the far south, also has international ramifications. Under a December 1996 Indo-Bangladesh treaty on the sharing of Ganga water, India has undertaken to protect the flows arriving at Farakka. Even if India

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argues that it will only store flood flows for release in the dry season, when the Ganga basin is water-short, Bangladesh feels skeptical that the treaty will be honored in letter and spirit. On the other hand, West Bengal still pleads for greater water flows to sustain its Kolkata Port and feels its interests were bartered away when the national government signed the IndoBangladesh treaty on Ganga waters. Will it be politically wise to tamper with Ganga waters at Farakka to augment supply to Hooghly, precipitating a diplomatic row with Bangladesh on the issue of desertification of fertile land and the drying of the Sundarbans region? In the case of proposals that involve the flows of the Ganga, there is no doubt that water politics will complicate the regional diplomatic environment. Periodic floods and droughts already play havoc with the political, social, economic, and environmental stability of these sister countries in the Indian subcontinent. In many cases, such problems can be addressed by constructing storages, dams, and reservoirs to store floodwaters on the headwaters of shared rivers and later release it downstream during droughts. Conflicting demands over the resource make clear that cooperation is not easily forthcoming among these subcontinental neighbors. In such circumstances, vested state interests can obstruct national or regional cooperation. Beyond a doubt, plans to share water supplies in international and domestic basins remain a political and diplomatic challenge in the wake of increasing demands for limited supplies of water. Despite these challenges, plans were floated to combat water deficits by conveying surpluses to water-deficient locations. Various political parties and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in Tamil Nadu felt that linking river-water resources could help to meet water needs. These political pressures pushed the proposal forward, leading to a Supreme Court direction (February 27, 2012) to the government of India demanding that it take steps for speedy implementation to interlink certain major rivers of the country. The project, in the pipeline since 1980, has been touted by the Centre as one solution to a number of problems: making water available for irrigating 35 million hectares; enabling full use of existing irrigation projects; generating power to the tune of 34,000 MW with added benefits, including flood control. A decade ago the cost of the project was estimated at 5,60,000 crore; the true cost can be known only when the detailed project reports of the 30 river link projects are drawn up, of which currently one—Ken-Betwa—has been completed. (Seth, 2012) Giving the go ahead on the controversial interlinking river project, the final judgment of a three-member bench, headed by the chief justice of India, read as “We see no reason why any state should lag behind in contributing its bit to bring the Inter-Linking River Program to a success, thus saving the people

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living in drought-prone zones from hunger and people living in flood-prone areas from the destruction caused by floods” (Seth, 2012). However, the project has been not ratified by all the states. The only state to support the project has been Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has no major river that originates in the state and it is dependent on interstate rivers. The states of Assam, Sikkim, and Kerala have objections to such transfers since they believe that water is a state subject. States should have full and exclusive rights to use their resources and their rights to use these waters should be protected. It is due to these protests that the Center has been unable to undertake detail surveys of the rivers and prepare detailed feasibility reports. The project has not taken off due to these objections except for some links where states have moved forward in cooperation. The Ken–Betwa river link is the first interbasin transfer proposed under the interlinking rivers project for which a tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed between the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and the Union Minister for Water Resources. It is contemplated that the link canal will provide irrigation benefits for improved agricultural production, drinking water to about 13.42 lakh population in the Bundelkhand region. However, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has denied environmental clearance to the project citing 8,650 ha loss of forestland in Madhya Pradesh. The fate of the first transfer is yet to be decided. Godavari–Krishna Link forms a part of the scheme of transfer of surplus waters of Mahanadi and Godavari rivers to the deficit basins of Krishna, Pennar, Cauvery, and Vaigai. The link scheme is an important part of various proposals under the Peninsular Rivers Development Component of National Perspective Plan. The challenge in this project lies in the fact that all basins are interstate in nature and therefore need to be governed by interstate agreements. Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry are the major states involved in this project. Orissa and Chhattisgarh oppose the project on grounds of submergence of land due to the Polavaram Dam. Environmental activists oppose it on the ground of displacement of people and submergence of part of wild life sanctuary and several hectares of farmland. The environmental ministry has also raised further queries on this project. With these objections being raised by institutional and nongovernmental bodies, one wonders at the rationale of such policy decisions. Since the interlinking of rivers is about food security, another alternative suggested by Verma et al. (2009) is virtual water trade within the country. Proponents of this alternative have argued that instead of physically transferring large quantities of water from the flood-prone east to the water-scarce west and south, it would be desirable to transfer virtual

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water in the form of food grains. The work by Verma and others (2009) explores factors impacting interstate virtual water trade in India; provides a preliminary assessment of the potential of virtual water trade to act as an alternative to the proposed IBWT (Inter-basin Water Transfer); and assesses policy options for promoting and enhancing water-saving trade within the country (Verma et al., 2009). The proposal is not without challenges as several conceptual and practical problems still exist about virtual water trade in India. The National River Linking Project (NRLP) is often portrayed as a solution to the problem of national food security and promises flood protection in the east. Through careful implementation, it might release scarce land resources by preventing water logging and boost food production in the water rich but food-deficit regions. NRLP is also poised with hydropower generation of 34 GW of largely CO2-neutral hydropower capacity to a fast-growing, energy hungry economy at the adverse cost of environmental and social consequences for affected ecosystems and communities. An analysis of actual trade and estimates of water resources in the donor and recipient basins will be a useful exercise to further our understanding of virtual and physical transfers and possible trade-offs. These complexities of the National River Linking Project are not easy to resolve especially the challenge of deciding whether or not to take up execution of this magnum opus project (Verma et al., 2009). The policy of such megaprojects is usually axiomatic in approach: its proponents are epistemologically so set in their rationale, arguments, and analysis that the sorts of outcomes they envision are ones that tend to negate and exclude other approaches. The process is state-oriented, even if the state often couches its positions in terms of the interests of society in an effort to validate its aims as part of a broader consultative process. Generally these large water resource development projects are based on the water-scarcity paradigm that build a case for such projects as the only legitimate means to replenish the supply gap. If water deficiency has to do with water crisis, then why are villages with less than 200 mm of rainfall not water scarce during summer? And why does Cherrapunji suffer scarcity despite its reputation as one of the wettest places on earth? While the government builds a case for this gargantuan water resource development project, academia remains bogged down in voicing how better research and development of effective optimal use of water could compensate for the scarcity using low-tech, community-based programs for harvesting water or developing small and medium storage projects. This dialogue pits the assumptions of a naturalist and environmentalist approach against the epistemological approach pursued by the state, which runs along a defined course of thinking, marginalizing the epistemic and local community efforts that can also turn a desert into an oasis. Tarun

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Bharat Sangh’s work in Rajasthan exemplifies the point. The cost-benefit analysis of the construction of such a gigantic project is debated and apart from the state discourse is not supported by many epistemic communities as well as nonprofit organizations. In spite of alternative efforts toward water conservation and resource development, the axiomatic dictum remains that the country is experiencing an acute shortage of water because there is “less water.” An interactive process can alter the concept of “less water availability” into “socially experienced” water deficiency that finds alternative measures to combat the problem. Instead of creating a phobia and hype of scarcity, the solutions to the critique may be found in “propagating conservation of water,” “harvesting of water,” and “development of watersheds.” While the availability of food is directly linked to the availability of water, can megaprojects really grant us a water-secure future when better alternatives are available?

Groundwater irrigation in India The use of groundwater in agriculture in the interest of food security and economic growth has increased at an unprecedented rate in the last few decades. There is no doubt that groundwater has been a more reliable and superior source of irrigation water. It has led to increased yields and profits in crops and input use. Since farmers have full control over the resources, they are not dependent on the time and allocation of canal irrigation water from the government departments. Studies demonstrate that farmers with wells have higher yields and farmers buying from people who own wells also have higher yields than those dependent on canal irrigation alone. Although irrigation is a capital-intensive process with more investments, it is also associated with higher gross income per acre and higher cropping intensity as well as improved risk reduction (Gandhi and Bhamoriya, 2011). About 60 percent of the irrigated land in India comes from groundwater sources. Groundwater has contributed to the growth of agricultural and food grain production, but despite its significance in these areas, it has become an overexploited resource and is heading for a crisis. Chapter 2 describes the groundwater resources in India, which amount to a total of 433.03. Of these resources, 403.85 bcm, an estimated 93 percent, is available for irrigation. Utilizable resources for irrigation are about 381.16 bcm with an annual net draft estimated at 212.51 bcm (Table 3.3). Thus, overall groundwater development now stands at about 58 percent of the potential in aggregate, but the geographical variations in its development and use have made it a critical resource.

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Table 3.3: Dynamic groundwater resources in bcm per year 1. Total replenishable groundwater resources 2. Provision for domestic, industrial, and other uses 3. Available groundwater resources for irrigation in net terms 4. (3) as percent of (1)

433.03 29.17 403.85 93.26

5. Utilizable groundwater resources for irrigation in net terms

381.16

6. Gross draft estimated on pro rata basis

230.62

7. Net draft

212.51

8. Balance groundwater resources for future use in net terms

162.29

9. Level of groundwater development

58 %

Source: Central Ground Water Board (2006)

The proportion of groundwater in irrigation potential is estimated at 45.8 percent or 64 million ha of the 140 mha ultimate irrigation potential in India. It varies in different states ranging from over 50 percent in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, and Tamil Nadu to around 33 percent in the case of Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, and Assam, and is negligible in some states (Gandhi and Bhamoriya, 2011: 92). The level of groundwater development, however, is alarmingly high in many states: 141 percent in Punjab, 11 percent in Rajasthan, 105 percent in Haryana. This is followed by Tamil Nadu at 81 percent, Gujarat at 70 percent, and Uttar Pradesh at 65 percent (MOWR, 2007). The history of groundwater development can be traced down to the 1950s, which began with a period of traditional dug wells with labor, animals, and wheels doing most of the water lifting. The depth of the wells usually did not exceed 30 ft. During that period, conjunctive use of canal and well irrigation led to a more balanced and sustainable use of the water resources available. In the 1970s came a phase of dug-cum-bore wells (Jeet, 2005; Singh, 2003), well depth increased from 50 to 100 ft and the use of centrifugal pumps became common. More water could be lifted than what animals and wheels could do in the past. Tank maintenance declined and bore-well technology became popular. In the 1980s, extraction technology and submersible pumps changed the pace of water extraction with well depths increasing to beyond 400 ft in many areas. Statistics reveal that growth in irrigation area increased from 28 percent in 1950–1951 to 61 percent in 2008–2009, while the share of groundwater contribution that came substantially from tube well irrigation rose from zero in 1951 to over 41 percent in 2008–2009 (Gandhi and Bhamoriya, 2011: 92). Thus groundwater has made a huge contribution to irrigation growth and development in India. The Green Revolution and other facilitating factors like cheap electricity, slow development of surface

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irrigation, reach of institutional credit, and poor management in canals facilitated the rise in groundwater irrigation at a very rapid rate (Briscoe and Malik, 2006). Over the last two decades, 84 percent of total addition to net irrigated areas has come from groundwater and only 16 percent from canals (Gandhi and Bhamoriya, 2011: 94). The subsidies and credit availability facilitated this development, leading to a rapid decline in the water table, quality of water, and well failures in several parts of the country (Bhatia, 1992; Dhawan, 1995; Dubash, 2002; Moench, 1992).

Agriculture and water security In spite of the controversies surrounding canal networks, dams, groundwater depletion, and interlinking rivers in India, irrigation has made an enormous impact on agricultural development in India and contributed to higher levels of food security in the region. The Green Revolution gave an unprecedented boost to food production with the rise of new, highyielding varieties that required intensive irrigation and water use. Irrigation provides wages to people and is an important source of livelihood to a population that is largely agricultural. It increases the purchasing power and entitlement to food and nutrition to poor people. Irrigation not only affects the farmers and food growth, but also has a larger effect on the regional economy through markets and product sales. This is because agriculture is extremely dependent on an adequate supply of freshwater, and India uses nearly 85 percent of its water resources on agriculture. Irrigation has been a powerful tool in providing self-sufficiency in food grain production, but the environmental and social costs of this achievement has been high in terms of increased demand and reduced quality. As population continues to increase in India and South Asia, there is a growing demand for safe, reliable sources of water. Farmers and rural communities are mainly the ones most vulnerable to the increasing pressures to provide more water to urbanizing areas at the expense of water supplies in rural and agricultural communities. Water security in this connection refers to the need to maintain adequate water supplies to meet the food security needs of the expanding population through sustainable water use practices. Current irrigation projects and agriculture have resulted in lower food prices, rural employment, and economic development, but they have also altered the natural landscape and impacted the environment in a variety of ways. The performance of irrigation projects has declined in the last hundred years. The contribution of dams to irrigation ranges from 10 to 30 percent under different estimates (Iyer, 2003: 124). Poor planning and management of public irrigation projects, the challenge to invigorate performance efficiency, user fees, operation and maintenance issues, and institutional factors, among others, all contribute to this decline

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and affect the water resource itself. Mismanaging water resources can result in the erosion, water logging, and salinization of the soil, which makes it less productive. Poorly managed irrigation can also result in water pollution and waterborne diseases. The need for irrigation water in future is likely to be greater than currently anticipated, and the available supply less so. These developments raise important questions on the effect current irrigation practices can have on India’s water security. Three important areas that affect water and human security/insecurity are discussed in the following sections: (1) irrigation and water quality; (2) irrigation, water logging, and drainage; and (3) irrigation and human security.

Irrigation, water availability, and quality Irrigated agriculture depends on water supply from both surface- and groundwater. The nature of a water source, the quality of water, and the way that water is delivered effect irrigation systems. Both surface- and groundwater withdrawals imply changes in hydrology of streams and rivers and may cause aquifers to become saline. One of the main contaminants that affect water quality is agricultural runoff. Runoff is primarily an issue in localities where chemical input is high. Fertilizer consumption is very high in Punjab and Haryana. It has not only affected the land quality, but has had huge human health impacts, contributing to such ills as cancer and various skin diseases. Most chemical fertilizers not only require more water to be effective, they also contaminate the water sources through nonpoint sources of pollution, making the availability and quality of water a key issue. Nonpoint sources contribute a significant load to water pollution, especially in the rainy season. The water quality is also affected by pesticide use of about 1,00,000 tons a year, of which Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra are principal contributors (Trivedi, 2004). High levels of nitrates and potassium in groundwater in several parts of India have been ascribed to excessive application of fertilizers (World Bank, 2011: 11). Much of India’s irrigation sector is dependent on an unsustainable use of groundwater resources. When the groundwater use exceeds that of recharge in extensive areas over an extensive period of time, the result is falling water tables. The number of shallow wells doubled every 3.7 years from 1951 to 1991 (Moench, 2003) with over 18.5 million wells nationwide in 2008–2009 providing for about 60 percent of the irrigated area. According to the IWMI, water withdrawal rate is twice the recharge rate (Moench, 2003). It is estimated that 60 percent of groundwater sources will be in a critical state of degradation within the next 20 years (World Bank, 2010). A NASA study reveals that during 2002–2008, three Indian states (Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan) together lost about 109 bcm of water, leading to a decline of 0.33 m/annum in the water table (Rodell et al.,

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2009: 999–1002). Declining water tables exceeding 4 meters have become common throughout India (GOI, 2010). Farmers have to bear a significant cost due the loss of a reliable water source they have been using in the past. Although from a national point of view the situation may not look serious as number of blocks in dark critical stage are below 20 percent, the Central Ground Water Board (2006) estimates that conditions in northwest India indicate that over 80 percent of the units in Rajasthan were overexploited, dark, or critical, followed by 78.8 percent in Punjab and 77.8 percent in Delhi. The percentage was also high in Haryana at 58.4 percent; Tamil Nadu at 45.5 percent; and Karnataka at 38.9 percent. Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat were also above the national average of 18.5 percent. Apart from the physical absence of resources, the state of groundwater is also a serious health issue (Chakraborti et al., 2011). Rapid expansion and overexploitation of groundwater has resulted in declining water tables, intrusion of seawater, and deterioration in water quality. With deeper drilling in wells as a result of falling water tables, water extracted frequently displays higher levels of arsenic, fluoride, and other harmful chemicals. A third of the rural groundwater is now considered microbiologically contaminated (MORD, 2011). These health effects have been well documented throughout India (Chakraborti et al., 2011; Mandal et al., 1996) particularly in poorer rural communities where there is no alternative for drinking water. “Falling water tables can also induce leakage from a contaminated external source (Konikow and Kendy, 2005), such as saline water in coastal areas or surface water polluted by sewage, agricultural fertilizers, and industry. Depletion of groundwater is not simply a case of drawing down a replenishable resource, but potentially one of permanent degradation” (Wyrwoll, 2012). Salinity and other chemical toxicity problems increase with water depth, and groundwater mining in Rajasthan and Gujarat has resulted in fluoride contamination in these areas. About three-fourths of irrigation water and most domestic water in Gujarat comes from groundwater. A study by Babaria et al. (2005) examining the quality of irrigation water in water-scarce districts of Saurashtra revealed potential development of saline soil in these districts. Another case study by Sharma and Kumar (2005) indicate[s] that problems of water quality are emerging even in areas, such as the water-rich Krishna delta in Andhra Pradesh, a highly productive area known for its high crop yields. Due to insufficient supply of canal water, farmers’ dependence on groundwater for irrigating crops has increased manifold during the last decade. The existing groundwater salinity problem has worsened as a result of unplanned groundwater development and extraction. An in-depth analysis of the hydrogeologic conditions was done through a two-dimensional cross sectional model, and the simulations showed that the increase in groundwater salinity in

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the region (except close to the coast) was not due to saltwater intrusion from the sea but because of saline water intrusion from existing saline zones into freshwater zones, because of groundwater extraction. (as cited in Gandhi and Bhamoriya, 2011: 107) Rivers and streams downstream experience degradation of water quality by agrochemicals, salts, and toxic leachates. Various surveys in India reveal 20–40 percent of wells contain nitrate levels greater than 50 mg/L and in some cases even higher.

Irrigation, drainage, salinity, and water logging Investment in drainage is widely neglected. Even if such investments were made, there has been a lack of follow-up maintenance, causing many drainage systems to be silted up. Experts estimate that only 30–40 percent of water from canals, dams, and rural tube wells actually reaches the fields. The worst problem in the irrigation sector is the total lack of maintenance. Crucial but entirely unglamorous maintenance has to compete with spending on new irrigation projects. The lack of regular operational and maintenance services creates further problems of water logging. In India, 21,89,400 ha have been reported to suffer from water logging in irrigation canal commands. Also 34,69,400 ha have been reported to be seriously salt affected here (Singh, 2005; Tyagi 1996). Salinization of water is a great concern for sustainability of irrigation, and estimates are that land affected by salinity in India ranges from 27 percent to 60 percent. The increased level of salinity in the water table also leads to decreased agricultural production. Stagnant water tables at the soil surface increase the risk of waterborne diseases like malaria, filariasis, and dengue fever. The 1951 government of India census maintained that “epidemics of malaria fever decimated the irrigated tracts of Eastern and Central Punjab, the Ganga-Jamuna daob in the united provinces.” The construction of the Sarda Canal in Uttar Pradesh had to be temporarily suspended due to outbreak of malaria in labor camps between 1920 and 1929. The National Malaria Eradication Program was launched in 1958 and by 1965 no deaths were reported and the incidence reduced to a lack of cases. However, the resurgence of the disease began with the Green Revolution in India demanding more intensive irrigation. This augmented and expanded the scope of breeding sites along the entire canal networks. Construction of canals in many parts of the country has been home to vectors of malaria or Japanese encephalitis. The commonly encountered reasons for irrigation associated malaria are the rise in subsoil water resulting in water logging, poor drainage, seeping canal banks, defective distribution chambers, poor maintenance, increases in wet cultivation, and improper delivery of water and lack of coordination between different agencies. A. culicifacies is the

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main malaria vector, especially in the rural areas, and is responsible for up to 70 percent of all cases in the country. This breeds mainly in irrigated and stagnant pool areas. Prevailing conditions in Punjab, Bihar, and eastern Uttar Pradesh favor malarial transmission. Filaria also breeds under insanitary conditions. The bulk of population at risk has been rural, with significant concentrations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh. The Japanese fever virus breeds in deep irrigated areas with a warm, humid climate. The virus is transmitted through pigs and birds such as pond herons that are attracted to newer water areas created by mismanaged irrigation. The Rajasthan Canal is a major example, and in an effort to bring waters to the arid regions of India it has destroyed the social ecology of the region with major infestations of waterborne diseases. Problems that have induced water salinity due to irrigation practices include canal operation and maintenance, seepage losses due to poor construction and lining, lack of drainage facilities, and poor on-farm water-use efficiency. While irrigation contributes to food security, it also contributes to many water management problems like groundwater subsidence, water logging, salinization, reduced water quality, and degraded ecosystems that in turn affect human health and well-being. Improvements in this sector are crucial, but its sustainability needs to be ensured by changes in practices and good governance.

Irrigation and water access From a human security perspective, irrigation projects create problems for people who bear their cost as well as for those who seek their benefits. Although the intended purpose of irrigation water supply is to create agricultural security, the unintended consequences of these processes do create insecurities at the resource and human levels. Problems of management, planning, and execution of irrigation projects bring about adverse socioeconomic consequences. A large water resource development project creates conflicts of interests between the people of the upper catchments and those who live downstream; between people who bear the social cost of the project through displacement of population and those who benefit from the project. Water resource development projects also have adverse impacts on ethnic, rural, and marginalized populations especially the poor. The projects result in loss to people in terms of land submergence, cultural loss, loss of livelihoods, dispersal of integrated communities, and severance of their links from the natural resource base. The flow in the lower reaches of the river is regulated by closure of the dam, and severe problems of water availability and quality arise. These projects also influence floods, fish migration, and aquatic life.

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Reduction of headwater flows through abstractions for agriculture can also induce salinity in deltaic or estuary regions, affecting mangroves and causing coastal erosion (Verghese, 1990). Resettlement and rehabilitation policies reveal that rehabilitation programs for displaced people have not met with success so far. Despite government help, people are seldom completely rehabilitated and integrated into the community. Such populations always nurse a sentimental void, and their agonies lead to pent-up violence and outright conflicts in many forms through generations. Compensations granted for assets and property are inadequate. Some of the displacement caused in India due to construction of dams is detailed in Table 3.4:

Table 3.4: Displacement of people Dam

Area Submerged in km2

Number of People Displaced

Damodar

344

Nagarjunasagar

282

13,227

–

52,000

168

36,000

Gandhisagar Bhakra Mython

93,874

–

28,030

Rihand

461

55,000

Hirakud

283

Tehri

–

17,700 46,000 + 12,000 of submerged Tehri town

Dihang

490

35,000

Subanisiri

193

7,500

Source: Verghese, 1990

Similar numbers of people have been displaced by major and medium irrigation and hydroelectric projects in India since independence. The number will increase as population increases and demands for food, water, and energy on life increase. The tremendous economic and emotional trauma caused to those who are compelled to move with uncertainty, inadequate compensation, social dislocation, disintegration of cohesive rural communities, and above all lack of sincere government sympathy and commitment for rehabilitation sows the seeds for discontent, agitation, and conflict. Access to water is also related to socioeconomic and equity issues. Development apart, distributional inequality and issues of social inequity are inherent in the caste and class structure of India where the rich get more water than the poor. Water is not only a question of availability but also the

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ease of access of water to the available users. Several problems arise due to water abstractions between headreach farmers and those at the tail end of the canal. The managers of surface-irrigation projects have little control over the uses of water among tens of thousands of small and marginal farmers once it is released from the headwork. Many a time the headreaches have unlimited access to water while tail-enders get water intermittently: this affects the livelihoods of small farmers who depend upon subsistence crops. In spite of a government policy of “protective irrigation,” where in the absence of sufficient water to irrigate 100 percent of the area, water must be distributed in a way that each farmer can irrigate part of his land, there is a great headto-tail distribution problem. Such problems are common in all states like Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Similar situations exist with groundwater use in rural areas. Equity considerations in groundwater exploitation have also been an inherent source of tension between competing water users in the context of access to the resource, ownership rights, and management needs. These considerations have been unfair because of the capital-intensive nature of modern tube wells and drilling technology. The sufferers are the poor farmers. As a consequence, the early exploiters of groundwaters have been large farmers who produce surplus for the market. Small holders growing subsistence crops often depend upon on supplementary groundwater irrigation using man- and animal-driven water-lifting devices from shallow open wells. In addition, unrestricted development has caused overextraction and quality problems in groundwater. Punjab and Haryana are a case in point. As these problems grow, marginal populations are often the first to be affected. While management restrictions are imposed, the wealthy and the rich communities are often able to work their way due to political and economic leverage while the poor have less ability to do so. There exists, therefore, an inherent tension between equitable access to groundwater for all sections of society and sustainable management of the resource base (Moench, 2000). The access to groundwater, however, has been limited to rich farmers who pump water indiscriminately and wastefully use it.3 Subsidized charges of power provide them the advantage to suck water at the expense of subsidy. The groundwater is steadily being polluted through chaotic and unregulated drilling. India has a million bore wells that are draining aquifers with little possibility for recharge. Scientifically, it can be estimated how much water should be drawn and from where, but political considerations do not allow the use of such estimates to restrict the groundwater that can be pumped out to sustainable limits. Unsustainable use of water in the growth model of

Recently, poor farmers have started to pay by the hour and buy water from rich farmers for their farms.

3

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development for larger farmers may increase crop production rapidly, but in the long term, consumption and wasteful use of surface and groundwater compels them to look for alternative irrigation sources. Since groundwater rights vest with the owner of the land, unlike surface water rights, which are vested to the users, ease of access to alternative freshwater resources continues to be overused and abused by a select group. While this is not comparable to the role played by multinational or national companies, house owners and rich farmers exploit this resource at the expense of a poor neighbor who is unable to drill a hole in the ground. In rural areas, the actual operation of water markets is frequently transacted by “renting” between neighboring farmers with varied water needs. In this so-called “spot market” process, owners can sell a portion of their water for brief spells without formal legal requirements or on a contractual basis via legal registration. The amounts of water sold may or may not be metered, as the buyers and sellers know the volume of water exchanged, although metering provides great precision. Such “spot market” compensation is given in kind, in the form of nonmonetary benefit, or for settled prices. Both surface water and groundwater contributes to food security by influencing the food-production process. It is important to note that the availability and quality of water, whether in abundance or in scarcity, can pose a threat to food security. An excessive supply of water or flood disrupts food production. Low water supplies in turn can lead to drought that interrupts normal agricultural production. Water therefore remains a critical link to human security because of the livelihood and survival opportunities it provides to the people of the region. Depletion and degradation of the resource due to unsustainable agronomical practices will not only affect the survival and livelihood of a large portion of the populations but also increase the stress on water. Large dam projects are also considered the mainstay of agricultural growth and irrigation efforts in the country. However, it has been recognized that these storage reservoirs have definite limits to the role they can play in providing viable additional large water storages economically. Two studies by the World Bank and the IWMI show that there is little value to additional storage in most peninsular rivers and that Krishna and Cauvery have reached full or partial closure. Concern has also been expressed that “capture of so much water in major and medium reservoirs within the basin and evaporation of additional 36 BCM there is a change in regional climate, aggravating saline water intrusions, and putting at risk delicate wetlands and estuarine ecology which is essential for aquatic habitats and fisheries. The lack of environmental flows in Krishna River has enhanced pollution problems” (Planning Commission, 2013). In the Himalayas, we confront a very fragile ecosystem where diverting rivers with more dams will create large dry areas and have an adverse impact on fisheries and livelihoods. Similarly, interlinking rivers is feared to affect the natural supply of

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nutrients, cause delta erosions, and even affect monsoon system significantly (Rajamani et al., 2006). There is a clear indication that large-scale irrigation is not an easy option anymore. Project studies at the Indian Institute of Management revealed a huge gap between the irrigation potential created and utilized. Major reasons were low water discharge, insufficient water distribution mechanism, loss in distribution, incorrect recording of irrigated area, unequal water distribution, and diversion of land for other purposes in the command area (Planning Commission, 2010: 148). Given that 80 percent of water is consumed by irrigation, water use efficiency is key to its success. However, the Central Water Commission’s study on thirty completed major and medium irrigation projects revealed that an average efficiency across 30–38 percent is a consequence of poor design and maintenance of canal networks resulting in growth of weeds and vegetation, siltation, and damage of lining in lined canals. Cases of over irrigation due to lack of control structures has led to water logging and poor farming practices and lack of awareness have also contributed to an adverse performance in the sector. The longterm outlook on agricultural growth and its sustainability looks dismal and low yields, low productivity, soil degradation, climate change, and lack of market linkages are the main factors affecting production (Economic Survey of India, 2012–2013). The International Water Management Institute’s report, “India’s Water Future 2025–2050,” analyzes the impact that a “business as usual” scenario can have on India, including (i) A rise in domestic demand for food grains: India’s demand for food grains will grow from 178 MM mt in 2000 to 241 MM mt in 2050; (ii) A change in consumption pattern of agricultural products: Demand for agricultural products with high water footprint is projected to rise with increased disposable income and urbanization; (iii) India has the highest water footprints among the top rice- and wheat-producing countries (China, United States, Indonesia, etc.); (iv) Overexploitation of groundwater: States with the highest production of rice/wheat are expected to face groundwater depletion of up to 75 percent by 2050 (Amarasinghe et al., 2007). The groundwater level in the Ganga, Krishna, Cauvery, and Godavari basins, which provide water to Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh is projected to be depleted by 50–75 percent in Uttar Pradesh and 50 percent in other states (Ernst and Young Analysis, 2011: 15). Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh are the highest producers of water-intensive crops like rice, wheat, and sugarcane. These crops together constituted 91 percent of India’s crop production in 2008. These states provide electrical subsidies that have promoted excessive groundwater exploitation for agriculture. Agrobased industries such as sugar and fertilizers are among the top producers of wastewater and unsustainable in their water use.

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Irrigation water demands will increase due to increasing population of the region and the demand for more water- intensive crops by 2025. Production of water-intensive crops is expected to grow by 80 percent between 2000 and 2050.There will also be a need for more water-storage projects for increased food grain production. Supply-driven irrigation practices incrementally raise water demands and use of water-intensive cropping patterns. On the other hand, water is being lost in irrigation canals through seepage and in crop fields and therefore only partially recharges groundwater and slows down return flows. Current agricultural practices on land and in the agro-processing industries are also unsustainable in the use of water. This is bound to increase the stress on water and consequently will reduce its availability affecting livelihood options, agricultural growth, and human well-being.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Industrialization, urbanization, and population growth India has experienced a remarkable surge in becoming a global economic force since its economic liberalization in the 1980s. The growth has not been limited to the economic sector alone but the Indian populace skyrocketed past the billion mark, leaving it second only to China in terms of population. The population explosion coupled with mass urbanization has created a number of substantive risks to human health and water security. The country is making substantial strides in reconstituting its place in the world and shaking off the mantle of a “developing nation.” Unfortunately, this progress has come at a high cost, and the environmental impact has been dramatic. India’s increase in GDP also means a corresponding increase in water use by industries as water is critical to many industrial processes such as heating, cooling, generating steam, and constituting part of a product, such as beverages. As countries develop economically, the relative size of their agricultural sector declines, and the manufacturing and services sectors grow (Clarke, 1940). Industrial development is closely linked with a country’s economy. This structural change stimulates urbanization as industries and service sectors tend to be concentrated in urban areas, spreading out to the suburbs, and finally extending into the peri-urban areas, which also become nuclei for urbanization. Urbanization brings with it new health problems, especially since incomes are distributed very unequally, as well as environmental and sustainability issues. Even if the overall rate of urbanization is low, growth is sometimes concentrated in just a few cities that experience high rates of population growth. Most urban conglomerates depend upon their peripheries for water, waste disposal, food supply, and raw materials. As these populations become geographically concentrated, serious issues of waste and concentrations of pollutants can reach levels injurious to human health.

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As India industrializes and urbanization increases, much pressure is exerted on its vast but limited water resources. As a direct consequence of development in India, water pollution has emerged as one of the greatest environmental threats to human health. Undergoing the process of development in an era of globalization has compelled India to industrialize at a faster pace to compete in the world market. Shrewd manipulations of environment for individual, institutional, and national gains have created rampant pollution and degradation of the water bodies. Of the various kind of pollution that affects the quality of life in India, water pollution is by far the most serious in its implications for both human and environmental security. Industrialization and urbanization have been key factors in the pollution of India’s surface- and groundwater. Wastewater from industries and municipal sewage is the most common source of water pollution, and it is increasing day by day (Reza and Singh, 2010). The effluents from mines and industries alter the physical, chemical, and biological nature of the receiving body (Sangodoyin, 1991). Rivers play a major role in assimilating and transporting municipal and industrial wastewaters, but the increasing amount of waste has made them unable to maintain their ecological resilience and self-purification processes. Partially treated or untreated wastewater from industries, mining, and domestic regions adds toxicity, turbidity, and suspended and dissolved solids to surface water. While the awareness of degraded waters seems to be growing in the government and nongovernment sectors, the quality of environment has not improved in a significant way. While rivers and their tributaries play an important role in the economic and social development of any country, groundwater has also become an important part of the industrial process over the years. This chapter analyzes the impact of industrialization and urbanization on water quality, access, and availability in India.

Industrialization in India When India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, took office after independence, he adopted the Nehru–Mahalanobian socialist model aimed at transforming India from an agricultural economy into an industrial one. It was a command economy based on centralized development planning, extensive government ownership of commercial assets, a complex industrial licensing system, substantial protection against imports, restriction on exports, and virtual prohibition of foreign investments. Nehru envisaged a capital-intensive strategy to achieve both growth and social justice in the country. Nationalized industries included chemicals, electric power, coal, steel, transportation, insurance, mining, and textiles. However, India’s economic performance was “starkly unimpressive in

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terms of per capita income, alleviation of poverty, and share in the world output and export” (Nayar, 2001) from independence until the demise of the Nehru model in the 1980s, when the Congress government, which had strongly championed Nehru’s socialist ideology, performed an about-face and adopted a policy of economic liberalization. The private sector started to expand in electricity generation, oil industry, chemical, coal, and mining industries. After sixty years of development efforts, India is presently one of world’s fastest-growing economies. In the last few years, it has emerged as a global economic powerhouse, the leading outsourcing destination, and a choice of international investors. For example, Bangalore is known as the “Silicon valley of India” where over 250 high-tech industries have set up their units including Dell, IBM, Intel, and HP. The IT sector has also set up plants in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Gurgaon. Automobile companies have moved into India in a big way, with Chennai being known as the “Detroit of Asia.” Mining and energy production have pushed forward the industrialization of India. But there is a negative side to all this growth. A significant number of industries that range from livestock, textiles, tanneries, chemical industries, distilleries, paints and dyes, paper, fertilizers, fiber, drugs, and energy are responsible for most of the pollution in the country and are categorized as the highly or grossly polluting industries. Thermal power and steel plants are the major contributors to annual wastewater discharge (Ernst and Young Analysis, 2011). Other moderately or low-polluting sectors are responsible for only a small proportion of pollution generation. Most of the water used by industries is returned to the water cycle and is often polluted by chemicals and heavy metals. Estimates differ on the industrial use of water. Industry today uses only 6 percent of total freshwater abstractions at about 40 billion cubic meters (bcm), but it is expected to increase to 80 bcm in 2025 (MOWR, 1999) and 91.3 bcm in 2030 (Ernst and Young Analysis, 2011). According to the World Bank (MOEF, 2009), industrial water use grows at 4.2 percent per year, rising from 67 bcm in 1999 to 228 bcm by 2025. According to the bank, industrial use is at 13 percent of total freshwater withdrawal in the country. In spite of the differences in estimates, there is a consensus that industrial water use is growing over a period of time. It is estimated that industrial water use will quadruple between 2000 and 2050. By 2050, industrial water use will reach 18 percent of total annual water consumption up from 6 percent in 2000. The Charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection has listed seventeen categories of highly polluting industries, and forty-three industrial clusters have been identified as critically polluted, based on a comprehensive environmental pollution index having a CEPI greater than 70 on a scale of 0–100. This vast industrialization has also affected the population dynamics and settlement patterns in India.

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Under the regulatory policy framework, extensive guidelines have been set for emission discharges from industries, and minimal national standards (MINAS) were evolved for each specific industry. While highly polluting industries are not predominant in the country, they are predominant fuel and capital consumers. Higher polluting industries are increasingly large proportion of the total. Industries as a matter of principle often look for loopholes in the laws to avoid their implementation. Another concern among industries is that while pollution control laws are not relaxed with large- and medium-scale units, they are relaxed in the case of small-scale units. Since SSIs are growing rapidly, pollution caused by them is going to be a major problem. Maximizing benefits with low cost compliance seems to be their major goal. Industries of all sizes are thus key players in the depressing water picture of India.

Urbanization in India While India moved toward modernization and industrialization, there was a massive shift in population dispersion and settlement dynamics, leading to a significant upward trend in migration from rural areas to the cities. With cities as the ideal location for factories needing a workforce, about 50 percent of the migration occurred from rural areas. The State of the Environment Report 2009 traces the historic trend of urbanization in India. In 1901, only 11 percent of the population was urbanized. In 1951, 17.6 percent was urbanized. From 1901 to 1951 growth in urban population was 240 percent, and from 1951 to 2001, the growth increased to 450 percent. According to Bhagat (2011), According to the 2011 Census, urbanization has increased faster than expected. This has reversed the declining trend in the growth rate of the urban population observed during the 1980s and 1990s. Also, for the first time since independence, the absolute increase in the urban population was higher than that in the rural population. This has huge implications for providing infrastructure and other civic amenities in urban areas. According to the 2011 census, the urban population grew to 377 million, showing a growth rate of 2.76 percent per annum during 2001–2011. The level of urbanization in the country as a whole increased from 27.7 percent in 2001 to 31.1 percent in 2011—an increase of 3.3 percentage points during 2001–2011 compared to an increase of 2.1 percentage points during 1991–2001. The 6–8 percent growth in the Indian economy reflects the power of economic growth in bringing about faster urbanization during 2001–2011.

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From a single city, Kolkata, in 1901, the number of million-plus cities, according to 2011 census, has increased to thirty-five. A huge number of new towns emerged during the last decade, contributing significantly to the pace of urbanization. Smaller towns have grown rapidly due to the fact that industries tend to consider locating themselves in areas with low real estate costs and the opportunity to have more industrial land allocated for development. For example, Cities with over 100,000 have about 1.8 percent of its developed land devoted to commercial use, whereas in smaller urban areas the proportion is almost 3.2 percent. When we come to industrial use we find once again that while 6.8 percent of all land is devoted to that purpose in all states, it is but 5.1 percent in metros and as high as 14 percent in towns with populations between 5,00,000 (five lakh) to 10,00,000 (ten lakh). (Venkateswarlu, 1998: 23) One of the most conspicuous features of urbanization has been the skewed growth of population, with as much as 28.3 percent of urban populations residing in thirty-five metropolitan cities (MOEF, 2009: 137). With the rise in urbanization, there has also been a rise in slums. In 2001, the slum population was about 40.3 million people, comprising 22.6 percent of the urban population of cities and towns (MOEF, 2009: 141). In Mumbai, India’s largest city, 57 percent of the city’s population lives in slums (PAS, 2012), and nationally, the 2011 Indian census shows one in six Indians lives in an urban slum. Unregulated urban growth without infrastructural services for proper collection, disposal, transportation, and treatment of domestic wastewater has led to increased pollution and health hazards. With a steep increase in prosperity as a result of urban industrial growth, there is also a steep increase in demand for drinking and domestic water, resulting in a steep increase in wastewater generation. The domestic use of water is currently estimated at 5 percent, and the rest flows as wastewater in the water bodies (Global Water Initiative, 2005). In addition to industrialization and urbanization, the pressure of a growing population also puts a major stress on water availability, access, and quality. Gupta and Deshpande’s (2004: 1216) research attempts to measure the future water needs of a rapidly expanding population, estimated to stabilize in 2050 at around 1,640 million (Gupta and Deshpande, 2004: 1216). The study showed that even in best-case scenarios where water conditions are vastly improved, it is unlikely to provide the water necessary for the burgeoning population. The anticipated requirement for population projections (H = 1450 km3/yr) will be significantly higher than the estimate of utilizable water resource of

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1122 km3/yr (surface water (SW) = 690; groundwater (GW) = (432)). Thus, to meet the shortfall, it is necessary to harness additional 475–950 km3/ yr for L and H population estimates over the present availability of ~ 500 km3/yr. Their study concluded that even if resources were improved from their current capacity, based on projections of annual precipitation, evaporation, average annual potential flow in rivers, estimated utilizable water resources, surface water, and replenishable groundwater, water shortfalls are likely to become a pressing reality.

Water quality as a consequence of industrialization, urbanization, and population growth Rapid industrialization and unplanned growth are changing water consumption patterns and causing the discharge of large quantities of wastewater into the existing surface- and groundwater bodies. Water collection for these sectors is generally carried out by pumping water from water bodies. The major sources of water are rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Most of the cities are primarily dependent on water from rivers, large lakes, and tanks, with distribution and supply controlled by municipal bodies. In some cases, water comes through interbasin transfers. Although cities enjoy access to central water supply, these schemes do not adequately cover the total urban population and are inefficient and unreliable. In rural areas, 80 percent of water supply is groundwater, but in areas where water is scarce, women have to travel long distances to get water. The key issue associated with municipalities and industrial water systems has been the deterioration of water quality in water bodies. Water pollution is the presence of harmful and objectionable material in water in sufficient concentration to cause harm and make it unfit for use. Water quality in India has been assessed by the Central Pollution Control Board in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO), and indicators of pathogenic bacteria and fecal coliform or total coliform (TC). These are indicators of organic pollution, which determine whether water can sustain aquatic life, viruses, and protozoa which cause illnesses respectively. The quality of water in major rivers is monitored at 480 major stations under different programs like MINARS (Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources), GEMS (Global Environmental Monitoring Systems), GAP (Ganga Action Plan), and NRCP (National River Conservation Plans). So far, a total of thirty-nine rivers have been covered under this plan (Performance

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Audit Report, 2011–2012: 154). The CPCB has designated certain waterquality criteria based on the above indicators (Table 4.1).

Table 4.1: Water quality criteria Designated Best Use Drinking water source without conventional treatment but after disinfection

Class of Water A

Criteria Total coliforms organism MPN/100 ml shall be 50 or less pH between 6.5 and 8.5 Dissolved oxygen: 6 mg/L or more Biochemical oxygen demand: 5 days 20°C 2 mg/L or less

Outdoor bathing (organized)

B

Total coliforms organism MPN/100 ml shall be 500 or less pH between 6.5 and 8.5 Dissolved oxygen: 5 mg/L or more Biochemical oxygen demand: 5 days 20°C 3 mg/L or less

Drinking water source after conventional treatment and disinfection

C

Total coliforms organism MPN/100 ml shall be 5000 or less pH between 6 to 9 Dissolved oxygen: 4 mg/L or more Biochemical oxygen demand: 5 days 20°C 3 mg/L or less

Propagation of wild life and fisheries

D

Irrigation, industrial cooling, controlled waste disposal

E

pH between 6.5 and 8.5 Dissolved oxygen: 4 mg/L or more Free ammonia (as N) 1.2 mg/L or less pH between 6.0 and 8.5 Electrical conductivity at 25°C micromhos/cm Max. 2250 Sodium absorption ratio: Max. 26 Boron: Max. 2 mg/L

Source: Central Pollution Control Board, http://cpcb.nic.in/Water_Quality_Criteria.php MPN (most probable number) Note: The presence of a grossly polluted stretch implies that there is vast variance between the existing class and the desired class of river quality. For example, the existing class of Yamuna in Delhi is E, whereas the desired class is B.

Water pollution is a serious problem in India as 70 percent of its surface water and a growing percentage of its groundwater resources are

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contaminated by biological, toxic, and organic and inorganic pollutants (MOEF, 2009). “Pollution of waters by discharges of untreated sewage by cities and towns, by industrial effluents and by chemicals dissolved in the soil wash from the fields is also increasing rapidly with urbanization, industrial growth and modernization” (Nath, 1986: 350). Nearly 70 percent of industrial wastewater is dumped without treatment, thereby polluting the usable water supply. The demand for industrial water is estimated at 6–8 percent, but every liter of industrial wastewater discharged pollutes a further 5–8 liters of water, which increases the estimated use of industrial water from 6–8 percent to 35–50 percent. This polluted water is rarely used by industries (CSE, 2004). Current effluent standards use concentration as a measure of contamination, compelling polluters to dilute the polluted water to acceptable standards rather than control pollution at source or limit the load discharged in the water bodies. When this water becomes unfit for use, it represents a consumption loss (Agarwal and Kumar, 2011). Water pollution assessment estimates done by different actors reveal that a significant number of industries currently produce pollution several times above the MINAS standards. Among the different types of industries, water pollution is concentrated in a few industrial subsectors that range from chemical industries, food industries, paper, leather, textiles, and thermal cooling plants. The small-scale sectors are also among the main polluting sectors because they lack adequate treatment facilities. Different types of textile industries have become topmost on the list of polluters. The global demand, India’s growing export market, combined with cheap labor, constitutes the main problem in textile industrial pollution. For example, in Tamil Nadu, Government officials have admitted that in rivers like the Bhavani, pollution has become rampant. According to top sources in the control department, 77 illegal dyeing units are now functioning on both sides of the river … . They are releasing thousands of gallons of toxic effluents directly into the river water, polluting both Bhavani and Cauvery and endangering the lives of more than six million people. (Shaji, 2012) Along with 49 authorized dyeing units, these illegal industries discharge toxic effluents directly into the river water. Several independent studies have already confirmed that Bhavani is fast becoming one of the most polluted rivers in the country. In March 2011, under a court order, similar industrial units in Tirupur were forced to shut down on the banks of the Noyyal, a culturally sacred river in Tamil Nadu. The river once provided for 20,000 acres of agricultural land, but due to toxic industrial-waste runoff from cotton dyes and bleaching, which still continues in many illegal units, the region’s agriculture and the livelihoods of its farmers have been gravely affected.

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In Gujarat, information was obtained under the right to information from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board on rivers like Damanganga and Sabarmati. Wastes discharged in Damangana from CETP (Central Effluent Treatment Plants) of industrial houses in Vapi contained 347 percent more COD (chemical oxygen demand), 432 percent more dissolved solids, and 196 percent more ammoniac nitrogen. Effluents dumped in Sabarmati from industrial estates in Vatva, Odhar, Narol, Naroda, and Ahmedabad were found to have 2,929 percent more COD, 2,520 percent more ammonium nitrogen, and 780 percent more total dissolved solids. Gujarat has more than 90,000 industrial units, of which 8,000 are polluters according to the state government. Most of Gujarat’s rivers are bearing the brunt of industrial pollution. One can see red water flowing in the Sabarmati River released by a common effluent treatment plant in Vatva. Severe coastal pollution has destroyed estuarine fisheries: there has been a 75.76 percent reduction in fish catch noted in the last five years in Bharuch District, which supports 100 villages and over 50,000 people (Thakkar, 2012). Amravati has 1,500 chemical units and has become an effluent channel rather than a river. Millions of liters of industrial effluents are dumped in major rivers like Narmada, Mahi, Sabarmati, and Ganga (CPCB, 2009). The Yamuna, a tributary of Ganga in a 500-km stretch, is the most polluted river in India and has been classified as dead by many environmentalists. The stretch upstream from Panipat in Haryana to Juhika in Uttar Pradesh is the most polluted part of the river. Yamuna water at New Delhi is so polluted that even after prolonged boiling for twenty minutes, its foul smell perforce negates its consumption (Hinrichsen, 1998). These pollutants reduce the volume of water in many rivers so drastically that the Yamuna in Delhi and Agra is left with no original water but for the streams of urban and industrial wastewater that is pumped continuously into these glorified sewers. The Yamuna Action Plan to clean the river has not met great success in spite of the completion of phase I work in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana; however, the full impact of this plan can only be assessed after the completion of phases II and III. An interesting observation about these rivers is that most polluted stretches of rivers are downstream from the industrial belts of that region except in the case of Sabarmati River in Gujarat, which passes through India’s famous textile belt and which is the country’s most polluted river today.1 The cities of Modinagar, Ludhiana, Ujjain, Indore, NOIDA (border of Delhi), and Dhanbad, through which some of the NRAP rivers pass, are hosting major pulp, paper mills, breweries, chemicals, fertilizers, chemicals, mining, and textile industries.

1

The intake point of industries is always upstream of their discharge point.

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Box 4.1: Case Study: Ganga and the Ganga Action Plan

T

he Ganga is the most sacred river of India, and yet it is the most polluted in many stretches. The government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985, the largest cleanup operation in the country. An amount of Rs.849 crore has been spent under the GAP so far, and a sewage treatment capacity of 1,055 MLD (million liters per day) has been created. The Ganga affects the lives of thirty-three crore people who live on its basin along the entire 2,525 km it runs and the twenty-nine major cities, twentythree small cities, and forty-eight towns it passes through. In 1985, not a single small city along the banks of Ganga had any sewerage system, and effluents passed through open drains into the river. No small town had either sewerage or treatment facility. Even in major urban areas, more than half the cities had no sewerage system and nearly 90 percent had no water treatment plant. The Ganga was accepting 900 million liters of sewage every day (GAP, 1985), 1,340 million liters of sewage in 1997 (Halarnkar, 1997), and 4,030 MLD today (Shukla, 2013). All the stress points on the Ganga have been found polluted, and industrial effluents and sewage continue to flood waters in Allahabad and Varanasi, which are famous for its carpet and textile industries. Industries polluting the Ganga are 594 in total with the largest number in Uttar Pradesh (500), Uttarakhand (38), Bihar (24), and West Bengal (32). Ganga is critically polluted at Kanpur, Allahabad, and Varanasi. The 26,000 cusecs of water released into Ganga at Rishikesh in the lean season gets reduced to 15 percent by the time it flows into Allahabad (Justice Malviya in Times of India, 2013). Tanneries release toxic effluents in Kanpur and Kolkata. Of the 402 listed tanneries in Kanpur, there are a hundred still that discharge chromium-rich effluents, and many have still not installed primary treatment plants. Eighty percent of the wastewater flows untreated into the river. Only forty-four tanneries have chrome recovery plants. All the major industrial cities that the Ganga passes through have been found above threshold limits for pollutants discharged into the river. No amount of legislative enactment seems to have been able to check water pollution. A study of the nongovernmental organization Eco Friends in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (September 2002), has revealed that the tanneries at Kanpur have not only contaminated the Ganga river system with heavy metals, but drinking water at Jajmau, the site of tanning industries, contains alarming levels of arsenic, mercury, cadmium nickel, and chrome VI, to name a few of the toxins that have alarming health effects on the people inhabiting that area. Water extracted in Kanpur finds its way into the river as sewage and industrial effluents. The CPCB and UPCB reports reveal that the level of chromium in

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the river was at 248 mg/L as against the permissible level of only 2 mg/L, 124 times more than the limit (Indian Express, 2011). The GAP has been criticized for misuse of funds, overspending, and tardy progress. Sewage treatment plants (STP) and electric crematoria are not working well enough; toilets are unused and badly monitored (Menon, 1997; Shukla and Vandana, 1996). One of the reasons the plan has not met its objective is that while the Central Ganga Authority, an autonomous body of the center, with its skeletal technical staff can ensure quick decisions, it is not able to take direct action. The ultimate responsibility for implementation and monitoring of effluent treatment, which accounts for a major share of pollution in Ganga, is left to the Water Pollution Control Boards of the state governments. Some of the constraints on the implementation of the Ganga Action Plan include inadequate maintenance by the states, underutilized capacity of STPs, erratic power supply, land acquisition delays, and inadequate capacities of local bodies. Lack of proper coordination among the agencies also limits the success of the plan. As a consequence of deteriorating water quality in the Ganga despite the GAP, the central government constituted the National Ganga River Basin Authority in 2009 (NGRBA) to take effective measures to abate pollution and ensure conservation of the Ganga River. The work of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is supervised by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The National Ganga River Basin Authority aims at adopting a holistic river-basin approach for conservation of the Ganga. One of the major goals of the organization under Mission Clean Ganga launched in October 5, 2009, is to make Ganga pollution free by 2020 and ensure that no sewage flows into the river (Performance Annual Report, 2011–2012). For the first time, a river-basin approach has been applied to water resource management of the Ganga. Schemes that include sewer networks, sewage treatment plants, and sewage pumping stations, electric crematoria, dhobi ghats, community toilets, development and beautification of river front, resuscitation of canals joining Ganga, a public participation program, and an awareness campaign in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand have been sanctioned worth about Rs.1,450 crores under NGRBA. Uttar Pradesh is the biggest beneficiary of the central funds as it has some of the most grossly polluting industries. These schemes, having a completion period of two to five years, involve creating a sewage treatment capacity of 336 MLD. Industry compliance with effluent discharge standards will be monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). CPCB has identified grossly polluting industries that are discharging BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) load of 100 kg/day or more in the Ganga basin. Action is taken against the defaulting industries by CPCB and SPCBs

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under relevant provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Other measures include providing fund assistance for setting up common effluent treatment plants for small-scale industries, which are among the major polluters, and promoting clean technologies. CPCB has also set up a dedicated cell to monitor discharge of industrial effluents in the critical stretch of the Ganga River. Recent studies by IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, and the Performance Audit Report on Water Pollution in India (2011–2012) indicate that the water quality in terms of BOD values in the Ganga shows improvement as compared to the water quality before pollution abatement works were taken up under the Ganga Action Plan. However, they are higher in the middle stretch of the Ganga from Kannauj to Varanasi, which is a critical stretch. DO levels have improved in the main stem of Ganga, and are above the recommended value of 5.0 mg/L except in the stretch between Kannauj and Kanpur where values below the stipulated level have been noticed on several occasions. The fecal coliform remains the only parameter where observed values exceed permissible limits at most places except in the upper reaches of Haridwar (IIT Roorkee, 2009). A study on the pre- and post-GAP period showed that a stretch of 740 km of the total 1,520 km between Rishikesh and Rajmahal would have violated the 3 mg/L BOD limit without the GAP. The study also noted that the stretch of about 437 km had a BOD level above the permissible limit of 3 mg/L (Markandya and Murthy, 2004). While the observations reveal that the river quality of some parameters has improved over the pre-GAP period in the main stem, in the background of increased population growth, with increase in organic pollutant load, the sustainability of maintaining current levels of water pollution or making it better therefore remains questionable.

Although industries contribute to water pollution, the main sources of pollution are still sewage and municipal effluents, which account for 75 percent of the pollution load in rivers; the remaining 25 percent comes from industrial effluents and nonpoint pollution sources (Agarwal and Narain, 1997). Other sources of pollution are also leaching from mine tailings, solid dumps, and atmospheric deposition of pollutants into water bodies. In Indian cities, waste management generally remains a low priority due to various factors. For the waste that is managed, land filling is the most commonly utilized method of disposal. In practice, it translates into unscientific dumping, open piles of decaying trash, which find their way into local water bodies and subsequently lead to the water-quality problems outlined earlier. Rapid rural migration to urban areas has upheld tradition

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for open defecation that prevails over much of the basin areas, creating not only unsanitary conditions and a health hazard, but also an affront to human dignity. The demand for augmenting water supplies is so pressing that sewage automatically occupies a lesser priority. Of the standard maximum 200 liters per capita per day water supply to metro cities, only six liters is consumed in drinking and cooking and the rest flows as untreated sewage into various rivers causing pollution (National Commission on Urbanization, 1988). As a result, most Indian rivers fall short of CPCB standards determined on the basis of biological oxygen demand and total coliform. With half of India’s population in urban cities by 2050, ensuring access to potable and quality drinking water should be a key priority to prevent waterborne diseases prevalent in India. The majority of India’s population, particularly those living in cities and small towns, receive drinking water from surface sources such as rivers, lakes, ponds, and springs, which are exposed to pollution from the environment. Human population affects water directly and indirectly: it directly modifies the circulation of water and its quality by withdrawal, wastewater disposal and river regulation, and it indirectly modifies vegetation and soil cover. Deforestation and compaction reduces the absorptive capacity of the soil and accelerates water runoff. Direct pollution usually occurs from human and cattle defecation and direct inlet of sewage into pipelines. Water treatment plants that are established to provide drinking water to cities channel water through a series of purification procedures such as sedimentation, filtration, and chlorination, but at times this water is not completely treated and chlorinated, and disinfection of wells and ponds is not done on a regular basis. Due to shortage of funds, government departments are unable to undertake their responsibility for maintenance of leaking pipes. Water is often contaminated with sewage wherever the water and sewage pipes run in close proximity. Untreated wastewater ultimately reaches rivers, lakes, ponds, and creeks. A large proportion of wastewater generated in urban areas contaminates aquifers underlying these cities. One of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity is poverty, and its various manifestations are seen in communicable diseases caused by the poor quality of drinking water and poor sanitation. Safe drinking water and sanitation are directly linked with the health of the people, their productivity, and the quality of life. In addition to the biological contamination of water, chemical pollution of water resources has begun to pose a serious threat to public health. Deterioration in the quality of water supplied by traditional water sources such as lakes and rivers remains unchecked due to inadequate sewerage systems, industrial wastes, ineffective pollution norms, and lax monitoring agencies. Pollution of riverine waters to the extent of being toxic is a major concern in India. Waterborne diseases are endemic in Indian cities, and frequently become large-scale epidemics.

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Water quality of rivers as they leave the cities DO 5 mg/L is a good measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved and carried into a body of water. It is important for the sustainability of the ecosystem, as insufficient oxygen tends to suppress aerobic organisms such as fish. Deoxygenation results in fish kills. Table 4.2 and Figure 4.1 provide a good estimate of DO availability in Indian rivers.

Table 4.2: DO in mg/L: Below and above norms River/City

DO in mg/L

Sabarmati/Ahmedabad

0

Yamuna/Delhi

0

Musi/Hyderabad

0

Yamuna/Ghaziabad

1

Adyar/Chennai

1.2

Gomti/Lucknow

1.6

Godavari/Nanded

2.3

Mahananda/Siliguri

3.2

Sutlej/Ludhiana

5.2

Sutlej/Jallandhar

5.4

Godavari/Nashik

5.6

Rani Chu/Gangtok

6

Ganga/Kanpur

6.2

Chambal/Kota

6.5

Godavari/Rajamundry

6.6

Bhadra/Bhadravati

6.9

Tungabhadra/Devanagare

7.3

Ganga/Srinagar

7.4

Ganga/Haridwar

7.5

Ganga/Uttarkashi

7.6

Ganga/Rishikesh

7.8

Cauvery/Tiruchirappalli

7.8

Subarnarekha/Jamshedpur

7.9

Mahanadi/Cuttack

8.4

Godavari/Ramagundam

8.5

Ganga/Patna

10.4

Source: Performance Audit Report, Water Pollution in India, 2011–2012

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12

10

8

6

4

2

Subarmati/Ahmedabad Yamuna/Delhi Musi/Hyderabad Yamuna/Ghaziabad Adyar/Chennai Gomti/Lucknow Godavari/Nanded Mahananda/Siliguri Sutlej/Ludhiana Sutlej/Jallandhar Godavari/Nashik Rani Chu/Gangtok Ganga/Kanpur Chambal/Kota Godavari/Rajamundry Bhadra/Bhadravati Tungabhadra/Devanagare Ganga/Srinagar Ganga/Haridwar Ganga/Uttarkashi Ganga/Rishikesh Cauvery/Tiruchirappalli Subarnarekha/Jamshedpur Mahanadi/Cuttack Godavari/Ramagundam Ganga/Patna

0

Figure 4.1  DO within and against norms of Indian rivers—5 mg/L

Too many bacteria use up DO in great amounts, as evident from the fact that dissolved oxygen was precariously low in the Sabarmati at Ahmedabad, the Yamuna at Delhi, the Musi at Hyderabad, the Yamuna at Ghaziabad, the Adyar at Chennai, the Gomti at Lucknow, the Mahananda at Siliguri, and the Godavari at Nanded (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012: 68), that seriously affect aquatic organisms and health of the ecosystem. BOD (5 days 20°C 3 mg/L or less) is a chemical procedure for determining the uptake rate of dissolved oxygen by the biological organisms in a body of water and is widely used as an indication of water quality. It is also an indicator of the efficiency of sewage treatment plants. Thermal discharges such as cooling waters in a plant raise the temperature of water and lower

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its oxygen content. Fish kills and growth of certain types of weeds can cause dramatic changes in the water body. Urban runoffs like pet wastes from streets and sidewalks, nutrients from lawn, fertilizers and paper from residential areas also increase oxygen demand. Table 4.3 and Figure 4.2 elaborate on the status of BOD in Indian rivers.

Table 4.3: BOD in mg/L: Below and above norms River/City Musi/Hyderabad

BOD in mg/L 115

Sabarmati/Ahmedabad

82

Adyar/Chennai

55

Mahananda/Siliguri

45

Yamuna/Ghaziabad

31.2

Godavari/Nanded

25.8

Yamuna/Delhi

21

Gomti/Lucknow

11

Kshipra/Ujjain

10

Godavari/Nashik

9.4

Sutlej/Jallandhar

7

Chambal/Kota

5.4

Bhadra/Bhadravati

5

Ganga/Kanpur

4.2

Sutlej/Ludhiana

4

Godavari/Ramagundam

3.6

Tungabhadra/Devanagare

3

Ganga/Patna

2.8

Rani Chu/Gangtok

2.5

Ganga/Haridwar

1.6

Cauvery/Tiruchirappalli

1.4

Mahanadi/Cuttack

1.4

Ganga/Rishikesh

1.3

Godavari/Rajamundry

1

Ganga/Srinagar

0.8

Subarnarekha/Jamshedpur

0.8

Ganga/Uttarkashi

0.7

Source: Performance Audit Report, Water Pollution in India, 2011–2012

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120

100

80

60

40

0

Musi/Hyderabad Sabarmati/Ahmedabad Adyar/Chennai Mahananda/Siliguri Yamuna/Ghaziabad Godavari/Nanded Yamuna/Delhi Gomti/Lucknow Kshipra/Ujjain Godavari/Nashik Sutlej/Jallandhar Chambal/Kota Bhadra/Bhadravati Ganga/Kanpur Sutlej/Ludhiana Godavari/Ramagundam Tungabhadra/Devanagare Ganga/Patna Rani Chu/Gangtok Ganga/Haridwar Cauvery/Tiruchirappalli Mahanadi/Cuttack Ganga/Rishikesh Godavari/Rajamundry Ganga/Srinagar Subarnarekha/Jamshedpur Ganga/Uttarkashi

20

Figure 4.2  BOD within limits and against norms up to 3 mg/L in permissible limits

The BOD of the Sabarmati at Ahmedabad is 82. The BOD of the Yamuna at Delhi is 21, and the DO is zero, indicating the inability of Yamuna to support any aquatic life. The BOD was seven times more than the required limit indicating that high levels of organic pollution are in the river after it leaves Delhi. Except at a few places BOD registered an increase in most rivers. TC (500 MPN/100 ml or less) is a measure of coliform organisms like fecal bacteria, which are an indicator of water quality. Coliform bacteria may not cause disease, but it is an indicator of pathogenic organisms that can cause intestinal infections, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid fever, cholera, and other illnesses. Table 4.4 and Figure 4.3 illustrate the state of TC in MPN. As the Sabarmati leaves Ahmedabad, its levels of BOD were 27 times the criterion TC, 30 times the desired level, at 15,000. The Yamuna at Ghaziabad had a TC of 210,000; the Gomti at Lucknow, 140,000; the Godavari

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Table 4.4: Actual TC in MPN/100 ml: Within and against norms River/City

TC in MPN/100 ml

Yamuna/Ghaziabad

2,10,000

Gomti/Lucknow

1,40,000

Sutlej/Jallandhar

50,000

Ganga/Kanpur

43,000

Sutlej/Ludhiana

22,000

Ganga/Patna

17,000

Sabarmati/Ahmedabad

15,000

Bhadra/Bhadravati

9,000

Mahanadi/Cuttack

3,967

Tungabhadra/Devanagare

3,000

Chambal/Kota

2,400

Godavari/Ramagundam

1,600

Pamba/Pamba

1,100

Ganga/Haridwar

500

Godavari/Rajamundry

460

Ganga/Rishikesh

250

Ganga/Srinagar

40

Godavari/Nashik

38.3

Ganga/Uttarkashi

36

Rani Chu/Gangtok

20

Source: Performance Audit Report, Water Pollution in India, 2011–2012

at Ramagundam, 1,600; the Sutlej at Jallandhar, 50,000; the Chambal at Kota, 2,400; the Bhadra at Bhadravati, 9,000; the Ganga at Kannauj, 43,000; the Sutlej at Ludhiana, 22,000, 44 times the criterion indicating the presence of disease-causing fecal bacteria. The Ganga at Patna had a TC of 17,000, 35 times the criterion, which means that disease-causing fecal-related bacteria, viruses, and protozoa were present in the water. The Mahanadi at Cuttack had a TC level of 3,967; the Tungabhadra at Devanagare, 3,000; the Pamba at Pamba, 1,100; the Ganga at Haridwar, 500 MPN/100 ml; the Ganga at Rishikesh, 250; the Ganga at Uttarkashi, 36; Ganga at Kanpur BOD 1.4 times, TC is 86 times the criterion indicating that Ganga is full of disease-causing fecal bacteria; in the Yamuna, BOD is ten times the criterion, TC 420 times the criterion, and DO is less than the criterion indicating insufficient oxygen for plants

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2,50,000

2,00,000

1,50,000

1,00,000

50,000

0

e ad ow ar ur na na bad ati ack gar ta am ba ar dry sh ar ik shi tok iz ab kn ndh anp hia Pat eda drav utt ana l/Ko und am ridw un hike inag ash rka ang ha uc lla /K ud a/ m ha i/C ev ba ag a/P a am is Sr i/N tta /G /G ti/L j/Ja nga ej/L ang i/Ah a/B ad a/D am am mb ga/H /Raj ga/R ga/ var a/U hu a a l G at e n R dr ha adr Ch ari/ Pa an ari an Gan od ang ni C un om tl Ga Sut m G Su G av G G G Ra rm Bha Ma abh v a a a d Y b o od ng G Sa G Tu

Figure 4.3  Total coliform within and against limits—500 MPN/100 ml and organisms in the river; the Gomti at Lucknow had TC 280 times the criterion with DO at 1.6 indicating that there was insufficient oxygen in the river stretch (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012: 70). The figures show a particularly dismal position with regard to breach of norms in the DO, BOD, and TC in the case of Yamuna at Ghaziabad/Delhi, Gomti at Lucknow, and Sabarmati at Ahmedabad. According to a report published by the IIM Lucknow, [The] CPCB has established 1365 stations in 27 States and 6 UTs, with frequency of sampling from monthly to 4 yearly covering 282 rivers, 92 lakes, 34 ponds, 12 creeks & sea water, 10 canals, 18 drains and 398 wells which are being monitored for seven field parameters, nine core parameters, nineteen general, nine trace metals and fifteen pesticides. Based on these studies 182 water bodies have been identified as polluted out of which 143 are rivers stretch, 33 lakes, tanks and ponds, 3 creeks and 3 canals. CPCB is incurring Rs 1.10 Cr annually on this scheme. (Indian Institute of Management, 2010: 37)

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Implementation surveys from 1990 to 2009 reveal that rivers that make up 80 percent of the total surface water and are home to about 85 percent of the population are so polluted, mainly in stretches near towns and industrial belts, that bacteria feeding on the waste are the only things that have proliferated, their counts standing at anywhere between 20 times and 1,000 times over safe levels. A high percentage of sampling stations exhibit unacceptable levels of BOD, which means that either the discharge sources are not complying with standards or even after their compliance high quanta of discharge contribute to elevated levels of contaminants (Rajaram and Das, 2008). Samples observed indicate that there is a gradual degradation in water quality (CPCB, 2009). Seventy percent of the effluents are untreated and disposed of in the water bodies (Murty and Kumar, 2011: 287). Most of the rivers are dead or dying. They are fought over by states to provide irrigation and water for teeming cities and industrial estates. Indian rivers have long had the capacity of self-purification. Pollutants are diluted and slowly absorbed, but this regenerative capacity is being lost with wastewater discharges every day and pollution in loads that are becoming unmanageable. The prime villains are the municipalities that discharge sewage with little or no treatment, and the rest comes from industries that routinely violate wastewater treatment laws. Most of the rivers are grossly polluted in stretches where industrial concentrations are higher and in cities with malfunctioning or no treatment plants. The audit project extended over 140 projects, twenty-four polluted stretches of rivers, twenty lakes, and 116 blocks across twenty-five states of India. Results from the audit indicate that after twenty-six years of implementation of pollution control programs, waters in the rivers remain critically polluted and that the NRCP has failed to control pollution in the rivers (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012). The levels of BOD, DO, and TC indicate high levels of organic pollution in many stretches of the rivers leading to their inability to sustain aquatic life, in addition to the existence of high levels of disease-causing fecal-related bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

Wastewater generation in India The total amount of wastewater generated in metro cities in 1993–1994 amounted to 9,013 MLD and the wastewater collection was estimated at 7,472 MLD, amounting to about 82.9 percent of total wastewater generated. The treatment capacity of plants in these metro cities was 2,990 MLD, the rest of it flowing as untreated discharges into streams and wells (CPCB, 1997–1998). There are thirty-five metropolitan cities with more than ten lakh population (1 million), and 15,644 MLD of sewage is generated from

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these cities. The treatment capacity exists for only 8,040 MLD (Figure 4.4), which is about 51 percent of sewage generated (Ibid., 2009–2010).

Total sewage generated 15,644 MLD Treatment capacity 8,040 MLD

Untreated sewage 7,604 MLD (48.5%)

Figure 4.4  Sewage generated and treated in 35 metropolitan cities

Among the metro cities, Delhi has the maximum treatment capacity of 2,330 MLD, which is 30 percent of the total treatment capacity of metropolitan cities, followed by Mumbai, which has a treatment capacity of 2,130 MLD that constitutes 26 percent of total capacity in metropolitan cities. Thus, Delhi and Mumbai account for 55 percent of treatment capacity in metro cities. Except for Vadodara, Chennai, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad where treatment capacity meets volume of generation, rest of the cities have less than 50 percent of treatment capacity for wastewater treatment. The sewage generated in 498 Class I cities and 410 Class II towns (Figure 4.5) together is 38,254 MLD (Figure 4.6; Table 4.5) and treatment capacity exists only for about 11,787 MLD (CPCB, 2009–2010), which is about 30.8 percent of the total sewage generated. Thus, there is a huge gap of 26,467 MLD (about 69.1 percent) between sewage generation and treatment. Apart from this gap, there is also the problem that existing treatment plants do not operate and perform effectively due to poor maintenance, lack of power backup, and other problems. Nearly 39 percent of plants are not functioning to prescribed norms and standards under the Environmental Protection rules for discharge. In many cases, untreated sewage gets discharged the same day.

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Total sewage generated 35,558 MLD

Total sewage generated 2,696 MLD

Treatment capacity 11,553 MLD

Treatment capacity 233 MLD

Untreated sewage 24,005 MLD

Untreated sewage 2,463 MLD

Figure 4.5  Class I cities and II towns sewage generation and treatment capacity

Class I cities: 35,558 Total sewage generated 38,254 MLD Class II towns: 2,696 MLD

Figure 4.6  Total sewage generation in class I cities and class II towns While 69 percent is treated in thirty-five metro cities, 31 percent is expected to be treated in the other 463 Class I cities plants (CUPS, 2009– 2010). Ninety-three percent of wastewater is generated in Class I cities, but with a total treatment capacity of approximately 31 percent, about 69 percent of the total wastewater goes untreated into water bodies. Presently, there is a huge capacity deficit in the sewerage network and sewage treatment infrastructure. From a river basin perspective, the Ganga receives 2,759 MLD, constituting 22 percent of wastewater volume, from land 1,674 MLD,

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Table 4.5: Water supply, wastewater, and treatment capacity in class I cities and class II towns in India Category

No. of Cities

Class I cities

498

Class II towns Total

Population in Crores (Approximate)

Water Supply in MLD

Wastewater Generated in MLD

Treatment Capacity in MLD

22.76

44,769.05

35,558.12

11,553.68

410

3.01

3,324.83

2,696.7

233.7

908

25.77

48,093.88

38,254.82

11,787.38

Source: Control of Urban Source; Control of Urban Pollution Series (CUPS/70/2009–2010) Central Pollution Control Board.

constituting about 13 percent of wastewater volume, and from other tributaries about 7,976 MLD, which is about 65 percent (Figure 4.7). Major wastewater volume that adds to Ganga’s poor water quality comes from its tributaries. The Ganga was the first river to be monitored for pollution abatement and one of the major decisions in the Ganga Action Plan was to create sewage treatment capacity. A lot of money was spent in the four major states from where the Ganga traverses. The figures and tables below give us a fair idea of the treatment capacity available for wastewater that ultimately flows into the river (Figures 4.8–4.11; Tables 4.6–4.9). The charts demonstrate that in none of the states’ treatment capacity matches even half of the volume of sewage generated. This ultimately leaves the river polluted and contaminated with a lot of bacteria, virus, and fecal material leading to waterborne disease affecting human health and well-being. Additionally, coastal cities also have challenges with wastewater that flows into the ocean. Water quality monitoring from 1995 to 2010 indicates that the organic and bacterial contamination

Tributaries—65%

22 65 13

Ganga—22% Land—13%

Figure 4.7  Wastewater discharges into the Ganga from different sources

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24.33 MLD available capacity 161.71 MLD capacity unavailable

Figure 4.8  Uttarakhand wastewater treatment capacity

1,252.74 MLD available capacity 2,598.7 MLD capacity unavailable

FIGURE 4.9  Uttar Pradesh wastewater treatment capacity

continues to be critical in water bodies as a result of untreated domestic wastewater discharge from urban areas (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012: 126).

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137.50 MLD capacity available 979.62 MLD capacity unavailable

Figure 4.10  Bihar wastewater treatment capacity

567.8 MLD capacity available 1,857.83 MLD capacity unavailable

Figure 4.11  West Bengal wastewater treatment capacity

Table 4.6: Treatment capacity of Uttarakhand Treatment Capacity 24.33 MLD available capacity 161.71 MLD capacity unavailable

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% 13 87

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Table 4.7: Treatment capacity of Uttar Pradesh Treatment Capacity

%

1,252.74 MLD available capacity

33

2,598.7 MLD capacity unavailable

67

Table 4.8: Treatment capacity of Bihar Treatment Capacity

%

137.50 MLD capacity available

12

979.62 MLD capacity unavailable

88

Table 4.9: Treatment capacity of West Bengal Treatment Capacity 567.80 MLD capacity available 1,857.83 MLD capacity unavailable

% 22 78

Source: Compiled from PAR, 2011–2012

Impact on groundwater Groundwater demand in India has been increasing as a secondary source of drinking water, as well as irrigation. Currently more than 50 percent of urban water requirements are met by groundwater, and more than 80 percent of all rural water comes from groundwater source, as does 65 percent of the water used for irrigation (World Bank, 2010). Groundwater is considered less polluted but their overexploitation depletes the groundwater tables and increases seepage of pollutants from surface layers polluting even groundwater. Thus natural groundwater becomes unfit for potable use. This contamination could render the resource unusable even before it is fully exhausted. Nearly 90 percent of the rural population of the country uses groundwater for drinking and domestic purposes. Iron in natural waters is an essential constituent for both plant and animal metabolism. Abnormally large amounts (exceeding 1 mg/L), however, may result in cirrhosis, with suspected diarrheal and cardiac linkages. In a large number of areas—in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Orissa, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala—the groundwater is highly contaminated with iron (World Bank, 2011). The level of contamination and pollution in groundwater remains alarmingly high (Nelson, 1999), and the increasing level of use is sinking water tables and seepage of pollutants

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to deeper layers of earth. In India, 56 percent of all metropolitan Class I and Class II cities are dependent on groundwater either fully or partially (NIUA, 2005). Peri-urban towns do not have access to surface water, and therefore overall dependence on groundwater is very high. The dependence on groundwater within the cities and from surrounding areas has been on the rise (Londhe et al., 2004; Phansalkar et al., 2005). The rise in private tube wells in urban and peri-urban areas, with tankers taking water supply to the city, has been on the rise too. As urban centers continue to grow, cities outgrow the supply capacity of the local aquifer, and often quality, especially GW, also deteriorates. A more recent study of India’s groundwater situation, conducted in 2012, focuses on the often dangerous parallels between industrialization and urbanization and the degradation of groundwater resources. Industries also pay a price to the municipal body for using surface water. The price of groundwater is calculated by energy cost if the land belongs to the industrial owner. Since surface water is not regularly guaranteed, industries tend to depend on groundwater.

Implications for water security Industrialization, urbanization, and population growth affect availability, access, and quality of water, which are the key components of water security. As population grows alongside the demand for water, the stress on water resources is bound to grow as well, and water quality issues will assume even more importance as focal points of human development, social stress, and community strife. Polluted water, water shortages, and unsanitary living conditions are all direct threats to human health and security. Water is a critical resource, and water scarcity, lack of access, and pollution combine to form a serious crisis. India’s fourteen major, fifty-five minor, and several hundred small rivers receive millions of liters of sewage, along with industrial and agricultural wastes discharge. Presently only 10 percent of the wastewater generated is treated; the rest is discharged into the water bodies, leading to pollutants entering rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Thus the water that ultimately enters our households is often contaminated and carries diseasecausing microbes (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012: 2). Degraded water quality can contribute to water scarcity as it limits its availability both for human use and for the ecosystem (MOEF, 2009: 43). Water pollution may affect water quality in several ways: ● Temperature and turbidity may increase due to TSS, TDS, ammonia, oil, and grease. In addition, trace metals, the main pollutants from coal mines and power plants, smelters, and iron and steel industries, alter ecosystems and raise the incidence of waterborne diseases.

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●

Toxic pollutants include organic and heavy metals. These toxins find their way into the water supply mostly through chemicals manufactured artificially that enter point and nonpoint sources. Uncontrolled discharge of industrial wastewater often causes pollution due to toxic metals; other sources of metal pollution are leachates from ash ponds, urban solid waste landfills, and mining waste dumps.

●

Salinization is an increase in mineral salts from industrial effluents, mine water, and surface runoff from open-cast or dumped areas. These contaminants may enter rivers from mining wastewaters, and fecal and organic dumps.

A mixture of untreated industrial waste with urban wastewater can be hazardous due to the synergistic interactions of multiple chemicals and toxins. A United Nations report ranks India’s water quality as poor. It ranks 120th among 122 nations in water quality available to its citizens (Gupta, nd). Paper and pulp mills consume large volumes of water and discharge liquid and solid waste into the environment. Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh discharge effluents high in ammonium content and suspended solids. In addition, sugarcane rinse also contains pesticides. Leather tanneries in Kanpur produce a significant amount of solid waste, including hide, hair, and sludge. The wastewater, which contains chromium, acids, sulfides, and chlorides, has affected the surrounding villages where people have been suffering from skin diseases and the contamination of groundwater (Personal Interview, Eco Friends, 2012). Textiles and dye industries in Gujarat and Punjab produce liquid effluents containing chemicals and toxic residues from equipment cleaning. Chemical pollution of surface water can create serious health risks. Acute exposure to contamination of drinking water can result in inflammation of the eyes and nose, but chronic exposure to copper, arsenic, or chromium can create liver problems (WHO, 2003). Studies show that long-term intake of fluoride can cause tooth decay and crippled bones. Arsenic can cause skin cancer and changes in skin pigmentation (MOEF, 2009: 43). Certain stretches of the Ganga, as well as the Yamuna, Gomti, Godavari, Musi, Cauvery, Cooum, Mahananda, Khan, Kshipra, Vaigai, Chambal, Rani Chu, Mandovi, Krishna, Sutlej, Sabarmati, Subarnarekha, Bhadra/ Tungabhadra, Pennar, and Pamba Betwa, continue to be plagued by high levels of organic pollution, low levels of oxygen availability for aquatic organisms, and bacteria, protozoa, and viruses that have fecal origin and cause illnesses (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012: 76). Most lakes in India are under threat from nutrient overload, which is causing their eutrophication and eventually choking them up with the kinds of weeds that proliferate in nutrient-rich water. The implementation of NLCP has had no

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discernible effect. Some success with Lake Nainital, Lake Mansagar, etc., has been reported. Lakes not only sustain livelihoods, but are unique ecosystems supporting a wealth of biodiversity. The Ministry of Environment and Forests corroborated the observation of the audit report that improvement of water quality had not taken place in all the rivers covered in the sample, barring the Ganga in some stretches. The report also mentioned that the risks of polluted water to the health of living organisms and the impact on the environment had not been adequately assessed. The lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene results in the loss of 0.4 million lives annually in India (WHO, 2007). The socioeconomic costs of water pollution are extremely high: 1.5 million children under five years die each year due to waterborne diseases, 200 million person days of work are lost each year and the country loses about Rs.366 billion each year due to water-related diseases (Parikh, 2004). Mckenzie and Ray (2009: 445) note that “waterborne diseases from fecal contamination are one of the biggest public health risks in the country—it has been argued that India loses 90 million working days a year owing to waterborne diseases, costing Rs.6 billion in production losses and treatment.” Poor water quality, sanitation, and hygiene result in the loss of 30.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in India (Murty and Kumar, 2011). A recent estimate on the Ganga water samples collected in Varanasi revealed fecal coliform counts of about 50,000 bacteria per 100 ml of water, which is 10,000 percent higher than government safety standards. Several waterborne diseases like cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, acute gastrointestinal infections, and amoebic dysentery have been reported in regions with fecal coliform above safe standards. A study conducted by doctors in the IndoGangetic plains covering over sixty villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar revealed that the incidence of gall bladder disease was high among people living near the Ganga and its tributaries due to high concentrations of heavy metals in water and soil (Iyer, 2011; Unisa et al., 2011). A combination of sewage disposal, industrial effluents, chemicals from farm runoffs, arsenic, and fluoride has rendered India’s rivers unfit for human consumption (Ramachandran, 2006). Over 21 percent of transmissible diseases are related to unsafe water (Water Partners International, nd). Millions of urban poor are affected by these diseases due to poor sanitation and inadequate water supply, and almost 90 percent of diarrhea cases are due to contaminated water. Water-borne diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea have been erupting every year during summer and rainy seasons in India due to poor quality of drinking water supply and sanitation. Children among the poor are most vulnerable to water-borne infections as they are largely undernourished and their immune systems are underdeveloped. TransYamuna and resettlement colonies of Delhi are largely afflicted every year from these diseases due to shortage of safe drinking water. (Gupta, 2013)

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Two of the 10 most-polluted spots on earth are in India, according to a report by the US-based Blacksmith Institute. Sukinda Valley in Orissa has the largest chromite ore deposits in India and also has the largest opencast chromite mine in the world. Approximately 70 percent of the surface water and 60 percent of the drinking water contain hexavalent chromium, caused by the dumping of waste products. The air and soil are also heavily polluted. Also, nearly one-fourth of the people in neighboring villages are suffering from pollution-induced diseases, which include gastrointestinal bleeding, tuberculosis, asthma, infertility, birth defects, and stillbirths. Sixty percent of the drinking water is contaminated with carcinogenic hexavalent chromium, affecting nearly 3 million people (Thakkar, 2007). Vapi houses more than fifty industrial estates and over 1,000 independent industries, mainly chemical and tanning related. Vapi is equally affected by all kinds of pollution. Mahad Industrial Estate in Maharashtra and Ranipet in Tamil Nadu are the other areas listed in the “Dirty Thirty.” According to a survey conducted by a Supreme Court monitoring committee, approximately 1,800 tons of hazardous sludge has accumulated at the Mahad Industrial Estate Common Effluent Treatment Plant. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board estimates that about 15,00,000 tons of solid waste has accumulated in this town, known for its tanning industry. A lot of this sludge flows into sewer drains and stormwater drains and enters into surface water bodies and also contaminates groundwater (Thakkar, 2007). Water discharged from cooling towers is generally disposed of at a temperature of 4–5°C above the prevalent surface water temperature, which can harm the aquatic biota. Many thermal plants dispose effluents by means of a long and open channel to cool the water to the level of the receiving surface water but in several other cases water is not cooled enough and is discharged into the water source leading to thermal pollution. Thermal pollution thus can exert a disruptive effect on aquatic ecosystems. According to a report by the Indian Institute of Management (2010: 37–38), Water quality monitoring results obtained during 1995–2007 indicate that organic and bacterial contamination continued to be critical in water bodies. This is mainly due to discharge of domestic wastewater mostly in untreated form from the urban centers of the country. The municipal corporations at large are not treating the sewage. Secondly the receiving water bodies did not have adequate water for dilution. This situation is mainly responsible for water borne diseases. The majority of rivers are not polluted in their entire lengths but are polluted in segments, due to waste water discharges from urban centers as well as industries. Based on water quality monitoring 143 stretches of rivers have been identified as polluted as these are not meeting water quality criteria … .

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In terms of industrial pollution control, CPCB had decided in 1990 to control pollution in 17 categories of highly polluting industries. Out of 2982 industries, 2121 units are complying, 383 are defaulting whereas 478 are closed. 8513 cases have filed in the court against defaulters so far, out which 3533 cases are pending. In early 1990s CPCB had also decided to control pollution in 25 critically polluted areas. The CPCB is still to find success in those areas. (Institute of Indian Management, 2010: 37–38) Recently, a large number of fish deaths caused by industrial effluents created panic in certain areas in Punjab and Rajasthan because the drinking water supply is unsafe. In Delhi too the tap water in many places has been found to be contaminated by WHO standards. Occurrence of fish kills and migration of fish from polluted areas becomes a regular feature. The Hoogly estuary of West Bengal was once considered as the spawning ground for the Hilsa fish but it is not so at present due to environmental degradation. Episodes of fish kills have been reported from Trombay basin and Periyar estuary of Kerala. Reduced fish productivity, mass destruction of aquatic flora and fauna, especially as a result of industrial toxicants has been reported. (Bisht and Tewari, 2013) Many externally visible diseases are prevalent in fish population, and their incidences have been proposed as an index of pollution. Water pollution also has a huge impact on biotic and abiotic factors of the ecosystem. Biotic factors are living, breathing organisms, and there are thousands of them in the ocean. Some biotic factors that are affected by water pollution are aquatic food such as phyto- and zooplankton. If there is a decrease in aquatic food, then the population of the marine creatures that eat that aquatic food, such as whales, small fish, sea stars, and shrimp, will decrease. Therefore, there will be a mass chain reaction of decreased predator populations. This could be very dangerous for the ecosystem. One other biotic factor that is affected by water pollution is the mortality of sea plants, which provide shelter for fish. Water contamination weakens and destroys natural ecosystems that support human health, food production, and biodiversity. Toxic and heavy metals are pervasive to the industrial environment in India and a lot of children and adults are exposed to them leading to severe human health consequences. Table 4.10 describes some of these effects.

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Table 4.10: Pathological effects of toxic metals on human beings S. No

Heavy Metals

Effects

1.

Lead

Anemia, neuropathy, chronic renal disease, and reproductive impairment. Lead is a carcinogen in three animal species

2.

Mercury

Inorganic mercury causes gingivitis, stomatitis, neurologic impairment, and nephrosis, while organic mercurials cause sensory neuropathy, ataxia, dysarthria, and blindness

3.

Arsenic

Arsenic causes dermatitis, skin cancer, sensory neuropathy, and cirrhosis, angiosarcoma of the liver, lung cancer, and possibly lymphatic cancer

4.

Cadmium

Emphysema, chronic renal disease, cancer of the prostate and possibly of the lung

5.

Copper

Hypertension, uremia, coma, sporadic fever

6.

Barium

Excessive salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, paralysis, colic pain

7.

Zinc

Vomiting, renal damage, cramps

8.

Selenium

Damage of liver, kidney, and spleen, fever, nervousness, vomiting, low blood pressure, blindness, and even death

9.

Hexavalent chromium Nephritis, gastro-intestinal ulceration, diseases in central nervous system, cancer

10.

Cobalt

Diarrhea, low blood pressure, lung irritation, bone deformities, paralysis

Sources: Landrigan (1982, 531) and Mishra et al. (2010)

Urban and peri-urban water insecurity Urban and peri-urban water problems are a consequence of the utilities unable to supply the amount of water needed to meet the growing demand in the cities. For example, there are days in Chennai and Hyderabad where water is available only for a few hours. The average per capita water supply in urban regions ranges from 37 to 298 LPCD, with average hours stretching from two to six hours per day, and timing is uneven (MOUD, 2010). Population density supported by the river basins is higher than in most developing societies. Due to an absence of regulatory control over wastage and usage, a lot of water is wasted—in some cities as much as 60 percent. People in slums have to wait for hours, and sometimes days,

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to get water. Drinking water is bought by almost all in many areas, and people’s access to drinking water, especially in the lower strata, is not assured (Kundu, 1999). “The water supply in most Indian cities is only available for a few hours per day, pressure is irregular and the water is of questionable quality” (Mckenzie and Ray, 2009: 443). Large cities like Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad get water for up to four hours a day, while Kolkata and Mumbai get water for about nine hours (Mckenzie and Ray, 2009). The National Commission on Water reported that it is not just about the availability of water in the cities but also the inequitable distribution of water among localities. While one area in a city might be getting 300 LPCD, people in slums and low-income localities receive water for a few minutes a day through public standposts as the pressure is slow and the supply is erratic. In a sectoral assessment report, the Planning Commission of India noted a rapid pace of urbanization coupled with lack of access to water by the urban poor (IAR, 2002). Even cities boasting higher rates of water access are able to guarantee very few hours of water a day, and this imposes health, social, and economic costs on residents. It further states that in such a situation, people have to pay a high price to commercial vendors for drinking water. In addition to these extremely short periods of availability, lack of wastewater treatment capacity and maintenance of available plants also threatens public health. While India may boast of guaranteeing access to safe water to about 81 percent of the population, sanitation is still far from assured: 51 percent of the population have no sanitation facility, 34 percent have improved sanitation sources, and 15 percent have unimproved sources (WHO/UNICEF, 2012). The portion of the Indian population that has no access to clean, hygienic, and safe drinking waters often use canals and drains for both drinking and bathing purposes. Naturally, water used for both of these purposes cannot meet potability standards. While the availability of safe drinking water is indeed an important achievement, the two facts in conjunction point toward a rather serious health problem, especially as it pertains to waterborne diseases, since they account for as much as 60 percent of all urban deaths (Sivaramakrishnan, 1993). Thus, rapid urbanization and the growth of population in the urban areas are being considered as the prime reasons for increased water demand against the ability of the utilities to supply; and access to a supply of safe drinking water in urban areas cannot be seen in isolation from the process of urbanization and income inequalities. Apart from urban use of groundwater, around 85 percent of rural population uses groundwater for drinking and domestic purposes. Overexploitation of groundwater and its pollution problems are caused by declining water tables; sea water intrusions (Chennai); deterioration of groundwater quality with iron, fluoride, and arsenic; and institutional challenges. High concentrations of fluorides and arsenic beyond permissible

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limits of 1.5 mg/L and 0.05 mg/L pose health hazards. In all, nineteen states (Table 4.11) have been identified as endemic areas for fluorosis with an estimated 44 million people impacted and another 66 million at risk (MOEF, 2009: 47).

Table 4.11: Districts affected with Fluoride S. No.

State

No. of Districts Affected

1

Andhra Pradesh

2

Assam

4

3

Bihar

9

4

Chhattisgarh

5

Delhi

6

Gujarat

18

7

Haryana

14

8

Jammu and Kashmir

2

9

Jharkhand

6

10

Karnataka

20

11

Kerala

12

Madhya Pradesh

13

Maharashtra

14

Orissa

11

15

Punjab

11

16

Rajasthan

30

17

Tamil Nadu

16

18

Uttar Pradesh

10

19

West Bengal

8

19

12 6

1 19 8

Source: State of the Environment Report; MOEF 2009

Arsenic is the only known carcinogenic and is highly toxic. It is the only human carcinogenic for which there is ample evidence of risk by inhalation and ingestion (Chen and Ahsan, 2004). Arsenic was first reported in 1980 in West Bengal and since then has been found in groundwater reported in fifteen districts of Bihar, nine districts of Uttar Pradesh, eight districts in West Bengal, and one district in Chhattisgarh and Assam, as shown in Table 4.12 (MOEF, 2009: 47).

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Table 4.12: Arsenic contamination in districts of India State

District

Assam

Dhemaji

Bihar

Bhojpur Bhagalpur Begusarai Buxar Darbhanga Khagaria Kishangarh Katihar Lakhiserai Munger Patna Purnea Saran Samastipur Vaishali

Chhattisgarh

Rajnandgaon

West Bengal

Bardhman Haora Hugli Malda Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas

Uttar Pradesh

Agra Aligarh Ballia Balrampur Gonda Gorakhpur Lakhimpur Kheri Mathura Moradabad

Source: MOEF, 2009: 47

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In Kolkata, for example, GW extraction is 1,123 MLD compared to a safe yield of 204 MLD. This has resulted in land subsidence in many parts of the city, which now has to import water beyond its urban limits. Among the million plus cities, Jaipur draws 90 percent of its water from an out-of-city groundwater reservoir located 100 km away. Ludhiana in Punjab receives all its urban supply from groundwater reserves. North Gujarat, Rajasthan, and many smaller cities that do not have access to surface water resources (Anand et al., 2005) have full dependence on groundwater (Anand et al., 2005; Raju et al., 2004). Chennai is another example of urban groundwater exploitation to the extent that “80 percent of [its] groundwater has been depleted and any further exploration could lead to salt water ingression” (Balan et al., 2012: 147). The bore wells in Chennai together account for about 225 MLD water, and most of the houses depend on them. Mindless extraction in places such as Minjur in North Chennai has severely depleted the wells there. As the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) report states, excessive extraction has led to the reversal of hydraulic gradient and consequent saline water intrusion. Other water bodies like lakes in Chennai are also vanishing and that has impoverished groundwater recharge and adversely affected bore wells. Balan et al. (2012: 146) note, “once the groundwater is contaminated, its quality cannot be restored by stopping the pollutants from the source. The common pollutants of groundwater are discharge of agricultural, domestic, and industrial waste, pesticides, etc. which leads to water-borne diseases.” The study provides a well-articulated examination of the specific scientific risks associated with contamination levels in the tested area. As industrialization and urbanization increase, areas like urban sprawl, urban fringe, suburbs, and the peri-urban zone have also been on the rise, and these areas completely depend on groundwater withdrawals as population increase as a result of new industries and job opportunities. The peri-urban zone is considered to be a transition zone and resides on a “continuum” with the urban area, characterized by mixed land use, where agricultural land predominates but other rural land is converted into permanently built-up areas and covered with infrastructure. Peri-urban tracts in large cities generally grow upon land where natural water bodies, wetlands, and meadows exist. With the expansion of the city, some of the changes that nearby villages have encountered are massive real estate development, decrease in agricultural land, and shortage of water for round-the-year growth, water stress and degrading groundwater quality, acute shortage of drinking water during summers, increased dependency on bore water for all purposes, and a 24/7 supply of water to surrounding development enclaves adjacent to these villages. Besides the large water bodies, numerous small water bodies in peri-urban zones have also shrunk as cities have undergone a wave of real estate growth (Ramachandraiah and Prasad, 2008). However, systems for water and sanitation have often been planned and constructed

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specifically for either urban or rural situations, resulting in the peri-urban zones being neglected or forgotten and leaving large numbers without sufficient clean drinking water or adequate sanitation (Norström, 2007; Törnqvist, 2007). This makes planning for sustainable water and sanitation systems in peri-urban areas an important and challenging issue, since sources are limited and diminish over time due to land acquisition for residential and commercial purposes. This tends to affect groundwater tables and the local water bodies in the area. Gurgaon is currently a peri-urban city that arose as a result of India’s growing economic liberalization policy. This policy has given rise to a lot of outsourcing and offshoring activities in India, which have led to huge construction of building projects and high rises. Scientists at the Central Groundwater Authority have been warned that Gurgaon’s water table has been declining at a rate of about two meters (six feet) every year since 2006. Haryana draws 2.72 billion cubic meters of water whereas the annual availability is 2.64 bcm within NCR. It is predicted by the scientists that the city will have no water left by 2017. This will also have serious implications for the residents of periurban Gurgaon, since their remaining water resources would also be under severe threat. (Times of India, Delhi Edition, 2010) To cater to the demands of the population, illegal groundwater extraction is rampant, and in the past three decades 35,000 bore wells have been dug while only 9,780 are registered. When summertime power cuts occur, residents are forced to depend on tankers that charge Rs.600–700 for supplying 3,000–4,000 liters of water. In the peri-urban villages of Hyderabad and Chennai, where concrete structures have come up, villagers not only lose their land but also sources of livelihoods and access to water, forcing them to migrate to the cities. In Chennai’s peri-urban districts, a large amount of land is being bought by industries to extract groundwater for industrial uses. Many farmers are forced to sell their land and water and look for alternative sources of livelihood. In particular, peri-urban areas in Hyderabad have lost lakes during the process of development, which were earlier natural sources of water for agriculture and several other economic activities. While urban and peri-urban areas are exposed to these human health and equity in access of water, rural population is also exposed to these hazards as 85 percent of rural population uses groundwater for drinking and domestic purposes. Thus in recent times, pressure on available groundwater sources has increased the groundwater overdraft, leading to acute water scarcity for people, especially the poor and marginalized (Prakash, Singh and Narain, 2011). What is going to be the future of water security if present trends continue? Over four decades have passed since the Water Pollution and Prevention

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Act 1974 became the first regulation for clean water in India, leading to a major surge of governmental activity in the environmental policy area. Major laws were passed, the Ministry of Environment and Forests was set up, a new environmental bureaucracy was created, investments were made, environmental groups mushroomed, and media coverage of environmental issues also began. Despite the fact that environmental issues gained salience, the end result did not have much impact on environmental quality. The role of the state remained one of policing rather than managing. Water security is definitely at risk with these drivers causing changes in the freshwater ecosystems. Levels of water pollution even today are much above acceptable limits in many rivers, and depleting resources are leading to reduced availability issues while also impacting the constituents of human wellbeing in terms of security of resource access, adequate livelihoods, and good health.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Vulnerability of climate change While the debate about the severity of the impacts of climate change continues on a multiscalar basis, there is a consensus in the global community that climate change is on its way. Climate change means a “change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods” (UNFCC, 1992: 7). People question whether the frequency of hurricanes, floods, and droughts can be attributed to climate change, but there is no doubt that while the events themselves cannot be attributed wholly to climate change, the fact is that it is real and it will make climate-related catastrophes more severe and intense, from coastal flooding to droughts to storms. Moreover, climate change and the processes of ecosystem are intricately connected with water insecurity. It has a nexus with food, energy, potability of water, and public health that infringes upon human and national security. “Adverse effects of climate change” means climate-related changes in the physical environment or biota that have significant deleterious effects on the composition, resilience, or productivity of natural and managed ecosystems or on the operation of socioeconomic systems or on human health and welfare (UNFCC, 1992) (Figure 5.1). The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has concluded that the impact of human activities on climate is unequivocal and predicts a rise of 2–4.5°C by 2100 and a warming of about 0.2°C per decade for the next two decades (IPCC, 2007).1 The debate at this point is on the extent and magnitude of climate change. Not recognizing the change in weather patterns and waiting for a perfect scientific consensus to understand the shifts and impacts of weather patterns, glacial melts, and sea-level rise would be keeping humanity in a state of denial. The international community is faced

Even if emissions and aerosols are kept constant at 2000 levels, a warming of about 0.1°C per decade would still be expected.

1

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CLIMATE CHANGE

• Anthropogenic changes in addition to natural variability

WEATHER CHANGES

• Heat waves • Extreme weather • Temperature • Precipitation

LIVELIHOODS, HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING

• Temperaturerelated deaths • Water- and foodborne diseases • Effect on food and water shortages— malnutrition • Agriculture and fisheries

Figure 5.1  Climate change impacts with an overwhelming humanitarian challenge of saving livelihoods from forced migration and displacement and ensuring food and water security. The World Bank Report (2013), “Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4 Degree Centigrade Warmer World Must Be Avoided,” recognizes that the impacts of climate change would be differentially distributed across the world and will be felt disproportionately in the tropics and among the poor because the geographic and socioeconomic conditions produce certain vulnerabilities in different regions. South Asia, according to the report, is particularly vulnerable as the region hosts a fourth of the world’s population. That number now stands at 1.7 billion, but it will rise to 2.3 billion in 2050. With widespread poverty, the impacts of climate change could severely affect the economy, agriculture, and population movements due to intense heat, flooding, or disease (World Bank Report, 2013: 105). India is the largest country in the region and is no exception to this adverse impact of cataclysmic climate change. This chapter analyzes the water insecurities in the country and future implications of climate change on water and human security based on different studies in different scenarios.2 Climate change studies have taken into consideration three scenarios for calculating the impacts that tend to differ based on the degree of warming. Scenarios are plausible combinations of variables consistent with what we know about human-induced climate change. The scenarios over a thirty-year period include baseline, BL (1961–1990), middle change, MC (2021–2050), and end of the century, EC (2071–2098) climate change scenarios. Other estimates range over mean thirty-year climates centered on the 2020s (2010–2039), the 2050s (2040–2069), and the 2080s (2070–2099) and the temperatures ranging from 2°C to 4°C.

2

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India is a vast country with a rural population of 700 million people subsisting on climate-sensitive sectors of agriculture, forests, and fisheries, with the support of natural resources like water, biodiversity, mangroves, coastal areas, and grasslands for livelihoods. The timely arrival of the summer monsoon is critical for the rural economy of India as well as the region. The ability of dry-land farmers, forest dwellers, fishermen, and nomadic tribes to adapt to climate change is poor. Decreases in the availability of seasonal water, together with population increases, may have severe effects on water and food security (Kumar et al., 2010). As climate change directly transforms natural ecosystems and socioeconomic patterns, its impacts on ecology, environment, and people are going to be massive (India’s Initial National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2002). The IPCC Report predicts that there will be a 2.7–4.3°C increase in temperature in India by 2080s. The panel also mentions an increase in rainfall over the subcontinent by 6–8 percent and a rise in sea level by 88 cm by 2100 (IPCC, 2007). The most recent modeling done for India is based on the Regional Climate Modeling (RCM) System, known as PRECIS. Developed by the Hadley Center, using IPCC scenarios A2 and B2 (Box 5.1),3 the models depict the following:

Box 5.1: Climate Change Under IPCC Scenarios A2 and B2

A

n annual mean surface temperature rise by the end of this century, ranging from 3°C to 5°C (under A2 scenario) and 2.5°C to 4°C (under B2 scenario), with the warming more pronounced in the northern parts of India. A 20 percent rise in all-India summer monsoon rainfall and a further rise in rainfall is projected over all states except Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, which show a slight decrease. Extreme rise in maximum and minimum temperatures and similarly extreme precipitation are also projected, particularly over the west coast of India and West Central India. Source: State of Environment Report, India, 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:India_flood_zone_map.svg

The IPCC scenarios: The A2 storyline and scenario family describes a very heterogeneous world. The underlying theme is self-reliance and preservation of local identities. Fertility patterns across regions converge very slowly, which results in continuously increasing population. Economic development is primarily regionally oriented and the per capita economic growth and technological change are more fragmented and slower than other storylines. The B2 storyline and scenario family describes a world in which the emphasis is on local solutions to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. It is a world with continuously increasing global population, at a rate lower than A2, intermediate levels of economic development, and less rapid and more diverse technological changes than in the B1 and A1 storylines. While the scenario is also oriented toward environmental protection and social equity, it focuses on local and regional levels (IPCC 2007, and MOEF 2009).

3

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There seems to be a general consensus among environmental policy planners that hydrology and water resources will be greatly affected by climate change. The impacts of climate change would be varied in different regions of the world and will be felt in both surface water and groundwater resources. Since land geography would remain unaffected with this new paradigm shift, the changes in river courses and water reservoirs may not happen, but water precipitation, evaporation, floods, velocity of water runoff, consumption of water by plants and animals are likely to change life, and the quality of life, drastically. Changes in rivers would result in low flow, drought, flood, and sedimentation. Groundwater recharge, which is largely done during the wet season, may be affected, leading to its further exploitation in the dry seasons. The existing arrangements for management of water resources will no more be valid and will need restructuring with pluralistic strategies of flexible water management (Mirza and Dixit, 1997). Most of the ill effects of climate change are linked to such extreme weather events as hot or cold spells, wet and dry spells, or cyclones and floods. Predictions and warnings of such events under changed climates are even more difficult, but the possibilities of such extreme changes are quite disturbing. The actual consequences of climate change are likely to manifest in spatial and temporal variability. The populations of South Asia are vulnerable to shocks in the hydrological regime. Conditions in India appear to be consistent with the scenarios “expected from human induced climate change” (Kumar et al., 2010), with warming trends in the past few decades and a decline in rainfall likely due to the effects of anthropogenic aerosols, mainly black carbon (Turner and Annamalai, 2012). In addition, more frequent extreme precipitation events and increases in frequency of short drought periods have been observed (World Bank Report, 2013: 106). The report identifies stresses that are expected to magnify the impacts and increase the challenge of poverty reduction in the region.

Box 5.2: Risk Factors • Increases in temperature and extremes of heat • Changes in the monsoon pattern • Increased intensity of extreme weather events, including flooding and tropical cyclones • Sea-level rise Source: “Turn Down the Heat” World Bank Report, 2013.

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Heat spells and rise in temperatures The preceding 100 years have witnessed increases in temperature from 0.3 to 0.6°C (Kattenberg et al., 1996). A rise in global temperatures of 2–4.3°C by the end of the century, with a 2.7–4.3°C increase in India, has been predicted (IPCC, 2007). With a 4°C warming, the west coast of India and southern India are projected to shift to new high-temperature climatic regimes. South peninsula, Central, and Northern India are likely to face a rise in night temperatures. A daytime rise could also be experienced over Central and Northern India. Unusual heat is projected for 60–80 percent of the Northern Hemisphere summer months in most parts of South Asia (World Bank, 2013). In 2011, Indian temperature was the ninth warmest on record, and in 2009, it was warmest at 0.9°C above the 1961–1990 average. The extreme rises in temperatures are already being experienced in northern parts of India, which now face scorching heat in summer. The poor suffer these heat spells most as they do not have the means and support systems to sustain life. There are reports of loss of life from various parts of India during heat spells. In 1998, 650 people died due to extremes of temperature in Orissa, and every year many deaths are reported from various parts of the country (MOEF, 2009: 76). Loss of water through evaporation forms one of the biggest threats accompanying this rise in temperature. With an increase of 2–3°C in temperature, evaporation increases by 10 percent. The resulting loss of water is independent of surges in demand by human users or natural ecosystems (Budyko, 1982; Gleick, 1989).

Rainfall Accompanying temperature changes, precipitation patterns4 will also be altered. Rainfall is expected to increase in intensity and the number of rainy days to decrease. Monsoonal rainfalls and glacial melt can increase the frequency and intensity of natural disasters like flash floods. For a 4°C warming world, a 10 percent increase in annual mean monsoon intensity and a 15 percent increase in a year-to-year variability of Indian summer monsoon precipitation are projected compared to normal levels in the first half of the twentieth century. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology

Extreme precipitation can be defined in terms of number of rainy days if it exceeds the currently observed average number of rainy days in a year (exceeding 2.5 mm), as well as the volume of rainfall in a day if it exceeds a particular threshold (INCCA 2010).

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predict that by the 2050s, India will experience a decline in its summer rainfall, which accounts for almost 70 percent of the total annual rainfall and is crucial for agriculture (MOEF, 2009: 78). However, the behavior of the summer monsoon under climate change remains unpredictable. Regions prone to droughts and water competition, which might see an increase in the intensity of precipitation, could benefit, while areas suffering from periodical floods will suffer from climate-induced runoff and peak flows impacting the local people. Regions dependent on hydropower will be affected by the economic stress caused by loss of energy due to reduced reservoir levels. Townships like Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, and Patna would be severely affected. Thus, some regions may actually show a transition to a milder, warmer, wetter, and better climate, while others may see an increase in the number of dry days with the increase in the seasonality of precipitation leading to droughts. The Indian Network Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) Report (2010) predicts the precipitation patterns for 2030s based on simulation models, which are described in Box 5.3:

Box 5.3: Precipitation Patterns for 2030s Himalayan Region • Rainy days may increase by five to ten days on an average in the 2030s. They will increase by more than fifteen days in the eastern part of the Jammu and Kashmir. • The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase by 1–2 mm/day. Northeastern Region • Number of rainy days is likely to decrease by one to ten days. • The intensity of rainfall in the region is likely to increase by 1–6 mm/day. Western Ghats • The number of rainy days is likely to decrease along the entire western coast, including the Western Ghats. • There may be an increase in rainfall in the range of one to five days in the Karnataka region of the Western Ghats. • The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase by 1–2 mm/day. Coastal Region • In the eastern coast, the number of rainy days is likely to decrease by one to five days, with a slight increase along the Orissa coast. • The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase between 1 mm/day and 4 mm/day. The projections of extreme precipitation events for the western coast are same as projected for Western Ghats. Cyclonic Storms • Decreasing frequency in cyclones along the eastern coast surrounded by the Bay of Bengal and the northern Indian Ocean has been observed since 1986.

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• No trend is seen in the western coast for the same period which is along the Arabian Sea. • The projected number of cyclonic disturbances along both the coasts in the 2030s is estimated to decrease with respect to the 1970s. • However, cyclonic systems might be more intense in the future. Storm Surge • The storm surge return periods could only be estimated at a 100 year time scale. • All locations along the eastern coast of India, which are north of Visakhapatnam, except Sagar and Kolkata, show an increase in 100-year return periods of storm surges by 15 percent to 20 percent with respect to the 1970s. Sea-Level Rise • Observations based on tide gauge measurements along the Indian coast, for a period of twenty years and more for which significantly consistent data is available, indicate that the sea level along the Indian coast has been rising at the rate of about 1.3 mm/year on an average. • In the absence of the availability of regional projections, for the 2030s, global projections can be used as a first approximation of sea-level rise along the Indian coasts in the next few decades. Source: INCCA Report, 2010: 14–16

Currently, the frequency of rainy days is more in east and northeast India and less over western India. Projections for the 2030s, however, indicate that the frequency of rainy days is likely to decrease in most parts of the country. Presently, the intensity of a rainy day is more along the western coast, especially in the Western Ghats, and northeast India. The intensity of rainy days increases in a more warming scenario.

Glacial melt Over the past century, satellite imagery has shown that the Himalayan glaciers have been retreating. It is believed that climate change has increased Himalayan temperatures by 0.6°C in the past thirty years. Some of the glaciers are receding at an average rate of ten to fifteen meters per year (MOEF, 2009). These glaciers provide 30–40 percent of the water supply of the river Ganga and 70–80 percent of the Indus water supply

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(Sharma and Sharma, 2008). Currently, 750 million people depend on the glacially fed rivers of Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra for freshwater resources (World Bank, 2013). One of the studies done on glacial melt of the Himalayan region maintains that the climate is undoubtedly changing and the lives and livelihoods of people dependent on the major rivers systems having their headwaters in the glaciers are bound to be affected. While the study concedes that there is uncertainty about the precise cause and effect of glacial melt as well as subregional variations on the intensity, there is scientific evidence that indicates that “glaciers in the HKH region are retreating at rates comparable to those in other parts of the world, and confirms that the rate has accelerated in the past century” (Committee on Himalayan Glaciers, Hydrology, Climate change and Implications for water Security et al., 2012). It is understood that the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Barak and Indus basins in India would be focal points of interest from both human and national security points of view as they are not only large basins but are also shared with other states. These basins would be particularly vulnerable due to melting glaciers and loss of snow cover. In areas where increases in peak flows lead to flooding, there could be a significant reduction in reliable water access while reductions in dry season flows affect agricultural production. In the dry season, the meltwaters contribute up to 75 percent of the river waters, which will directly impact hydropower production and agriculture (MOEF, 2009). The availability of water for irrigation is also contingent on these water resources, especially in the dry seasons. The short distance between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal further aggravates the vulnerability of the GBB/M region. The Ganga supports 500 million people along its belt (MOEF, 2009: 78). The Gangotri glacial melt, at about 28 meters per year, will reduce autumn and summer flow in the river systems over the long term, affecting irrigated land in the basin and causing stress to millions of people. Flash floods will increase with rain intensity. Glacial lake outbursts will increase chances of landslides and flash floods in the upper Himalayas. With the glacial melt, summer and autumn flows in the Ganga could drop by twothirds, affecting the large chunk of population that resides on the banks of the river (Rajya Sabha Secretariat, 2008). This thickly populated belt is most heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity, languages, religions, and existing number of states. Inundated areas and drought-prone or desert areas throughout are likely to experience increased inequality in the distribution of water due to warming trends or decreased rainfall, and increased flooding in certain areas will threaten water availability, access, and quality (IDSA, 2009).

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Box 5.4: Impact of Climate Change in India with Rise in Temperatures for 2050 (2°C) • A rise in average surface temperature by 2–4°C • Changes in distribution, intensity, and frequency of rainfall patterns • Decline in the number of rainy days, with more than 15 days of monsoons in Western and Central India and 5–10 days in the foothills of Himalayas and the Northeast • Increase in the intensity of rain by 1–4 mm/day • Increase in occurrence of cyclonic storms • Glacial melt and reduced snow cover Source: Ranuzzi and Srivastava, 2013

Impact on water resources Climate change is projected to have vast adverse effects on India’s water resources and further complicate and impact intensity, spatial and temporal variability of rainfall, evaporation rates, and temperatures in different agroclimatic zones and river basins. Estimates of the rise in temperatures in India are based on different models and they come with considerable uncertainty; however, there is high confidence that the temperature increases will be above any levels experienced in the last 100 years. For example, Kumar et al. (2010) estimate that a local warming of 2°C is expected by midcentury, and 3–5°C above the 1961–1990 mean is projected by the end of the twenty-first century (World Bank Report, 2013: 113). This definitely means a fundamental shift in the hydrological regimes of not only India but the South Asia in its entirety. Geographically, the mountains of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush confine the monsoons to the region and influence the water geography of the region in a fundamental manner. They also provide upstream freshwater to many of South Asia’s river basins with their snow melts and glacial waters. The impact of glacial melt and change in precipitation patterns directly affects people’s livelihoods and economies of the countries of the region. The profound effect this shift could have on long-term water availability and access over the subcontinent will create water insecurities. Studies on the sensitivity of runoff to changes in temperature and precipitation, impacts on dry season flow and drought, and floods and river morphology reveal an overall risk to the flow of the major rivers like the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra that support a population

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of 750 million people (Immerzeel et al., 2010). The MOEF, INCCA study (2010) has assessed the various river basins in these regions in terms of water yield, or total surface runoff (Box 5.5), which is usually a function of the precipitation, its distribution, evapotranspiration (ET), and soil characteristics (MOEF, INCCA, 2010).

Box 5.5: Impact on Water Resources: 2030s Scenario Himalayan Region • The water yield in the Himalayan region, mainly covered by the Indus River, is likely to increase by 5–20 percent in most of the areas, with some areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand showing an increase of up to 50 percent with respect to the 1970s. • The impact of increase in precipitation in this region has been reflected in an almost similar pattern of increase in the ET. • Increase in the water yield is more for those areas that have experienced a low increase in ET. Northeastern Region •The trend in precipitation in the northeastern region exhibits considerable spatial variability in water yield in the 2030s but is in line with the projected patterns of precipitation and evapotranspiration. • The northern parts of the northeast in the 2030s, with respect to 1970s, show a reduction in precipitation by 12 percent. • The central portion of the northeastern region shows an increase in precipitation by 0–25 percent. • But the majority of the northeastern region, except for Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and Assam, shows an increase in evapotranspiration in the 2030s. • As a result, a reduction in water yield by up to 20 percent is projected for Arunachal Pradesh. • Water yield in Assam and Manipur is projected to increase by 40 percent. Western Ghats • The Western Ghats region exhibits wide variability in water yield in the 2030s. • The northern portion of the Western Ghats demonstrates a decrease in the water yield, ranging from 10 to 50 percent in the 2030s with respect to the 1970s. • The central portion shows an increase in the water yield between 5 and 20 percent. • The southern parts of Karnataka and Kerala show a decrease in the yields up to 10 percent.

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Coastal Region • There is a general reduction in water yield in the eastern coastal region of West Bengal, Orissa, and the northern coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh. • The reduction in water yield in the 2030s in this region is as less as 40 percent. • In the southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and northern parts of Tamil Nadu, the water yield is projected to rise by 10–40 percent. • The western coastal region also shows an overall reduction in water yield (ranging from 1 to 50 percent) • The coast along Karnataka shows an increase in water yield of 10–20 percent in the 2030s with respect to the 1970s. • No change in water yield is projected for the 2030s in the southern tip of the coastal region. Source: MOEF, INCCA Report, 2010: 138–140

Impacts on hydrology and river flows The Ganga, Brahmaputra, and the Indus rivers are fed by the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent mountain ranges (Uprety and Salman, 2011). Over 50 percent of the world’s population lives downstream of the Great Himalayan region where increasing occurrence of low snow years and a shift to an extreme winter/spring runoff and extremely slow summer runoff would increase flood risks during winter/spring and decrease availability of freshwater during summer (Giorgi et al., 2011: 118). There exists an overall risk to the flow of these rivers. For the 2045–2065 period, with a global mean warming of 2.3°C relative to preindustrial levels, very substantial reduction in the flow of the Indus and Brahmaputra has been predicted in late spring and summer. The projected increase of rainfall upstream cannot compensate for these reductions because they follow the spring period of increased flow due to melting glaciers. The Ganges, due to high annual downstream precipitation during the monsoon season, is less dependent on meltwater (Immerzeel et al., 2010). More recent research demonstrates a rapid increase in the frequency of low snow years in the coming few decades with shifts toward high runoff and spring flows and very low summer flows well before a 2°C warming. Thus precipitation change, loss of glacial ice, and a changing snowmelt regime could lead to substantial changes in the downstream flow. Hydrological stress in snow-dependent regions is likely to intensify beginning in near-term decades when global warming is likely to remain within 2°C of the preindustrial baseline.

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The total runoffs for upper parts of Mahanadi, Brahmani, lower parts of Ganga, Subarnarekha, Godavari, Pennar, and Cauvery basins will not increase even under conditions of increased precipitation by the 2080s. Projected runoffs for various basins except Narmada and Tapi show decline as many factors contribute to the runoff in the river. The increase in runoff may result from the intensity of rainfall due to climate change. The Sabarmati and Luni river basins may have decreased precipitation and also runoff declines of two-thirds (MOEF, 2009: 82–83). It seems that unless remediation steps succeed, the water resources in river basins are likely to decline. The reductions in precipitation will lead to reduction in water yield. This situation refers to the period of midcentury (2040–2060) scenario where warming will be around 2–3°C, but the situation under the end-of-century (EC, 2080–2099) scenario improves where all rivers exhibit increase in precipitation. There is also a predicted increase in the water yield of the rivers under end-of-century (EC) scenario but for the majority of the river systems, evapotranspiration (ET) also increases by more than 40 percent. The only two river basins, which show some decrease in ET under the EC scenario, are the Cauvery and Krishna. The major reason for ET is increase in temperature and precipitation. As temperatures rise, pronounced amplification of river flows, combined with large changes in the discharge cycle due to snowmelts and glaciers, points to substantial risks. Climate models predict great increase in seasonal flows due to rise in temperatures with a likely overall increase in precipitation. These patterns, according to the work by Van Vliet et al. (2013), appear differently in different basins of the Indus and the Ganga–Brahmaputra. While mean flow in the Indus is projected to increase by 65 percent on warming levels of 2°C, the mean flow in the Ganga–Brahmaputra system increases by only 4 percent. Thus, there will be large changes in seasonal amplification of river flows due to changes in runoff and rainfall amounts.

Effects of water scarcity/abundance due to climate change5 Drought Of the ten most severe drought disasters globally in the last century in terms of the number of people affected, six were from India, affecting up to 300 million people (World Bank Report, 2013: 108). Central Water Commission of India has identified ninety-nine districts forming parts of fourteen states The information presented does not attribute the events wholly to climate change, but argues that climate change will be a variable in the intensity, frequency, and distribution of these events.

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as drought-prone. Most of the drought-prone areas are in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Drought-prone regions in Andhra Pradesh would experience a 20 percent plunge in the income of dry-land farmers (World Bank, 2008). By 2050, the country is expected to experience a 70 percent decline in annual rainfall during summers. As the INCCA Report explains, The percentage change in the spatial distribution of Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI) between the 1970s and 2030s has been used for defining the drought index. It reports an increase in the drought development for those areas of various regions projecting a decline in precipitation or have enhanced level of evapotranspiration in the 2030s. It is very evident from the depiction that the moderate to extreme drought severity has been pronounced for the Himalayan region where the increase is more than 20% in many areas despite the overall increase in precipitation. (MOEF, INCCA, 2010: 16) From a water-security perspective, the country may suffer from hydrological drought6 due to climate change. Droughts originate due to a lack or deficiency in precipitation, which affects the whole hydrological regime. For example, a precipitation deficiency may result in a rapid depletion of soil moisture that immediately affects agriculture and food production. Hydrological drought depends upon temperature and precipitation and is therefore subject to climate change. In states like Rajasthan, a rise in temperature will lead to greater severity of droughts due to higher evaporation and decreased precipitation.

Floods Increase in temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration promote thunderstorms (Kattenberg et al., 1996) and cause flash floods. Riverine floods may result due to monsoon runoff increases and higher precipitation. The INCCA Report predicts, Possible floods have been projected using the daily outflow discharge in each sub-basin as generated by the SWAT model, ascertaining the change in magnitude of flood peaks above 99th percentile flow in 1970s and in 2030s. Change in peak discharge equal to or exceeding at 1% frequency in the 1970s and 2030s for various regions indicates that the flooding Hydrological drought is associated with the effects of periods of precipitation (including snowfall) shortfalls on surface or subsurface water supply (i.e. stream flow, reservoir and lake levels, groundwater). The frequency and severity of hydrological drought is often defined on a watershed or river basin scale.

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varies from 10% to over 30% of the existing magnitudes in most of the regions. This has a very severe implication for existing infrastructure such as dams, bridges, roads, etc., in the areas and will require appropriate adaptation measures to be taken up. (MOEF, INCCA, 2010: 29) Temperature increases may cause glaciers to retreat and result in the bursting of glacial ice. Areas subject to mild floods may turn into areas of catastrophic floods and vice versa. These physical climatic changes are expected to further increase the number and severity of flood events in the future (MOEF, 2012). Areas in the north, northeast, western, and some south eastern parts of India are prone to flooding (Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.2  Flood zones in India Source: Wikipedia

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A wide range of flooding can occur from flash floods, inland river floods, landslides, coastal flooding, storm surges, and glacial lake outbursts (Mirza, 2010). Coastal and deltaic cities and regions are vulnerable to the risks of flooding. But climate change may not be the only variable in these events. These could be aggravated by upstream damming, irrigation barrages and diversions, and deltaic water activities (Syvitski et al., 2009). The GBM delta, which includes West Bengal and Bangladesh, has recently been ranked as imperiled. As an illustration, the World Bank Report 2013 (124) focuses on two large cities, Mumbai and Kolkata, that are the hot spots for increased flooding. Kolkata is ranked among the top ten global cities that are at risk in terms of exposure to flooding under climate change projections (World Bank, 2011). It has been predicted that a rise in temperature may create an alarming situation for countries like Bangladesh and Maldives, creating problems of population displacement and large-scale migration leading to ethnic problems and creating security concerns for India.

Sea-level rise The IPCC 2007 report records a rise in sea level across the world and in much of South Asia. Sea level has risen from 12 cm to 22 cm in the last century (IPCC, 2007). The report also predicts a rise in sea level by 1 meter in Indian subcontinent by 2100. India and the subcontinent as a whole are therefore most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. India has a large coastline of 7,517 km on which more than 40 million people live, and many are dependent on it for their livelihoods. Fisheries, marine and inland, salt production, and so on, could be affected. Local communities will see a large amount of displacement with tremendous socioeconomic impacts. Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and ports like Kandla, Cochin, Paradip that contribute to the growing Indian economy will be affected. “A rise of 0.4 to 2.0 mm has been recorded in the Gulf of Kutch. India has second largest Low Elevation Coastal zone population (LECZ), with about three percent of national land area forced to sea level rise” (McGranahan et al., 2007). In the Indian Ocean, the rise recorded from 2004 to 2009 has been larger than the global average (Shenoi, 2010). The effect will also be felt on the Sunderbans, the largest mangrove forests, where signs of reduced biodiversity and extinct species are already visible. Rise in sea level would ultimately degrade the resilience of the poor and vulnerable communities that make up one-quarter of the population of Indian cities (Satterthwaite et al., 2007).

Biodiversity The impact of climate change on biodiversity in India will be enormous and likely to adversely affect livelihoods of communities (Ravindranath

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and Sathaye, 2002). Sukumar (2000) states that variation in temperature and rainfall are two major factors impacting biodiversity. They can cause important changes in the composition and distribution of species. A major impact on biodiversity in the three-zone mangrove area of Sundarbans will be felt due to intrusion of saline water. In case the saline water keeps moving further inland, the lives of many species will be endangered. The rise in sea levels may threaten populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, and crustaceans. With a 2°C warming, 15,040 species will face extermination.

Sedimentation Sedimentation is a natural phenomenon of the water cycle. Huge sediments are carried downstream by the rivers of the Himalayas. But it is difficult to estimate the quantity of sediments transported. Because climate change will induce erosion, transportation, and deposition of sediments, the morphology of river courses will be affected. A direct correlation exists between variation in flow and sediment discharge and wave length, slope, sinuosity, and width-depth of river channels (Schumm, 1971), but the magnitude of these predicted changes is unknown.

Agriculture and food security Agriculture is a major contributor to India’s GDP and also employs a large number of people, especially rural communities, who are entirely dependent on agriculture. Water is directly linked to agricultural production and food security. As a result, these populations remain highly vulnerable to climate-induced effects (World Bank, 2009). The rice-wheat system of the Indo-Gangetic plain, which supports 400 million people across India and Bangladesh, is highly vulnerable. Even if we do not take climate change into account, this system has been vulnerable to groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion, decreased soil productivity, and declining water availability, which have already threatened the sustainable resource use and food security in the region (Wassmann et al., 2009). Climate change is expected to adversely affect crop yield, the development of the sector, and economic benefits derived from it (Nelson et al., 2009). The impact of climate change on agriculture under different scenarios shows significant decline in agricultural productivity of many developing nations (Kumar and Parikh, 2001a, 2001b; Rosenzweig and Parry, 1994) under the rise in temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns that show a declining trend in the summer monsoons. Any spatial-temporal shift in precipitation scenarios will pose a major threat to agriculture and food security; however, the effect will be based on regional differences and vulnerabilities. As population increases, India will need to double its current production of

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food grains (Ranuzzi and Srivastava, 2013). However, simulation models predict a decline in crop production of 10–40 percent by 2080–2100 as a consequence of climate change impacts. The uncertainty of precipitation under climate change has made it difficult to raise rain- fed crops. The predicted reduction in number of wet days in a country that gets less than 100 hours of rain per year looks worse for agriculture. In case of rain-fed crops like rice, reduction in yields has already been observed since the 1980s. A combination of warmer nights and lower precipitation at the end of the growing season has caused a significant decline in rice production in India, which could have been about 6 percent higher without this historic change to climatic conditions (Auffhammer et al., 2011). In case of rain-fed rice, all areas in the Western Ghats are likely to lose yields by up to 10 percent. The productivity of irrigated rice is likely to reduce by 4 percent in most of the areas in this region. Even in the coastal areas, rice yields will decline by 10–20 percent in this region (MOEF, INCCA Report, 2010). The thirty-fold increase in carbon dioxide during the past three to four decades, with rise in temperature of 0.5°C during winter, has reduced wheat yield by 0.45 tons/ha. The World Bank report entitled “Climate Change Impacts in Droughts and Flood Affected Areas: Case Studies in India” reviews the major impacts of climate change on crop productivity (Box 5.6):

Box 5.6: Impact on Food Productivity • Saline water intrusion inlands will decrease crop yields in coastal areas. • Floods and droughts under climate change will also decrease crop production. • In Maharashtra, sugarcane yields may decline by 25–30 percent. • In Andhra, dry yield farming will yield 20 percent higher yields. • In Orissa, flooding will reduce productivity of rice yields by 12 percent Source: World Bank, 2008

Intense heat spells due to climate change in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, as well as falling groundwater tables and reduced water availability and other climatic events, will affect crop yields (Wassmann et al., 2009b). Projections are highly negative when CO2 fertilization7 is not accounted for. CO2 Increased plant growth is due to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Plants absorb carbon and convert it to oxygen as part of photosynthesis. The extent to which this sequestration effect reduces the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere is unknown (IFPRI Climate Change Glossary).

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fertilization is expected to partially offset the effects of climate change. Adaptive responses of farmers could also mitigate yield declines only up to a 2.5°C warming. Future improvements may occur due to technological changes and farm management practices. However, the cause for concern remains as the prediction of current scenarios is still very uncertain. There are few integrated projections of total crop production in South Asia. The impact of climate change will have direct implications for human security due to rise in malnutrition, a decrease in per capita calorie availability, health, and poverty reduction efforts.

Effect on hydropower production With growing energy demands and an untapped hydropower potential, India has been planning to invest in hydropower on a big scale to maintain its targeted 8–9 percent growth rate (Planning Commission, 2013). The major potential in the northeast remains unexploited. India’s estimated potential is around 1,45,000 MW, and at 60 percent load factor, it can meet the demand of around 85,000 MW. With only 32 percent utilized, India plans to harness an additional capacity of 98,863 MW in the future (Planning Commission, 2012). With the river flows projected to increase in variability and decrease in volume, hydropower generation will become a major challenge. Increased siltation will add to the problem of malfunctioning turbines. Additionally, small hydropower plants, could be damaged by floods with glacial lake outbursts causing a lot of physical damage to the plants, infrastructure, and people. This will have implications for an energy supply which provides about 66 percent of access to electricity in India.

Human health risks In the past 100 years, India has witnessed an increasing trend in surface temperature by 0.3°C as well as extremes of rainfall and cyclones. Such a change in climate is directly linked with some vector-borne diseases in multiple ways, as the reproduction, temporal patterns, and rates of pathogen development change within vectors and thereby have different impacts on disease eruptions among human beings. Accordingly, it is predicted that under climate change conditions in the 2050s, malaria is likely to persist in Orissa, West Bengal, and southern parts of Assam. The disease is also likely to shift from Central India to the southwestern coasts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. Northern states like Himachal Pradesh may also become malaria-prone. By 2030, the relative risk of diarrheal diseases will also be on the rise along with other vector-borne diseases, child stunting, and malnutrition (Pandey, 2010). Salinity intrusion also adds another risk

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for drinking water, and with rising natural calamities, contamination of groundwater and surface water is expected to intensify. Cholera outbreaks in saline water (Khan et al., 2011) could also become frequent especially in the dry seasons when salinity is higher in water due to less rain and high upstream freshwater withdrawal.

Climate change and water security Although it is difficult to predict the exact nature of impacts on climate change, and it may take decades to fully understand the impacts of temperature rise and subsequent glacial melting and sea-level rise, all this uncertainty in such a fluid situation is even more alarming. Water is life and water security becomes increasingly important in India and the region as population growth, urbanization trends, economic development, and the exploitation of water through a high level of water withdrawals and abstractions create a water-insecure region for South Asian society. One study, which applies a multifactorial water security index,8 finds that on a scale of 0 (no apparent threats) to 1 (extremely threatened), Central India stands between 0.8 and 1, and along the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats of South India, in the northeastern states of India, the threat level is high to very high (0.6–0.8) (Vorosmarty et al., 2010). Using another benchmark based on the Falkenmark index, a country is considered water stressed if less than 1,700 m3 river basin runoff per capita is available, and the entirety of South Asia falls under that category. ESCAP (2011) identifies India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, and Nepal as water hot spots in the Asia Pacific region. The six main countries of this region are already overrepresented on Maplecroft’s Natural Disasters Risk Index (Pakistan 4th, India 11th, Afghanistan 15th, and China 12th). The economic impacts of climate change will be most keenly felt by Bangladesh (1st and most at risk), India (20th), and Pakistan (24th) (Maplecroft 2013). Climate change envisions changes in water availability, leading to migration, displacement of people, livelihood losses in agriculture and fishing, disease, and conflict that could have spillover affects across boundaries (Matthew, 2013). Projections demonstrate that climate change will aggravate the pressure on water resources due to an already increasing population and its water demand.

An index that aggregates data on river flows, using cumulative weights based on expert judgment on twenty-three factors relating to catchment disturbance, pollution, water resource development, and biotic factors (World Bank, 2013: 119).

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Water availability One of the key fundamentals of water security is the reliable availability of and access to water resources to meet people’s basic needs and support their livelihoods and quality of life. Studies estimate that gross per capita availability including surface and replenishable groundwater is supposed to decline from 1,829 m3 to 1,140 m3 in 2050 due to population growth alone (Gupta and Deshpande, 2004). Without taking other factors into account, India will be water scarce in 2050 with population alone. By altering hydrological patterns and freshwater systems, climate change poses an additional risk to water security (ESCAP, 2011; Green et al., 2011), mainly to the agricultural sector, which is the largest consumer of blue water9 in India. For example, in the case of the Ganges alone, where projected runoff can be expected to increase by 20 percent without climate change factored in will instead increase by as much as 50 percent with 2.7–4°C warming. At 4°C warming, annual mean runoff is projected to offset the demand for water due to population growth, but at 2°C warming, the total annual mean runoff is not sufficiently large to mitigate this demand. These increases will be seasonal, implying severe flooding in high-flow seasons and aggravated water stress in dry seasons if adequate storage capacities are not built to counter these impacts (Fung et al., 2011; World Bank, 2013). A decrease in the flow of the Mahanadi will account for decreases in the Hirakud reservoir, and water management policies will need to be adjusted accordingly. The likelihood of water scarcity driven by climate change alone has been estimated to be as high as 30–50 percent in India and as high as >90 percent for Pakistan. Groundwater in India is at a critical stage and represents a major challenge to water availability. About 15 percent of India’s groundwater tables are exploited, and its utilization is intensifying with an increasing rate of 2.5–4 percent (MOEF, 2012). With no enforceable groundwater laws yet across the country, reductions in groundwater resources and depletion of water tables are a logical consequence. This in fact will cause a decline in agricultural production and availability of drinking water even without climatic factors. However, climate change is expected to further aggravate the situation (Doll, 2009; Green et al., 2011). Availability of groundwater resources is imperative to mitigate droughts and ensure agricultural growth since India uses 60 percent of its groundwater for agriculture and 50–80 percent for domestic water use. Groundwater is replenished through monsoon rainfall, and the variability of the rains will have an effect on the

Blue water consists of all water from rivers, streams, aquifers, and groundwater, while green water is essentially stored in the soil and does not run off or recharge groundwater. It is good for plant growths, but then evaporates or transpires through plants.

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availability of water resources. Rising sea levels with intruding saltwater will also threaten water availability (GOI, 2004). Thus, the shortfall of surface water and groundwater availability and access under climate change exposes the population to severe risks including food scarcity and threats to livelihood security.

Water quality In addition to water availability and access, clean, potable water is also an important element of water security. There is no doubt that 70 percent of India’s rivers are polluted and a growing percentage of its groundwater reserves are also contaminated by biological, toxic, organic, and inorganic pollutants. Much of this has been attributed to population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and irrigation development. Research on the effect of climate change on water quality and its ecosystem is currently in a nascent stage, and much would depend on the geographical location of the water body within the catchment area. The outcomes are subject to great uncertainty, but nevertheless a good way to develop an in-depth understanding of how these processes could impact water quality would be to begin with information currently available. Climate change is going to affect river flows with a lot of variability and seasonality in the shortand long-term scenarios. Decreased river flows caused by climate change will most likely increase concentrations of pollutants in the water column (Rehana and Majumdar, 2011). Using water quality responses to six hypothetical climate change scenarios simulated by the water quality model, QUAL2K, Rehana and Majumdar (2011) concluded that each scenario would impair water quality. Their results showed a significant decrease in DO levels due to the impact of climate change on temperature and flows, even when the discharges were at safe, permissible levels set by pollution control agencies (PCAs). Rise in water temperature and stream flow changes could result in substantial decrease in the DO levels and increase in BOD and river water temperature. The changes caused by scenario 6, which incorporates a decrease in stream flow of 20% and increase in temperature of 2 °C, shows a decrease of 1·02 mg/L in DO level compared with present conditions. The DO decline is then likely to lead to major degradation in water quality conditions due to increase in oxygen-demanding source dischargers. From the historical data assessment and the results of the hypothetical scenarios, it can be concluded that Tungabhadra River is expected to have reduction in flows, increase in water temperature and consequent decrease in water quality levels due to climate change. The main conclusion is that the results may vary depending on river, climate scenario, water quality model and the parameters considered. (2011)

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Salinity intrusion in coastal aquifers and groundwater recharge will remain another area of concern under climate change. Lack of access to safe drinking water and poor sanitation resulting from extreme natural events might degrade water quality even further making the population vulnerable to health risks. The frequency of natural disasters like floods, storms, and cyclones has more than doubled since the 1980s, with climaterelated catastrophes making up an increasing amount of the total (Sherbinin et al., 2011) forcing people to move from their homes and live in unsanitary conditions with depleted water availability and exposure to waterborne diseases. Additionally, these events lead to water contamination with human waste and bacteria, thereby decreasing the reliability of available water (IDSA, 2009).

Impact on urban water infrastructure Urban water infrastructure, which consists of water supply and sewerage network, stormwater drainage systems, pumping systems, tanks, wastewater, is vulnerable to climate change. The first impact of climate change will lead to depletion of surface and groundwater resources due to reductions in stream flow and reduction in recharge due to decreased rainfall. At another level, it will impact water demand for the same population because of rising temperatures. There will also be critical problems of flooding as stormwater networks are inadequate to deal with the increased intensity of rainfall. While adaptive policies are still being developed, infrastructure development needs to be kept in the planning process in preparation for future effects of climate change.

Transboundary and interstate challenges Since the major river basins in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent extend into the borders of other states, water resources might become even more contentious as climate change intensifies, apart from the drivers of population growth and economic development that have already created immense pressure on water demand and supply scenario in the region. Changes in rainfall patterns leading to decreased/increased flows in different areas at different times may decrease water availability downstream as water is abstracted upstream due to limited availability. This will have serious implications for agricultural productivity and livelihood security. Since water is a classified subject, all information sharing among states is very limited. Given the history of disputes and distrust among the involved parties, these situations could escalate tensions and conflicts. Several intrastate disputes already exist among the states in India, and these

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could be further aggravated due to climate change. For example, a projected decline in the runoff of many river basins will put additional pressures on interstate and intrastate management of rivers. The impact of climatic change on seasonal water availability would confront populations with ongoing and multiple challenges to safe drinking water access, sufficient water for irrigation, and adequate cooling capacity for thermal power production. There is uncertainty regarding its management and supply. The real challenge lies in reducing the probability of water-induced conflicts under changing climate (IPCC Scientific Assessment, 1990). For dealing with the impacts of climate change in India and the region will require shifts in adaption strategies and mitigation policy as a precautionary principle. An analysis of renewable energy, wasteland development, and afforestation has to be made in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in India (Patwardhan, 2000). Long-term policies about maintaining in-stream and environmental flows at various points along the rivers may help reduce pollution in load and temperatures across the rivers. Hydrologists consider rainfall, runoff, and storms as stochastic. They have few ways to predict conditions under changed climates due to the uncertainties surrounding rainfall, snow melts, and seasonal variability. Though climate change effects remain unpredictable, the only certainty is that future climate will not look like past and that is bound to affect water resource availability, access, and quality—integral components of water security.

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CHAPTER SIX

Policy and institutional drivers Due to the intrinsic value of water on earth, procedures, rules, and regulations to manage this resource have remained in existence since the early days of human habitation. These practices started with prudent strategies of managing water resources through customs and precedents, through scriptures and codes of law that later evolved into a body of customary, state/federal acts and international treaties. Since international institutions recognize water as an important aspect of human rights, it becomes a core concern of law. From a legal perspective, then, water law becomes a key instrument in providing water and human security to the society vis-à-vis access, quality, and control over water. The goals of water law and policy are to ensure that drinking water is available to all; just allocation of water is provided to different sectoral users; the fundamental right to water is protected; appropriate water quality is maintained for the different users; and poverty is eradicated in the country. Water law in India is growing, but in many instances it follows the colonial legislation that is still in place and specific reform and changes are not taking place. There is a lack of comprehensive legislation called water law in India, and therefore legal regulation of water is made up of several components that include both formal and informal rules of engagement with water. There seems a gap in water law and policy for securing water, firstly, to meet sectoral needs among the various users in India, and secondly, to conserve it for its own flows, habitat, and ecology. Despite policy initiatives, and constitutional, legal, and administrative enactments, the problem of implementation and enforcement persists leading to water insecurity. The issue in question is—do regulations matter? Why is there a “policy slippage” in implementing water law and policy? Why does water insecurity exist with laws and policies in place? This chapter provides an overview of the water policy and legislative acts in India to identify the lapses in providing water for the diverse needs in society. The focus of this chapter is not an in-depth analysis of water law and policy per se but on identifying the gaps in the legal canvas of

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policy planning, implementation, and enforcement that create insecurities of access, availability, and control in managing water resources.

What constitutes water law in India? Laws are a set of rules and principles prescribed by an authority and recognized as binding on the members of society. Water law deals with the possession and the right to use and manage water within a society. Water laws are regulated by individual sovereign states. Water law is the area of law dealing with ownership, access and control of water. It is also concerned with the inter-state and transboundary dimensions of water, the division of powers between the Government of India (or the Central government), states, local bodies (such as municipalities in urban areas and panchayats in rural areas), the public and private actors, as well as the issue of water quality together with its environmental and health implications. (ELRS, 2012: 9) India lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework in environmental and water law. The existing water law framework in India is characterised by the coexistence of a number of different principles, rules and acts adopted over many decades. These include common law principles and irrigation acts from the colonial period as well as more recent regulation of water quality and the judicial recognition of a human right to water. The lack of an umbrella legislation at the national level has ensured that the different state and central legal interventions and other principles do not necessarily coincide and may in fact be in opposition in certain cases. (Cullet, 2007: 3) The sources of water law are derived from different components, including (1) colonial acts, (2) constitutional provisions, (3) juristic and court decisions, (4) parliamentary legislation or act, and (5) customs and precedents followed over a period of time that have assumed the force of law among common people. Across the borders, India’s water law includes treaties signed with neighboring countries over time. Examples of treaties include the Farakka Treaty (1996) with Bangladesh over the sharing of Ganges water at Farakka, the Indo-Nepal agreement over the Mahakali River, and the Indus Water Treaty (1960) between India and Pakistan. Transborder water law also includes respect for maritime boundary and space for navigation and nonnavigation uses like fishing.

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Key elements of water law in India The evolution of water law in India, although complex and patchy, is based on certain key assumptions that have been further substantiated by parliamentary legislations and court decisions.

The human right to water Water is essential for life, and everyone has the right to access that resource to meet basic needs. The Ministerial Declaration of the World Water Forum in The Hague, 2000, summed up this right as follows: Water is vital for the life and health of people and ecosystems, and a basic requirement for the development of countries, but around the world women, men and children lack access to adequate and safe water to meet their most basic needs. Water resources and the related ecosystems that provide and sustain them are under threat from pollution, unsustainable use, land-use changes, climate change and many other forces. The link between these threats and poverty is clear for it is the poor who are hit first and hardest. This leads to one simple conclusion: business as usual is not an option. There is, of course, a huge diversity of needs and situations around the globe, but together we have one common goal: to provide water security in the 21st century. This means ensuring that freshwater, coastal and related ecosystems are protected and improved; that sustainable development and political stability are promoted, that every person has access to enough safe water at an affordable cost to lead a healthy and productive life and that the vulnerable are protected from the risks of water related hazards. (World Water Forum, 2000) The General Assembly of the United Nations also passed a resolution on July 2010 recognizing the “right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right.” India is also a part of several international treaties and conventions, which have referred to the human right to water in various ways. For example, Article 14 2(h) of The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (1981) declares that women should “ … enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications.” Article 24(2) of The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states “State Parties … shall take appropriate measures … to provide adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution.” In 2002, the General Comment (No. 15) adopted on the right to water by the United

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Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that the human right to water “entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses.” The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, affordable, physically accessible, safe and acceptable water for personal and domestic uses. While uses vary between cultures, an adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements. (UN, 2003) In spite of these various declarations and conventions in which India has participated and despite voting in favor of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the right to water in 2010, the fundamental right to water is not explicitly recognized in the constitution or the law. It has only been recognized, asserted, and confirmed in various judicial decisions and interpretations made under Articles 14, 15(2) 17, and 21, the right to life. One of the landmark judgments of the Indian Supreme Court was in the case of Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Vardhichand (AIR, 1980 SC, 1622), where the court held that it was the duty of the municipality to provide water supplies and scavenging services in the area. Tying the right to water and sanitation to Article 21, the right to life, the court ruled, “Decency and dignity are non-negotiable facets of human rights and are a first charge on the local self-governing bodies.” The Court also held that budgetary constraints do not absolve a municipality from performing its statutory obligations to provide these basic facilities to the community. With a lapse on the part of governmental institutions in granting basic amenities of survival to the society, judicial activism stepped up to lay precedents for water law in India. In cases like Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar (1991), the court ruled that the right to life “includes the right of enjoyment of pollution free water and air for full enjoyment of life” (Para, 7). In the famous Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India (2000), the court again ruled: “Water is the basic need for the survival of the human beings and is part of right of life and human rights as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India” (Para, 244). Through these cases and through public interest litigations, the courts have stepped in to assert the government’s obligation to provide safe and clean water. A large number of laws have been passed on water resources in India; but there is no legal framework that addresses water as a fundamental human right apart from these court rulings. Key documents such as the National Water Policy of 2012 (Para, 1.1) and National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) do not strongly articulate the principle of water as a “fundamental right.” Activists and civil society have been demanding the incorporation of this right into the legal system, but critics believe that the government does not want to be

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held accountable under such a law and shelves responsibility to avoid legal liabilities for the failure to provide clean and safe water for all.

Access to water under Right to Equality The constitution recognizes equal access to water resources under Article 15, Para 2(b): No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to … the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public. This right is also elaborated in the Directive Principles of State policy which are non-justiciable but do impose an obligation on the states. In Article 39 (b) the constitution clearly mentions that “the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.”

The public trust doctrine Another element of water law in India was asserted by a Supreme Court decision in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997). The court observed that while the government may manage and control water resources, it does not own the resource. The resource belongs to the public, and the state can be its trustee on behalf of the people, who are the beneficiaries. The doctrine of public trust states that the government should manage water resources in such a manner that individuals and groups are not deprived of access to those resources, and resources cannot be used for private purposes unless necessary, in good faith, for public interest and good. The state is not the owner of the resource. The court then concluded (in Para, 34): Our legal system—based on English common law—includes the public trust doctrine as part of its jurisprudence. The State is the trustee of all natural resources, which are by nature meant for public use and enjoyment. Public at large is the beneficiary of the seashore, running waters, airs, forests and ecologically fragile lands. The State as a trustee is under a legal duty to protect the natural resources. These resources meant for public use cannot be converted into private ownership. The public trust doctrine originated with the Institute of Justinian (535 AD), which held that the three things common to all humankind are air, running

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water, and the sea (including the shores of the sea). The ownership of these essential resources or commons is to be held by the sovereign state in trust for the people. Water in this context was to be preserved in such a manner that it would be available for public use. This doctrine was later reaffirmed in other court decisions, including M.I. Builders Pvt. Ltd. v. Radhey Shyam Sahu (1999), Intellectual Forum v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2006), and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board v. Kenchappan (2006).

Sources of surface water and groundwater rights Another element of water law in India is related to the evolution of surface water and groundwater rights. The water user doctrine determines the surface water rights in India. The evolution of rules revolves around the riparian rights doctrine that allows landowners to use the resource flowing through or by their land even though they may not necessarily own the resource itself. The ownership of the resource vests with the state, and the government exercises predominant control over all surface water sources. During the colonial rule, the British controlled all surface water for irrigation under various irrigation acts passed during that time. In the case of groundwater, the Indian Easement Act of 1882 links groundwater ownership to landownership. This legal position has remained intact since then. Under this act, “A land owner has the right to appropriate water which is below his or her land and no action will be taken against him even if it intercepts, abstracts or diverts water which remains under the land of another.” Groundwater is part of the land, and there is no separate title of ownership over it. Therefore, the landowner has the right to collect and dispose of all the water under its land. The next legislative effort, the Forest Act of 1894, gave the state the right to acquire land along with its water resources. These two acts shifted the rights of the communities to access water into the hands of the state and the individual.1

Obligation of the citizens to protect natural resources The constitution also lays down a fundamental duty for the citizen in Article 51A (g) “to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures” (Constitution of India, 2013).

This is not to discount the efforts being made toward reviving community systems and village tanks by panchayats, local institutions, and community groups.

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Evolution of water law and policy: A historical overview The evolution of rules and procedures to manage nature and water resources in a culturally and ecologically diverse state like India can be traced back to traditional Indian societies that evolved a prudent system of resource use and protection, which was entrenched in a deep-rooted ethic of conservation and sustainable resource management (Asthana and Shukla, 2003: 29). Endowed with a diverse ecosystem, India nurtures a staggering complexity of cultural systems that have evolved diverse ways of human–nature interaction, bringing into being remarkable traditions of socioecological wisdom. People in each ecocultural region have evolved their own way of interacting with the physical world. Gadgil (1985) documents these systems of “ecological prudence” among communities, which have exercised restraint in the exploitation of natural resources for a substantial increase in the long run. Such ecological prudence was not limited only to communities but extended to watersheds and regional networks as well. Ancient Indian civilization refers to indigenous water practices using wells, tanks, canals, and rivers. Many religious and folk traditions stress respect for nature and resources like rain and water, which were worshiped as deities in the primitive societies. The most important part of Hindu theology is the belief that the Supreme Being and nature are one (Mahabharata, moksa, 182), and therefore rules and procedures were established for protection of water, plant, and animal life. For example, Manu’s Code of Law prescribes penalty and punishment for polluting, stealing, and diverting water bodies. It also emphasizes the duty of the king to protect public water works (Manu: Ch IV, ix, xi). Even the Arthashastra—Kautilya’s manual on statecraft—emphasizes conservation of nature and resources and prescribes various punishments for their misuse. Water belonged to the king, and all users had to pay a tax to withdraw water from irrigation works established and constructed by the king (Kautilya c., 300BCE–300CE: 73–74). Other scriptures like the Mahabharata, Raja Dharma Musasanpurva (16.811), Visnusmriti (23.3846), Charaka Samhita, Vimansthan (3.2), Rig-Veda (7.492), and Vishnu Purana (3.11.11–12) mention various aspects of environmental pollution pertaining to air, water, habitat, sanitation, and prescribe certain rules and provisions for punishment in order to preserve and protect the environment (Asthana and Shukla, 2003). The influx of outside cultures added a new dimension to the ethical and moral values regarding these resources. However, even when these resources, and nature itself, were not revered in the religious sense, the Muslim and Mughal rulers did exhibit respect for these resources and backed it up with clear policies and regulatory ethics that had clear

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environmental goals for protecting forests, habitat, and animal and plant life including water resources. A number of studies carried out by historians of ancient India2 have shown that water management from ancient times had been in the hands of local society although it was stratified by caste, division of labor, and a social hierarchy. Innumerable waterworks in villages and countryside in the form of dams, tanks, wells, reservoirs, lakes, stepwells, and so on, were managed by local people (Allchin, 1998). The local control over water and land paved the way for development of social, economic, and political autonomy of villages and communities and regions that often negotiated with and resisted the authority of centralizing control of state or empire over water. Village councils in most parts of India managed water through a system of patronage and community control. Prior to the arrival of the British, communities collectively managed water in South India through a system called “kudimaramath” (self-repair). The major shift in valuing water resources began with colonization and the British rule over India.

Water law and policy in the colonial period The colonial state that took over India in 1858 systematically broke the backbone of local autonomy. It first drastically reduced and then discontinued the state allocation of capital for maintenance of local waterworks by the introduction of definite property rights in land; it imposed a highly exploitative land revenue system and had total control over all the natural resources of the subcontinent. The intention was to maximize revenue by commercialization of land, forests, and most importantly water (Satya, 2001). With the withdrawal of state patronage, local waterworks that had existed from times immemorial fell into disrepair, disuse, and completely disappeared from large parts of South Asia. The colonial rule sponsored irrigation works in the form of canals, barrages, and dams. In Punjab, United Provinces, Northwest Provinces, Bihar, Bengal, and Madras, presidencies were designed to promote commercial crops such as cotton, opium, jute, indigo, sugarcane, tea, coffee, tobacco, and wheat instead of food grains. The Royal Agricultural Commission of 1928 report focused on returns in investments and financial viability of projects undertaken. Water resources were under state control and were meant to serve British interests. The colonial desires were to (a) control water and other natural assets to legitimize the empire, (b) exploit the natural treasures for profiteering, and (c) send wealth from India to the British crown. The

D.D. Kosambi (1965), D.N. Jha (1998), Romila Thaper (1966), A.L. Basham (1967), Ranbir Chakarvarti (2001).

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public irrigation works yielded substantial profit, and they were looked upon as successful projects constructed during the days of the East India Company (Edwardes, 1967). Water management systems thus became part of the colonial design whose primary interest was to maximize revenue through intensive resource extraction. European imperialism had dramatic impacts on the natural ecology in many parts of the world that it controlled. Put succinctly, in the words of Richard Grove (1997: 183), Colonial ecological intervention, especially in deforestation and subsequently in forest conservation, irrigation and soil “protection,” exercised a far more profound influence over most people than the more conspicuous and dramatic aspects of colonial rule that have traditionally preoccupied historians. Over the period 1670 to 1950, very approximately, a pattern of ecological relations emerged in which the expanding European States acquired a global reach over natural resources in terms of consumption and then too, in terms of political and ecological control. In this process, the traditions of ecological prudence and the reciprocity that governed the interaction between nature and humanity were lost. The controls that the imperial state imposed were justified in the name of scientific resource management. As environmental historian David Gilmartin remarked, “The definition of environment as a natural field to be dominated for productive use, and the definition of the British as a distinctive colonial ruling class over alien peoples, went hand in hand” (Gilmartin,1995: 211).

Important statutory enactments in the colonial period The British enacted several laws in India for maintaining water resources and regulating navigation, ferry traffic, shipping, embankments, and fishing (Cullet et al., 2009). The most important statutory enactments during this period were the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act (1873), the Punjab Minor Canals Act (1905), the Bombay Irrigation Act (1879), and the Uttar Pradesh Minor Canals Act (1920). These measures brought about a shift in perception and attitudes about water in the British Empire. While these acts did not overtly vest ownership of surface water resources in the state, they did recognize the right of the state to “use control for public purposes over the waters of all rivers and streams flowing in natural channels and of all lakes” (Preamble, 1872) and provided a centralized irrigation bureaucracy for the regulation of canals and irrigation works. The surface waters which the state could control for these purposes included rivers, streams, water systems, and lakes. The policy emphasized that the British had the right to acquire and distribute water “in the same general manner that it

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had the power to take land for a public purpose, and to redistribute the water in the way most conducive to the good of the community at large” (NAI,1869: 127–128). Water systems that pre-dated colonial rule like tanks, wells, and other privately constructed canals were under the control of the state. According to the 1873 Act, the government could notify any river, stream any lake or other natural collection of water that was to be applied or used by government for the purpose of any existing or projected canal or drainage works. The award of compensation was provided for loss of existing rights to water supply, thus recognizing earlier rights. The nature of these rights was, however, transformed by making them subject to the sovereign powers of the State. (Vani, 2002) All subsequent statutes, such as the Punjab Minor Irrigation Act of 1905 and the United Provinces Private Irrigation Works Act of 1920, were based on the principles laid down in this 1873 Act. Colonial water law brought about a fundamental change in the legal framework on water resources and customary laws of the land that predated colonial India. The history of water resources in British India was an irrigation history (Whitcombe, 1972), and that history established a state monopoly over water resources. For example, canal irrigation officers had the right to enter any land, remove any obstruction, and close any channel in exercise of their powers (Cullet, 2009: 122). The right of the state to supply and distribute irrigation water was not only proprietary but also sovereign. Most state acts in Andhra, Haryana, Mysore, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir consolidate the power of the state to manage water resources and irrigation. The northern states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh are still governed by the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act (1873), which deals with irrigation, navigation, and drainage. Thus, when the traditional practices and customary law that informed the management of water resources became subject to water law, water rights became analogous to land rights. In the case of groundwater, the Indian Easement Act (1882) established water rights linked to ownership of land. Under this act, a private individual investing his own resources can construct wells of any design and install pumps of any capacity on his land. Ownership of groundwater is an issue that no government is willing to address at this point. When the Easement Act was promulgated, the popular and prevalent means of groundwater withdrawal was through dug wells. With the advent of electrically powered pumps, the situation has changed drastically, and the demand for groundwater has increased substantially. This practice has survived even in the present times (Getzler, 2004), although with demand for water growing, the government has tried to adopt measures to conserve water in ground wells. The state governments have sought to regulate groundwater use through legislation without altering the rights regime under subterranean

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water. In the famous Plachimada case, Perumatty Gram Panchayat v. The State of Kerala (2004), the high court sought to regulate the use of groundwater by establishing it under the public trust doctrine. The Tribal Self Rule Act of 1996 recognizes the right of tribal peoples to use such sources. If a community has enjoyed long-term uninterrupted use of the water for twenty-five years, the community is entitled to continued use of that water and absolute access to that water. Other legislation related to embankments and their maintenance was passed under the Bengal Embankment Act of 1855 (Siddiqui, 1992), and rules for fishing and ferrying people across waters were established under the Northern India Ferries Act of 1878 and the Indian Fisheries Act of 1879. There were also certain regulations recognizing local practices and rules in villages (Cullet and Gupta, 2009).

Box 6.1: Powers of Colonial Government and Control over Water Resources 1. sovereign power over all water sources. 2. Power to levy rent, tolls, and dues for irrigation and drainage. 3. Power to redistribute the water supply of districts. 4. Power to notify water sources and prohibit construction of works on them by any person without official permission. 5. Power of planning and implementation of irrigation works. 6. Power of entry upon land for planning, construction, maintenance, repair, inspection, and supervision of canals and other systems, whether government or private. 7. Power to remove obstructions to construction, etc. 8. Power to regulate the distribution of water in government as well as private canals. 9. Power to prohibit activities that disrupt construction, etc., of canals and other systems. 10. Power to prohibit construction of canals and other systems by private persons without permission. 11. Power to enhance rent of land; determine compensation. 12. Power to order the transfer of land and watercourses by owners upon payment of compensation. 13. Power to recover costs and rates from beneficiaries. 14. Power to enforce the payment of rent. 15. Power to requisition “customary” labor in special circumstances, or commute labor into tax. 16. Power to define offences and sanctions. 17. Power to effect closure of canals and impose other sanctions for offences committed or for disobedience of orders. 18. Power to settle disputes. 19. Power to record rights. 20. Power to take over management of private canals. 21. Power to acquire private canals. 22. Power to determine limits of irrigation in private canals. 23. Power to determine the amount and character of water rates. 24. Power to regulate the construction and use of water mills. 25. Power to override recorded rights in scheduled canals and to restrict, suspend, or extinguish rights. Source: Vani M.S. and Rohit Asthana, 2004

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The Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Act (1931: 26) provided that “All rights in the water of any river, natural stream or natural drainage channel, natural lake or other natural collection of water shall vest in the Government.” Under the principle of dyarchy in the Montague–Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 and the Government of India Act of 1935, the British government empowered the provinces to make decisions on water supply, irrigation and canals, water storage, and hydropower. However, any conflict was subject to the jurisdiction of the governor general, who could appoint a commission to investigate the conflict and who could veto a resolution or bill passed by the provinces or princely states. Some of these laws and practices followed into postcolonial India and have not yet been amended or replaced.

Postcolonial constitutional law and policy in India The independent, postcolonial Indian state developed around the Nehruvian vision of socialism. Like precolonial and colonial empires, the Indian state practiced highly centralized economic and political management. Five-Year Plans were floated on the lines of a Soviet model of development that gave primacy to food and water security in agriculture and water distribution (Asthana, 2009). Two important features marked the development of water resources in postcolonial India. The first was investment in water infrastructure with the construction of large dams and hydroelectric projects such as Damodar Valley, Bhakra Nangal Dam, Hirakund, Silent Valley, Narmada Valley, and Tehri Dam to ensure security in the supply of food, drinking water, and energy. These projects were mainly state owned but were completed with the help of private capital. The second was the introduction of technology that led to an increase in the use of groundwater in the following decades. Urban water supply, management, and distribution was in the hands of the public sector. Control over water resources remained with the public sector, and the constitution specifically allocated urban water supply to states. Soon after independence, the state increased pressure on ecological traditions of prudence and regulation in the name of development and of nation-building. The late prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru invoked nationalist sentiments to sacrifice land, forests, and rivers. The ecological and cultural democracy reasserted by social movements today was subordinated in the developmentalist discourse to nationalist and progressive metaphor (Kothari and Parajuli, 1993). This was largely because the operational values of the post-independence state were a combination of both privatization and statization within a bureaucratic vision of a paternalistic welfare state. The colonial legacy continues to dominate the water resource discourse where

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traditional and indigenous practices and customary rules were marginalized by formal state or central laws. Local institutional arrangements became subservient to evolving formal rules and policies until the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments.

Constitutional provision on water in the Indian Constitution As a Union of states, the constitutional provisions with respect to allocation of responsibilities between the state and the center in India fall into three categories: 1 Union List (List I), which empowers the center to legislate on the

subjects mentioned in that list. 2 State List (List II), where states autonomously legislate on the subjects mentioned in that list. 3 Concurrent List (List III), where both the center and the states are empowered to legislate on the subjects in that list, but in the event of a conflict, the decision of the center prevails. In the Constitution of India, “Water” is included as Entry 17 in List II and therefore constitutes a state subject. This entry is conditional on the provisions of Entry 56 of List I, that is the Union List. Entry 17 under List II of the Seventh Schedule provides that “Water, that is to say water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power are subject to the provisions of Entry 56 of List I.” Entry 56 of List I of the Seventh Schedule states, “Regulation and Development of Inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest” (MOWR, nd). Water is essentially a state subject with the center permitted minimal intervention in its policies except when a matter of public interest arises. States have the exclusive power to regulate water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage, water power and fisheries (Constitution, 1947: Schedule 7, List 2, Entries 17, 21). The Union is entitled to legislate on shipping and navigation on national waterways, on tidal and territorial waters (Schedule 7, List 1, Entries 24, 25, and 57), and on the adjudication of interstate water disputes (Art., 262). The Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956), which creates specific tribunals for addressing interstate water disputes, has often been utilized. The parliament also enacted the River Boards Act (1956) allowing the central government to establish

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river boards to advise state governments on the regulation or development of an interstate river or river valley. However, this act also has not been implemented in practice.

National Water Policy, 1987 While a considerable amount of statutory legislation was enacted in the colonial era, it was only in 1985 that a Ministry of Water Resources was established in face of the growing pressures of diverse water issues. It is within this administrative setup that policies for water resource management in irrigation as well as rural and urban water supplies are produced, enacted, and implemented. India adopted its first National Water Policy in 1987 under the leadership of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in an era when ideas for the transition of the Indian state were being generated. The National Water Policy of India, 1987, was the result of the realization of growing scarcity of water, a precious resource that needed to be planned, developed, and conserved on an integrated and environmentally sound basis, keeping in view the needs of the states. The policy mentions maintenance of water quality by regular monitoring and elimination of surface water and groundwater pollution to improve water quality. Recycling and reuse of water was also included in the policy. It advocates for a phased program for improvements in water quality to be accomplished through the regulatory framework of water pollution abatement. Perhaps that is why the policy makers, according to critics, “either wanted to keep covering their policy positions with a robe of ambiguousness or were naïve to the emerging political realities of water markets in future” (Narsalay, 2003: 4). Some of the key features of the policy were: ●

Water is a precious national resource, and national perspectives should govern its development.

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In the allocation of water, ordinarily first priority should be for drinking water, with irrigation, hydropower, industrial uses, and other uses following in that order.

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There are complex problems of equity and social justice concerning water distribution.

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Water rates should be sufficient to foster economy of use and to cover maintenance and operational charges and a part of the fixed costs (MOWR; NWP, 1987).

Critics of the policy said it was unclear whose national perspectives it was intended to reflect, questioning whether the interest of the marginalized

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had been properly represented. In addition, they pointed out that the policy made no mention of private-sector participation.

National Water Policy, 2002 The National Water Policy of 2002, which was adopted on April 1, 2002, amidst a combination of internal liberalization measures and external pressures, marks a departure from the 1987 policy in several ways. It lays emphasis on socioeconomic aspects of water policy planning and the needs of the states. The addition, Sections 11, 12, and 13, reflects the reformist intent of the government in a neoliberal framework. Without defining what “private sector” means in the context of the policy, the document asserts, Private sector participation should be encouraged in planning, development and management of water resources projects for diverse uses, wherever feasible. Private sector participation may help in introducing innovative ideas, generating financial resources and introducing corporate management and improve service efficiency and accountability to users. Depending upon specific situations, various combinations of private sector participation in building, owning, operating, leasing and transferring of water resource facilities may be considered. (NWP, 2002: 13) The fact that this document explicitly encourages “corporate management” as one of the roles of the private sector naturally provided the space to push for corporate control over the resources. Community management did not figure in the policy. The word “community” was used only once in the conclusion, which mentions that the “concerns of the community need to be taken into account for water resource development.” So powerful were the vested interests against the community interests that the policy did not incorporate Prime Minister Vajpayee’s stated view at the fifth meeting of the National Water Resource Council that National Water Policy should be people-centered and must recognize communities as the “rightful custodian of water” (Update on Dams, Options and Related Issues, June 2002). On the participatory approach to water resource management, the policy clearly states, Management of water resources for diverse uses should be done by adopting a participatory approach; by involving not only the various governmental agencies but also the users and other stakeholders … in an effective and decisive manner, in various aspects of planning, design, development and management of the water resource schemes. (NWP, 2002: 12)

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But who constitutes a legitimate stakeholder in any decision-making process? What exact rights these stakeholders have in terms of information prior to the decision and what role they have in the decision-making processes are vaguely explained. On the financial and physical sustainability, the policy mentions, Adequate emphasis needs to be given to the physical and financial sustainability of existing facilities. There is therefore a need to ensure that water charges for various uses should be fixed in such a way that they cover at least part of the capital costs subsequently. These rates should be linked directly to the quality of service provided. The subsidy on direct water rates to the disadvantaged and poorer sections of the society should be well targeted and transparent. (NWP, 2002: 11) The policy also provides that in order to achieve the desired objectives, “state water policies backed with an operational plan shall be formulated in a time bound manner say in two years.” Thus, with the declaration of the New National Water Policy by the prime minister in the National Water Resources Council meeting (April 1, 2002), citizen accountability was transformed into customer choice. The general reaction to the policy can be stated in the words of the Rashtriya Jal Biradari (National Water Community), a coalition of nongovernmental groups concerned with water issues, “Water will be privatized with transnational corporations managing access to it on the basis of profit” (Rashtriya Jal Biradari, 2002). Critics comment that the emphasis of the policy was on centralization, expertoriented guidance, and participation of private players (Singh, 2004: 7–9). The objective of NWP was not to make water universally available across and within sectors or to make all the completed water infrastructure projects subject to performance review and place the reports in the public domain with consultation (Vombhatkere, 2005). The policy also failed to reflect the priorities and concerns for social justice or the environment in the measures that the document put forth. There was a national call to review the NWP2002 to frame a new policy through a nationwide consultation with a clearly defined emphasis on transparency, accountability, and participation in planning and decision making (Thakkar, The People’s Movement, 2004). These viewpoints clearly reflect the centralized nature of national water policy production in the central government that was a result of key drivers in the policy process, such as the bureaucratic elite, economists, political interests, and external forces. In spite of the fact that the circulated draft was critiqued with recommendations by civil society, the final policy did not incorporate the measures advocated (Asthana, 2009). An analysis of both policies reveals that they focus on issues like drinking water, flood control, infrastructure development in both surface- and groundwater irrigation, stakeholder management, and the use of science and

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technology to better water resource management. The 2002 policy made a paradigm shift toward private-sector participation in water and emphasized that the value of water as an economic good needs to be recognized in order to conserve water resources and ensure efficient delivery. These policies not only reiterate state ownership of the resource but also encourage community and stakeholder participation for better decisions and outcomes. States had to use these guidelines to prepare state water policies. Yet over the past two decades, a remarkable transformation has taken place in our attitudes toward water. The increasing involvement of the private sector in the region is part of a broader transformation of the relationship of the state with water. After a period of state dominance for much of the twentieth century, water management is undergoing a dramatic transformation through the process of privatization and public–private partnerships that some see as back-door privatization. The role of the World Bank and international financial agencies has been in part responsible for this shift in water-sector reforms for India, which is discussed in detail in the chapter on privatization and water security.

National Water Policy, 2012 The National Water Policy 2012 was approved by the National Water Resource Development Council on December 28, 2012, amidst reservations from states like Kerala, Bihar, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh on issues like water regulatory authority, water tariffs, and evolution of a central water law. The policy suggests an umbrella framework of national water law that recognizes the value of water, its scarcity, and its role as a sustainer of life and ecology. The policy suggests amendments in the current groundwater law. Property rights in water to individuals would also cover the creation of a National Water Disputes Tribunal. However, it does not explain how this would work with existing tribunals and laws on interstate rivers and their management. Although the policy recognizes people’s need to access a minimum quantity of potable water for health and hygiene and the ecological and stream flows necessary for the water body itself, it does not recognize water as a fundamental right. The policy, however, has some welcome statements on climate change, which it acknowledges will result in less rainfall but more intense weather patterns, and deals with its mitigation at micro-level communities by making provisions for water storage. It also emphasizes community management and participation, and involvement of panchayats and municipalities in water planning. On flood controls, the policy reverts to a focus on building embankments, spurs, and so on, although it also speaks of rehabilitating natural drainage in the rivers. The policy emphasizes mandatory water budgeting and auditing to improve the efficient use and financial sustainability

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of the resource. It also recommends creating authorities to regulate water tariffs and management. Water pricing is another area needing revision and the policy mentions differential pricing. It is silent on allocations that were a part of the 1987 and 2002 policies. Although the policy emphasizes the importance of recognizing water as an economic good, it refrains from using the term “private-sector participation,” a concept subject to criticism in the National Water Policy of 2002. It makes a breakthrough in urban water management provisions by integrating water supply and sewerage schemes as one component. It talks about technological options like desalination plants. The policy on recycling and reuse of water favors industry. It does focus on an integrated approach of governance in addressing concerns of equity and social justice in different parts of the country. In sum, then, the policy takes a step forward in some directions but remains ambiguous in areas of allocation, rights, the nature of the Water Disputes Tribunal, and the current overlap in agencies.

Important surface- and groundwater legislation since 1947 In terms of statutory development, irrigation laws constitute historically the most developed part of water law. Statutory water law also includes a number of pre- and post-independence enactments in various areas. These include laws on embankments, drinking water supply, irrigation, floods, water conservation, river-water pollution, fisheries and ferries, and the rehabilitation of evacuees and displaced persons. The post-independence water acts in most states maintain the right of the state to determine water usage and vests all rights in the water of any natural source of supply in the government (Rajasthan Irrigation Act, 1956; Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Act, 1931, 1994; Bihar Irrigation Act, 1997). The bulk of the irrigation acts are state legislation as water remains a state subject. Article 252 grants power to the parliament to legislate for two or more states by consent and adoption of such legislation by any other state. As development and industrialization grew in a modernizing India, water pollution and water quality became a serious concern. The severity of this pollution as it grew over time provided an important impetus for decision making. Since the pollution started to have well-documented adverse effects on 80 percent of the population living in basin areas, the government of India passed the first comprehensive legislation known as the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act of 1974 (amended in 1988) supplemented by provisions of the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 and The Water Cess (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1977. These acts are designed to prevent pollution and maintain water quality through State

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Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). The Water Act states the functions of State Pollution Control Boards to contain a plan for prevention, control, and abatement of pollution of streams and wells in the states and ensure implementation of these plans (Section 17 (1) (a)). The Water Pollution Act of 1974, the first serious attempt at controlling pollution, was the culmination of over a decade of deliberations between the state and the central government. Because water is subject to state authority, the states first had to pass a resolution under the constitution permitting the central government to pass this act so that a uniform code and organizational structure could be evolved. The scope of the law, based on the definition of water pollution in the act, was quite broad, covering all physical, chemical, and biological aspects of water pollution as well as damage not only to human beings but to plants, animals, and aquatic organisms. In order to strengthen the enforcement of the law, the legislation mandated the creation of an extensive bureaucratic network to handle issues relating to central and state pollution. Prior to its amendment in 1988, enforcement under the Water Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated by boards and through applications to magistrates for injunctions to restrain polluters. The 1988 amendment strengthened the act’s implementation provisions. The board can now close a defaulting industrial plant or withdraw its supply of water by an administrative order. Penalties are more stringent, and a provision for citizen suits is supposed to bolster enforcement machinery. On its own merit, the act seemed a brilliant piece of legislation. In order to partially fund the bureaucratic network of the Central and State Water Pollution Control Boards, the central government passed the Water Cess Act in 1977 under which each industry and local body was to pay a nominal cess fee on water consumption (WCA, 1977). The act also gave a rebate of 70 percent of the cess in case pollution treatment plants were installed and pollution control standards were met by an industry. In 1991, this rebate was reduced to 25 percent in the interest of resource conservation. However, because it is cheaper to pay the full cess than to install pollution control plants, the Water Cess Act has not adequately met the expenses of the board, nor has it provided an effective economic incentive to induce the firms to take pollution abatement measures (Kuik et al., 1997). The regulatory power of the boards has therefore remained the major instrument of environmental policy. The Environmental Protection Act of 1986, also known as the “Umbrella Act,” was created by the national parliament. This act empowers the central government to take all necessary measures to protect and improve the quality of the environment and to prevent, control, and abate environmental pollution. The act identifies the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Government of India, as the apex nodal agency to deal with the country’s environmental problems so that an

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integrated and holistic environmental policy can be implemented. Unlike earlier legislation, the scope of this act covers water, air, land, and the interrelationships among them and with human beings and other living creatures. The Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution (GOI, 1992) emphasizes integration of environmental considerations into decision making at all levels. It aims to achieve this by preventing pollution at its source, implementing the best practical technical solutions, ensuring that the polluter pays for the pollution and control arrangement, focusing protection on heavily polluted areas and river stretches, and involving the public in decision making. The National Environment Policy (2006) builds on the earlier policies of the government. Thus, water laws and policy have come a long way toward the goal of pollution control, but what looks good on paper may not be easy to implement and enforce because of the complexities of the key actors involved.

Groundwater legislation Increasing demand for water due to burgeoning population growth and urbanization has intensified the pressure on water availability. Due to a lack of investment in public infrastructure for irrigation and drinking water, communities have turned toward the exploitation of groundwater. Since groundwater is linked to land rights, unregulated pumping of groundwater in the cities and in irrigated lands has increased. States like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat use groundwater extensively due to subsidized electricity provided by the state to the farmers. This is a politically sensitive issue, so states tend to ignore overpumping, which contributes about 45–50 percent of total water used for irrigation. This has led to more pumping than the water system can recharge. Recognizing the need for groundwater use, the central government proposed a model bill as early as the 1970s to regulate and control its development and management. This bill has been revised several times (1992, 1996, and 2005). The Environmental Protection Act of 1986 established a Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to regulate and control groundwater. A number of states like Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep went ahead and enacted the Ground Water (Control and Regulation) Act, following the scheme of the model bill, and established a groundwater authority. These acts try to ensure that every user of groundwater must apply for a permit from the authority unless the user proposes to use a hand pump or a well from which water is manually drawn (2005: 6). The state decides to grant or deny a permit based on the availability of water in the region and other technical questions of water quantity and quality. The

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states would also take into account the purpose for which water is being drawn and all sources are to be registered with the government. The purpose of the model bill was to broaden state control over groundwater so that states can prevent depletion and place emphasis on conservation. However, many states like Punjab, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Nagaland have rejected the bill for various reasons (PTI, 2010).3 Some states, like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, have groundwater bills pending adoption by the legislative assembly (Planning Commission, 2013).

Toward a groundwater act Sustainability of the resource base is critical for meeting basic needs. Eighty percent of the requirements for drinking water and about 40–50 percent for irrigation is being serviced by groundwater. The Central Ground Water Board, which tracked shallow aquifers mined and recharged annually, mentions in its report, “Dynamic Groundwater Resources of India (2005),” that the Indian capital New Delhi and most northern states are mining more groundwater than is being recharged every year. This government survey also states that some southern states, including Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Daman, and Puducherry, are overexploiting their groundwater reserves. Upmarket Gurgaon, too, figures on the list, while the southern state of Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of overexploited units. In Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, an average of 70 percent of available groundwater has been used. While Delhi mines 170 percent of its groundwater, agricultural states like Punjab have developed their groundwater up to 145 percent. Environmental consequences of overexploitation of groundwater need effective prevention by the central and state governments (National Water Policy, 2002). The Central Ground Water Board “strongly suggests” that these areas need regulatory systems. Regulatory systems need to be in place not only in rural areas but also in urban areas where there is a need to license or otherwise control wells to maintain the resource and protect them against adverse effects. While certain states have passed groundwater acts, these regulations are unlikely to address the problems because no distinction is made between water rights and land rights under the Indian Easement Act of 1882. When the Easement Act was promulgated, the most popular and prevalent means of groundwater withdrawal were through dug wells. With the advent of electrically powered pumps, however, the situation has changed drastically, and the demand for groundwater has increased exponentially. 3

Six states reject model bill on groundwater, February 9, 2010, PTI.

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Disturbed by the extraction of groundwater, the Supreme Court now vests the Central Ground Water Authority with the power to control bore wells. The first task is to implement a plan to register every bore well in India and inform the nation that a new water regulator will watch every foot that is drilled. Activities of the CGWA include monitoring groundwater contamination, registering agencies involved in well construction, registering persons/agencies engaged in sale and supply of mineral water, approving groundwater-based projects, conducting mass awareness programs, and training the people in rainwater harvesting.

Model groundwater bill, 2011 India has more than a million bore wells and is draining aquifers with no thought of recharge. Overall, the existing legal framework is inadequate to address the challenges of groundwater use and conservation facing most states of the country (Planning Commission, 2011). The existing groundwater regime has failed to incorporate new principles of water law as enumerated by the Supreme Court, for example, public trust and the fundamental right to water. It has also neglected to incorporate the decentralization principles of the 73rd and 74th amendments as well as precautionary principles and others. It became imperative that in a country where 80 percent of the population depended on groundwater for drinking water sources, groundwater could not be left to the private ownership of a few landowners. The new model bill of 2011 reflects these important shifts. “The Model Bill, 2011 is built around the need to regulate unreasonable uses of sources of groundwater that threaten the aquifer to ensure that the resource itself is protected and can provide a sustainable basis for meeting the basic needs of every person for decades to come” (Planning Commission, 2013: 7). This model bill recognizes that groundwater is a public trust. It also refers to the principles of subsidiarity to allow panchayats to have a say in groundwater protection and recognizes the precautionary principle. One of the most important aspects of the bill is that it builds on existing laws like the Right to Information Act, 2005; the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; and social audits called for under various schemes and policies of the government (Planning Commission, 2013). The model bill is based on the understanding that states should adopt it in a way that suits their specific conditions and needs. Water resource development has been a key feature of India’s modernization drive. Big dams, irrigation canals, and high-yielding seeds and fertilizers were key components in India’s Green Revolution. This

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supply-based paradigm came under a lot of criticism in the late 1970s and 1980s with environmental movements gaining ground. Concerns were voiced on both environmental and human security grounds. As a response to these concerns, the government of India came up with an Environmental Impact Assessment of these development projects (1994), and for every new project, an environmental clearance needs to be obtained. This notification was amended again in 2006, assessment processes were diluted, and the validity of a clearance was raised from five to ten years and in some case up to another five years (Cullet and Gupta, 2009: 9). On a human security level, the issue of displacement, resettlement, and rehabilitation of communities of these regions has remained a major cause for the opposition to development projects. Since displacement is a state issue, the problem of these displaced communities has been dealt with variously in different states. However, due to the opposition, which generated large delays in such projects, the government of India drafted a national policy on resettlement and rehabilitation (2004) and later amended it in 2005 providing land-for-land compensation. The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (2007) then abolished land-for-land compensation based on the verdict of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (1979), which decided that land should be compensated for land, but awarded cash compensations instead because of the scarcity of land in Madhya Pradesh (Cullet, 2007: 303).

Toward a national water law The National Water Policy of 2012 emphasized the need for a framework law that would be “an umbrella statement of general principles governing the exercise of legislative and/or executive (or devolved) powers by the Centre, the States and the local governing bodies,” and of course, that it should “recognize water not only as a scarce resource but also as a sustainer of life and ecology.” The need for an umbrella framework has been justified to reconcile the water rights of the states with the increasing importance of water as a national concern. Several judicial decisions have also justified it under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guaranteeing the right to life. The perception that it is becoming scarce due to competing demands, pollution of sources, equity challenges, climate change impacts, and competition for resources internationally necessitates managing water as a community resource held by the state under the public trust doctrine to achieve food security, livelihood, and equitable and sustainable development for all (Iyer, 2013). The Alagh Committee, which submitted a draft to the Ministry of Water Resources, begins the section on the basic principles with the clause, “The planning and management of water resources shall

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be integrated appropriately with the management of all resources and shall take into account in an integral manner the local, regional, state and national needs.” Some of the key features are included in Box 6.2.

Box 6.2: Features of National Water Framework Law

R

ight to Water: Every individual has a right to a minimum quantity of potable water for essential health and hygiene and within easy reach of the household … provided that the minimum quantity of potable water shall not be less than 25 litres per capita per day. The state’s responsibility for ensuring people’s right to water shall remain despite corporatisation or privatisation of water services and the privatisation of the service, where considered necessary and appropriate, shall be subject to this provision. Water Pricing: Water charges shall be determined on volumetric basis and shall be reviewed periodically in order to meet equity, efficiency, and economic principles. The recycle and reuse of water, after treatment to specified standards, shall also be incentivized through an appropriately planned tariff system. The principle of differential pricing for water for drinking and sanitation and for ensuring food security and supporting livelihood for the poor may be adopted. Provided that the appropriate Government may provide minimum quantity of water for drinking and sanitation free of cost to eligible households, being part of pre-emptive need. Provided that available water, after meeting the pre-emptive needs, shall increasingly be subjected to allocation and pricing on economic principles so that water is not wasted in unnecessary uses and could be utilized more gainfully and water infrastructure projects are made financially viable. Integrated River Basin Development and Management: The appropriate Government shall develop, manage, and regulate basins of intraState rivers through specific legislations enacted for such purpose and shall cooperate and participate constructively in planning and management of inter-State rivers along with other co-basin States. River basin or sub-basin shall be developed with unified perspectives of water and ensuring holistic and balanced development of both the catchment and the command areas, following the principle of integrated water resources management. Ground Water: Groundwater shall be protected, conserved, and regulated through appropriate laws and by adequate and efficient measures using a precautionary approach, so as to protect available resources and promote sustainable groundwater use. The regulation of groundwater shall be in consonance with the principles of non-discrimination, equity, principle of subsidiarity and shall conform to the constitutional provisions for decentralisation of powers and functions. States shall manage groundwater

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conjunctively with surface water of any basin of which it is a part, taking into account any interconnections between aquifers or between an aquifer and a body of surface water, as well as any impact on aquifers caused by activities within the States’ jurisdiction. The extraction of groundwater in any manner in any area shall be regulated through community-based institutions with due regard to the hydro-geological and ecological characteristics and features of the aquifer as a whole. Source: Report of the Committee for Drafting of National Water Framework Law, Government of India, Ministry of Water Resources, May 28, 2013: 36–38, 40–41.

The Ministry of Water Resources sought comments on the bill from experts and activists in the field until July 2013. One of the contentions was that it was intended to be a framework bill, but some of its provisions demonstrated a marked departure toward a strong centralizing impact. Although the bill moves a step ahead in recognizing the states’ responsibility toward water to be held in public trust, experts contend that mere labels may not be sufficient to ensure that the state may not exercise eminent domain. The right to water is recognized only in potable water to 25 LPCD, which may fall short of meeting any needs except drinking and cooking. It does not recognize water for life and livelihood. The principles of ecology, equity, justice and ecological flows, have been very weakly articulated. Critics also feel that public participation is limited in basin development and management. Many similar crucial principles, including participation, devolution of authority, and data transparency, are weak or inadequate. The bill has still not been translated into a law, and the government is reviewing the draft. As the trustee of all water resources, the state is obliged to maintain water quality for human health and economic development. These provisions have to be implemented by state and local authorities if there is to be safe, clean water for all. Many states have also enacted legislations that seek to restructure water institutions and bureaucracies to ensure that water reforms and pollution standards are adequately enforced. However, the path is a difficult one.

Institutions in water governance Policy and law need institutions for governing water resources and the Indian Constitution divides the power to legislate and implement policy

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between the center and the states, reflecting the federal nature of the constitution. The main institutions that deal with water at the center are as follows (Figure 6.1). The Union Ministry of Water Resources is responsible for coordination, development, conservation, and management of water as a natural resource. The ministry looks into the general policy on water resource development and management, technical and external assistance to the states for irrigation, multipurpose projects, groundwater exploration and exploitation, command area development, drainage, flood control, water logging, sea erosion problems, dam safety, and hydraulic structures for navigation and hydropower. The technical support to the ministry is provided by agencies like the Central Water Commission, Central Ground Water Board, and National Water Development Agency. The Command Area Development Authority looks into the canal network for the command areas under irrigation. The Ministry of Power manages hydropower and the Ministry of Urban Development handles water supplies and sewage disposal in urban areas. The Ministry of Rural Development takes care of water supply in rural areas. The Ministry of Environment and Forests does the overall coordination at the national level. It also takes direct responsibility for states that do not have their own ministry or department of environment. The main functions of the ministry relate to coordination of activities of various central and state authorities established under previous acts, setting emission/effluent

Policy making

Implementation

For surface water pollution, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) For nonpoint sources, Ministry of Agriculture

For groundwater pollution, Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

For surface water pollution, National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) For groundwater pollution, MOEF, MOWR STATES State water policies State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)

Monitoring

For river/lake pollution, NRCD/CPUB For ground water pollution, CGWB Water Quality Assessment Authority (WQAA)

Figure 6.1  Institutional design in water resources

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standards, getting information about industrial processes, and giving directions for closure or regulation of industries violating pollution standards. The ministry authorizes institutions like the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards to act on its behalf while overall control vests with the ministry.

Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards While the mandate of the Central Pollution Control Board, an agency of the center, is to set environmental standards for all domestic and industrial plants in India, lay down ambient standards, and coordinate the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards, the oversight, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws is decentralized and is the responsibility of the SPCBs, the agencies of the states. The boards have a two-tier administrative structure to carry out their functions under the law. At the first tier, the boards are constituted by the concerned governments of two nominated members and fifteen official and nonofficial or honorary members who are the policy-formulating structures which meet once in three months. At the second tier, the day-to-day activities of the boards are carried out by appointed regular staff under the guidance of the chairman and the member secretary. The boards are autonomous in their functions and have no elected members. All official and nonofficial members are nominated by their respective governments (The Water Act, 1974). The SPCBs are under a dual control of both CPCB and respective state governments. They are answerable to the CPCB and through it to the government of India and also to their respective state governments as the chairman and member secretary are appointed by state governments. The primary objective of the board is “to promote cleanliness of streams and wells.” The implementation of pollution abatement regulations has been left to the state boards, whose powers are not limited to advising and information collecting; instead, they also include inspecting sewage plants for treatment of effluents and setting effluent discharge standards under the Water Pollution and Prevention Act, 1974. The scope of the board was further broadened by section 25, which clearly states that without the consent of the board no new outlets could be formed or old ones altered for the discharge of sewage or effluent into a stream or well. The boards have a right to initiate proceedings on their own against those individuals and firms who infringe the law without waiting for the affected persons to launch legal action. A chain of water-testing laboratories has been established to check water quality and pollution. The boards can set standards for discharge of effluents and take action to implement them. Factories and persons are required to obtain consent to

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discharge effluents, which can be rejected if they do not maintain prescribed standards. The boards on their own can also advise on appropriate sites for locating new industries. States have a right to maintain even more stringent standards than prescribed but not less. Anecdotal evidence suggests wide variations in enforcement across states. In fact, it has been argued (Gupta, 1996) that although states cannot compete by lowering environmental standards, in order to attract new investment, they can get around this by lax enforcement. SPCBs have legal authority to conduct periodic inspection of plants to check whether they have the appropriate consent to operate, whether they have effluent treatment plants, and also to take samples for analysis. Some of the inspections are also programmed in response to public requests and litigation. Under the law and pollution control mechanisms, boards have the necessary powers to enforce pollution standards and compel industries to adopt either clean technologies or cleanup technologies, whichever the industries deem necessary. Industry earlier took advantage of the pollution control boards’ inability to suggest economical, viable methods to achieve the desired environmental quality. The regulatory mechanisms used by the boards to control industries relate to issuance of (a) no-objection certificates to install a plant, (b) consent to discharge treated effluents, and (c) adhering to prescribed standards. The government of India has so far laid down industry-wise standards for thirty-four industries for air, water, noise, and vehicular emissions (CPCB, 1992). But adoption and revision of standards is a dynamic process. The implementation needs periodic inspection and monitoring of industries, which have been classified as red, orange, and green according to the severity of pollution. The same applies to individuals discharging effluent into any stream or well, punishable by up to imprisonment of not less than one and a half years and up to six years with a suitable fine. Apart from source-oriented standards, the CPCB also lays down effect-oriented or ambient quality standards for air and water, which are monitored by state-level PCBs. These are standards tried to meet stricter enforcement of source-oriented standards. Where water pollution is due to failure of municipalities and industries to treat water, bodies and mechanisms are evolved for coordinated action for an area, a conspicuous example of which are the Ganga Action Plan, Yamuna Action Plan, and National Rivers Conservation Plan to treat inland surface water for required water quality. Important organizations also include the National Water Resource Development Council set up in 1983 that has an important role to play in the evolution and advancement of water policy, and the national water board that is the executive arm of the MOWR and is chaired by the secretary of MOWR and secretaries of all states, union territories, and union ministries.

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Urban local bodies and panchayat raj institutions Because water is under the control of the states, the state governments are primarily responsible for its management. The administrative control and responsibility for managing water rests with the various state departments and corporations. Water supply is still dominated by state-level bodies, generally in charge of planning and investment, while local bodies are in charge of operation and maintenance of water services. Under the 74th amendment, local self-governance is recognized and obliges the states to constitute urban local bodies (ULBs). It also requires that these municipalities are endowed with the power and authority necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-governance under legislation by the state. ULBs are generally entrusted with matters that include water supply in different sectors from domestic, industrial, and commercial purposes. In most cases, the scope and power devolution of the ULBs is generally left to the discretion of states. Currently, water supplies from bulk production to distribution are taken care of by these ULBs and also corporations and boards. These boards function autonomously. The distribution of water services in the city and management of wastewater is one of their most important functions. These utilities tend to be financially weak and have to depend on subsidies from state governments. Urban local bodies generally get funds in the form of loans or grants from the central and state governments. The cost of water is highly subsidized by the state agencies, as water is perceived as a public good. Over the years, with liberalization and cutbacks on subsidies by states, these bodies have been working toward public–private partnerships to ensure supply of water and maintenance of infrastructure. Another development in ULBs under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) allows the municipal corporations to provide water supply to the sectors through other agencies, provided the responsibility and accountability for the service vests with the ULB. The rural water supplies are taken care of by the panchayats, which were recognized as a third tier of the government by a constitutional amendment in 1993. Under the 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution, these panchayats are mandated and empowered to chart out the financial and political character of development on issues like water supplies and management, drinking water, minor irrigation works, and watershed developments. The power vested in the panchayats for water resource management also includes maintenance of waterworks and sources of water supply. It also includes regulating the use of water. They have also been entrusted with the duty of ensuring financial provisions for the maintenance and management of water resources. However, these provisions are applicable with state orders of devolution of such powers to the panchayats. The panchayats have the power to issue fees and taxes for regular water supply

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in the village, for maintenance of drainage systems, and rule-making under the provisions conferred on it by the state. In many states, minor irrigation works costing up to three lakhs have been allotted to gram panchayats while five to ten lakhs are allotted to zila panchayats. Panchayats can lease out water bodies as prescribed by the government. Fishermen can also be allowed to fish in the leased waters, and drinking water in the villages is to be maintained by village panchayats, which can raise money for its upkeep and maintenance. For example, the Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act discuss the scope of the powers given to the panchayats. Focusing as they did on “decentralization” in the Indian political system, these amendments were of such a magnitude that they had an impact on the functioning of the political machinery associated with water at state and substate levels. Additional local institutions that have gained prominence in local selfgovernance include Water User Associations (WUA) and Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), where farmer groups and irrigators take care of water distribution. However, these institutions have been critiqued for their lack of engagement with other stakeholders and users. Such institutions are also insufficient for implementing the concept of integrated and sustainable water management (Vani, 1992). Thus the administrative and institutional design in the administration of water consists of several agencies, departments, and actors making it a complex and dynamic space to govern.

The law and policy slippage: Challenges for a secure water society in India In spite of a large number of laws passed and policies enunciated by the central and state governments, the gap between expectations and performance has widened in regulatory policy. With increasing demand for water due to urbanization, population growth, industrialization, and modern agriculture, it has become clear that water issues need attention for the current and future needs and that this must lead to serious initiatives to reform water governance through law and policy enforcement. The government of India has taken a number of steps to protect the environment from pollution and degradation, but despite policy initiatives, constitutional, legal, and administrative enactments, the problem of implementation and enforcement persists.

Constitutional challenge The need for implementation of law and policy within federal boundaries creates a major constraint on the enforcement process. This constraint

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emerges from the unique “centralized federalism” in India, which, unlike American federalism, results in a strong center and weak states. With this unbalanced growth of federalism and faced with increasing responsibility and decreasing resources, state bureaucracies support their performance through manipulative statistics rather than real impact on society. Funding of state-level agencies is another matter of discontent. States look for full central funding owing to their own financial stringency, and when such support does not materialize, the states are not motivated to act. While the government of India has taken vital steps for implementation and enforcement, policy gaps in the process hamper water security for all. Because of its quasi-federal constitution, and its three lists union, state, and concurrent, water falls in the state list and thus within the scope of state legislatures, and much of its implementation depends upon the sincerity of the states in dealing with the problem. At present, though the central government formulates the water policy, it has no constitutional mandate for implementing it, since water is a subject included in the state list. States are left free to create their own legislations on the assumption that they would follow the policy guidelines created by the center. Another example of this challenge lies in the collection of data that is fragmented within different agencies which are administered by different ministries. The fact that water is a state subject leaves the central government agencies responsible for collecting information to rely on the state agencies. Agencies at the center like the CWC, CGWB, and CPCB do collect information and data but most of the data for projects is collected at the regional level by state agencies. As a consequence, much of the data is not readily accessible and neither can be shared among and within these agencies. The Hydrology Project which was established with the goal to have a national data network for easier access to users has fallen short of the expectations because of the reluctance of states to share information and send collected information to the national pool (Planning Commission, 2013).

Legislative challenges The implementation of the law requires a totally different set of policy contexts than the current status—a clear-cut law, a strong and willing bureaucracy, and a long-lasting commitment from the government to provide needed political and financial support (Khator, 1991). Water law in India is an assemblage of various formal and informal components from the colonial to the modern period, and it lacks uniformity and a formal, integrated framework. It therefore represents a great challenge to implement policy for a vast country like India. Due to different laws for different uses and different agencies, water law has been fragmented and complex while executing and enforcing legislation in the water sector. To begin with many water legislations are still based on

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pre-independence regulations. Many of the irrigation acts of states still draw from the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873. The groundwater rights are still based on the Indian Easement Act of 1882 that holds that only landowners have the right of access to water. These laws are removed from the ground realities of contemporary India. For example, due to overpumping groundwater through mechanized pumps, water contamination is a key concern. The ELRS (Environmental Law Research Society) report, “Governing Water in India: A Review of Law and Policy Developments (2012),” emphasizes that the regulation of water use has been mainly for economic growth. Other dimensions of water, such as use of water for drinking/domestic purposes, are sidelined that leads to issues of equity where weaker sections of the society are marginalized from the benefits of these rules. In the case of water quality, The Water Prevention and Pollution Control Act of 1974 suffers from certain lacuna. Water quality law is still very underdeveloped and water being a state subject it becomes a huge challenge. The focus of this law is the maintenance of the quality of water at its source point, such as rivers and streams, and it does that by regulating release of effluents. However, it does not take into account regulation of water quality at the consumption point. The act also addresses limited issues, for example, abstractions and nonpoint sources are excluded in the act. The provisions of the act restrict it to streams and wells and do not cover groundwater pollution. The act does not address the issue of restoration of the polluted water bodies nor does it define stricter financial and nonfinancial penalties to environmental offenders. Under section 24(1) of the act, it is an offence to “knowingly cause or permit” any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter, determined in accordance with such standards as may be laid down by the Water Board, to enter, whether directly or indirectly, into any stream or well by any person; knowingly cause or permit to enter into any stream any other matter by any person, which may tend, either directly or in combination with similar matters; to impede the proper flow of the water of the stream in a manner leading or likely to lead a substantial aggravation of pollution due to other causes or of its consequences. In such a situation where pollution has occurred the act makes it obligatory for the prosecution to prove the existence of knowledge on part of the polluter before he can be punished. The head of any agency is not punishable for ignoring pollution control measures “if he proves that the offense was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised due diligence to prevent it” (Water Act 1974). This provision dilutes the efficacy of the act with the rule of total liability being removed from the provisions of the act. The act has also failed to prescribe a uniform set of standards applicable to all states (Bhatt, 1986).

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The inappropriate policy of discharging partially treated sewage in the river is an acceptable practice as far as the following conditions are met: (a) The river flows are substantial; (b) The sewage or effluent treatment plants are operated with full capacity and diligence under effective regulation (Report Code 006, 2011: 17). MOEF has not framed any legislation that specifically identifies environmental pollution as an environmental offence and restoration of water bodies as a priority action. At the local level, municipal acts are responsible for the supply and treatment of water. Most acts consist of a chapter on city’s water supply and sewerage and deal with infrastructure, levy charges, intersectoral allocations, and functions of the ULBs. However, in practice these laws do not address the rights and duties of the ULBs in supplying quality water clearly. Although the government established a network of local and regional monitoring stations for air and water quality standards and periodic surveys like the two-tier system of water quality monitoring under the United Nations Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) and the Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources System (MINARS, consisting of 283 monitoring stations with fifty-one under GEMS and 232 under MINARS), pollution abatement is still a major challenge for water management in India. The legislative measures and penalties imposed for violating pollution laws need to have sufficient deterrent value, but a survey of penal measures shows that they have failed to deter the polluters because the economic benefits of violating antipollution measures are always more than the amount of any fines imposed. Penal measures have also proved counterproductive: the guilty persist in violating the laws, which not only destroys the antipollution ethos of the society but also renders the measures ineffective. The command-and-control approach does not provide any incentive for polluters to enforce standards. The board sets specific standards, but offers no appropriate technology to achieve them, nor does the industry have any incentive to invest in research and development of such technologies. The cost of investing in a pollution control device becomes more prohibitive if industry knows that there will be free riders, a problem that the government has not been able to control. Pollution continues and water quality deteriorates. The widening gap in not abiding by rules is also due to the high cost of compliance in a regulatory approach to policy. The unwillingness of the industry to comply makes the situation worse. It is cheaper to buy a regulator than comply with regulation. It has also been recognized that the Water Cess Act charges are not enough of a disincentive for industries to reduce their water footprint. Studies have shown that when compliance does occur, it is due more to community pressure and judicial decisions than to site inspections. Other areas that need attention are liability issues of state or private agencies regarding faulty irrigation projects and the rights of project-

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affected persons. State boards play an important role in shaping the judicial processes related to water pollution, since the law stipulates that “no court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint made by, or with previous sanction in writing of the state board” (Water Act, 1974). The act also lays some restriction on private citizens with respect to courts taking cognizance of offences under the Water Act. India does not have the provision of a class action suit that could be brought against a company or state, as in American law, but judicial activism has been intensified through public-interest litigation where the courts not only award damages to affected persons but also monitor the implementation and sometimes even frame legislation. This process, although beneficial to the victims, has been abused by the people and generated an overload of cases that cannot be dispensed within the given time. However, this jurisprudence could not help the Bhopal gas victims to successfully prosecute a class action suit against Union Carbide due to procedural issues. Class action suits can provide justice to the common person and to those who cannot afford the expensive judicial process in India.4 The current laws are also inappropriate for managing water resources access. There are serious issues such as who owns the water and what are the entitlements of people that need to occupy a central space in water law reform and the discourse of water management (Upadhyay, 2009: 147). Water law in India does not recognize water as a fundamental human right and that is a major lacuna in the legislative regime of this country. There is also no law on sanitation in India. Both these aspects have been recognized only under the Supreme Court decisions and various high courts declaring sanitation as a part of fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. If water is a fundamental human right then the water laws of the country need to be reformed to ensure clean, potable water for all. The present legal framework also does not adequately address issues of property rights vis-à-vis water, and legislation that institutionalizes participatory management fails to fulfill its goals. Flood mitigation, relief and law, gender, and social justices are areas where water law is still inadequate. While there is an ongoing effort toward evolution of water law, the human, social, and environmental areas remain marginalized in the framework of water law.

Institutional challenges One of the major challenges that water resources face lies in the problems of governance. There exist competing and overlapping institutions For the first time, the government has constituted the National Green Tribunal (discussed in Chapter 11), where victims have a right to claim compensation.

4

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and jurisdictions in the MOEF, MOWR, and MOA. There is a lack of coordination among these agencies as each works independently of the other in their respective jurisdictions. This results in a policy culture that is ineffective for action. The CPCB and SPCBs are in essence autonomous of each other. Although they were designed to be autonomous bodies, section 18 of the act curtailed this autonomy by requiring them to follow directions from their respective governments and submit to government review. The relationship between SPCBs and CPCB is also left unclear. The central board is only an advisory body and lacks power of surveillance over SPCBs who are responsible for local implementation. The Central Board was not granted any powers to force state governments to adopt uniform standards or to take over those cases where state governments are reluctant to enforce such standards. There are fairly serious problems in the way the boards function. While the CPCB is given an advisory role, the SPCBs have the critical function of ensuring compliance and enforcement of pollution control activities. There is no functional cooperation between them at the input stage. The boards also lack adequate staff and finances in proportion to their responsibility (Jain and Sharma, 1989). Even after years of functioning, the emphasis of the Central Pollution Control Board is on activities rather than achievements. Policy outcome is measured in terms of how many networks are established and how many emission standards have been set up rather than the degree to which water quality has improved. This dichotomy of control creates a situation where there is no single agency to take charge of water pollution on a nationwide basis. Another example of institutional ineffectiveness (Figure 6.2) can be illustrated by the fact that

National River Conservation Authority

• Headed by Prime Minister • Task: Six-Monthly Review • Last meeting 2003

Monitoring Committee

• Headed by Member Planning Commission • Task: Quarterly Review of Progress • Last meeting April 2002

Standing Committee

• Headed by Union Minister For Environment and Forests • Task: Quarterly Review of Progress • Last meeting March 2003

Figure 6.2  Monitoring of projects at the center under the NRCP

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Water Quality Assessment Authority (WQAA) established in 2001 has only met seven times until 2011 (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012). It was also found that the inspection and monitoring of projects being implemented under NRCP (National River Conservation Plan) was inadequate at all three levels: (1) local, (2) state, and (3) central. Poor monitoring of networks to track pollution of water, failure to update and revise water quality parameters, absence of a database, and poor dissemination of data are indicators of a failed system of internal controls and low level of transparency in the activities of the ministry and their impact on its overall accountability (Performance Audit Report, 2011–2012). Figure 6.3 gives us an understanding of State Monitoring Committees of the National River Conservation Plan. The enforcement standards are set up by the central government, and the participation of state and local officials in decision making is minimal. Local officials function in a different context than national officials. They have to deal with noncompliance of the local elite, challenges by local businessman to alter the implementation of policy, and pressure of higher-ups to produce results. Due to lack of public support, officials find it difficult to establish an adversarial relationship with the local elite (Eldersveld and Ahmed, 1978). Several other studies show that bureaucrats in India are alienated from the people and suffer an upper-class bias (Rao, 1963). Most bureaucrats in the higher services are from the dominant upper professional class, and therefore while they may appear to believe in the moral values of society on the outside, in their behavior they engage in practices that are impersonal, irrational, and sometimes immoral. Most industries have connections with higher-ups, and local authorities find it difficult to force a polluting industry to comply, as they are aware that ignoring the power alliance will lead to transfers or demotions. There is a significant cost in implementing standards. Moreover, the politicization of Indian bureaucracy leads to situations

1. High Powered Committees 2. State Steering Committee 3. Inter-Departmental Committee 4. Review by Nodal Implementing Agency 5. Divisional Project Monitoring Cell

• State committee reviewed only 19 percent of projects • Out of 140 projects checked for monitoring, monthly review of progress by nodal agency only in 40% of projects • Out of 140 projects only 13 percent were periodically reviewed by DPMC

Figure 6.3  Monitoring at the state level under NRCP

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where bureaucratic appropriation can be used to reward political loyalties. An example is the appointment of board members. Political patronage of industry affects enforcement as industry is closely aligned to the ruling party. Unlike policy planning, which occurs at the central and state levels, the actual implementation of policy takes place at the local government level. Yet, for the reasons identified earlier, the local policy culture is not conducive to policy implementation and enforcement. The environmental protection mandate needs to be stringent enough to ensure everyone’s compliance. Many of the problems of the local regulators arise from the politicization of the bureaucracy and the alignment of the rich with the state whereby they consider themselves better off not enforcing legislation rather than sincerely implementing a law. There is a need to change this culture, and the participation of stakeholders and a vigilant public can bring about this change. High levels of pollution elicit a formal regulatory response: inspections. A study on inspections and emissions in India (Pargal et al., 1997) reveals that inspection are ineffective in bringing about changes in behavior because poorly paid inspectors are susceptible to “rent seeking” and offenders use this strategy with local officials. Behavior-oriented regulations are politically undesirable as they call for change in value systems that would alter the status quo and there is a need to change that. The government institutions and policy of state-regulated water management has been unable to function effectively as the primary policy tool for implementing water laws and policy. The only positive outcome of the regulatory strategy has been that it allowed India to set a policy direction and act as a guardian in the management of water quality. Regulations are most cost effective because they involve least political controversy and confrontation. The power of the state remains and enhances government control over society. But the performance record is dismal because of the inherent characteristics of the policy process—regulation, tutelage, and policy leniency. A regulatory, policy and institutional analysis demonstrates that a number of factors have contributed to the policy slippage which has led to increased water management challenges due to poor implementation. In a democratic polity like India, governments frequently adopt short-term populist measures undermining the long-term impacts. Incremental decision making, which loosely approximates the status quo, at times becomes a norm for a government seeking success in a not-too-distant election. Shortterm stability of the government is prime, and the long-term stability and welfare of the environment and the people are at discount. In such a system, it is difficult to persuade a government to take unpopular measures, which would alter the status quo but benefit future generations and strengthen the ecological and social health of society. Political factors weigh heavily while implementing environmental policy.

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Water plays a pivotal role in sustainable development and poverty reduction in South Asian societies. Being agrarian economies, water is critical to their survival and livelihood. The use and abuse of, and competition for, this precious resource have intensified over the past few decades. While the importance of conservation and efficient use figures prominently in public discourses, in government plans and practices there has been no basic change in the legal principles and policies. Therefore, water crisis and insecurity can be directly linked to issues of governance. Legal and institutional reform is seen as a complex and politically difficult process to tackle in the region. Such a stalemate has led to worsening of situations of scarcity and shortages, equity and access, increasing pollution, and falling water tables with no signs of better management and prudence in water use. Weak governance prompts inadequacies of rules regarding access, use, and control of water and pursuit of policies that encourage overexploitation of this resource. The current governance of water resources demonstrates that piecemeal legislation and governance measures have failed to account for interdependencies among agencies, jurisdictions, and sectors. Excessive reliance on governmental agencies has negated economic pricing, financial accountability, user participation, and service to the poor. Political will along with a comprehensive policy framework with regulatory structures, decentralized management and delivery structures, and greater reliance on pricing and participation of stakeholders will go a long way in establishing good governance in the water sector. Governing water wisely and managing water demand, rather than meeting it endlessly by augmenting water supplies, is the only hope for a secure water future. Without a comprehensive legal framework, sound and coordinated institutions, and peoples’ participation, effective water governance will remain an illusion. Radical changes in the institutional and legal structures are imperative to regulate the development and management of water resources in South Asia with special reference to India. If India intends to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals, where “water for all” is a key component, an understanding of legal principles and appropriate policies underpinning governance are essential to its success.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Privatization of water The privatization of water is a keenly contested issue in an economically liberalizing India. Since the 1990s, large social groups across India’s diverse and disparate peoples are renegotiating their cultural relationships with each other in relation to whether they support or oppose proprivatization water policy reforms. These claims and counterclaims are seen as an impending war over water resources. This ongoing debate on the commodification of water in India has mobilized a wide variety of actors with many divergent views. As such, it illustrates, perhaps better than any other case, how multilevel policy provisions and the rescaling of the state as a result of globalization pressures have affected state policies and local communities in the post-economic reform era of 1991 in an area as vital as water. Water is the basis of life and the building block around which the organic world revolves. It is central to the material and cultural well-being of societies all over the world. Except for air, there are no other sources of life comparable to water on the earth. By the law of nature, the need for water is common to all mankind: to have access to water is not a matter of choice but a necessity. The unique role of water in sustaining life makes it a “social asset, a common good basic to any human community” (Petrella, 2001: 54– 55). Water is fundamentally different from other resources because it is one of the four elements (along with air, earth, and fire) essential to life; it has an important social role; and freshwater, which comes mainly from the sky, is a “gift” to humans and is usually regarded as a public good (Smets, 1999: 13). Yet processes of financial and economic globalization exclude large parts of the world’s population from nature’s water. The ideological choice of treating water as an economic good or a “cashable resource” is based on the assertion that the market should be the principal mechanism to regulate the flow of goods. Thus the underlying issue of sustainable water management for development and growth can be stated in the form of a question: Whose water, for whom, and at what cost?

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Large-scale water transfers and privatization of water supply and management schemes are part of a larger trend toward urbanization and economic liberalization in India. Such schemes are embedded within the larger trajectories of development that seem to privilege the rich and downplay concerns for the ecology and for the livelihood of those who depend on it. These practices produce more socioecological disruptions than patterns of water use that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems. As a consequence, communities which have seen their water access rights significantly altered by these agencies have resisted privatization, and this has led to conflicts and contestations over water resources (Asthana, 2010). This chapter focuses on the privatization of water under different models that affect availability, quality, and access to water in different parts of India due to the processes of economic liberalization. It is structured around the argument that if water security means a reliable access to water of sufficient quantity and quality for basic human needs, livelihoods, and local ecosystems, privatization of water violates the basic right to water by restricting access and, more specifically, marginalizing the poor.

The process of economic liberalization in water After a period of state dominance for much of the twentieth century, water management underwent a dramatic transformation through the processes of liberalization, privatization, and deregulation (LPG) beginning in the 1980s, with increasing appropriation of water by capital and increasing involvement of the private sector in water management. The policy of economic liberalization since the 1990s has favored a set of measures such as total reduction in subsidies, full cost recovery, privatization, and so on, as a means of promoting economic growth and development. In this emerging neoliberal paradigm of development, reduction of expenditure in the social sector is accompanied by a trend to subcontract development through international and national development organizations. While in the early 1980s, development was seen to be a political process involving participation and empowerment at its core, more recently, the neoliberal framework has actively encouraged depoliticization of development with more focus on “managing development.” From the dominant neoliberal perspective, development was primarily seen as a corollary to economic and social management. The managerial approach to development sought quick technoeconomic solutions to the political problems of increasing inequality, marginalization, and consequent political and social instability. This new policy framework that involved liberalization, privatization, free-market theory, and structural adjustment was exported from Washington, through an understanding with the State

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Department of the USA, the IMF, and the World Bank, and it has dominated the “third-world development” discourse since the 1990s (Escobar, 1995). This agenda was simultaneously adopted by the North-dominated financial institutions (primarily the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), which, “using their leverage as creditors, aggressively promoted neoliberal reforms to governments of indebted low- and middle-income countries” (Budds and McGranahan, 2003; Gutierrez, 2001).

Reforming water in India The reform process in India began in response to a developing economic crisis. The balance-of-payments crisis in 1991 created a window of opportunity to pass reforms for more extensive liberalization. Since the policy entrepreneurs were already in place with papers and draft policy documents, the extent of the reforms was not merely a response to the economic crisis. The political team of Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, Commerce Minister P. Chidambaram, and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao helped the policy bureaucrats working on the liberalization program. The state structures were already in place to facilitate these reforms. The loans that India took from the IMF and the World Bank also came with conditions, and the larger policy of economic reform occurred simultaneously with economic stabilization and structural adjustments. The process of liberalization in the Indian state, however, was not accomplished, as it has been in other places, by a generalized menu of economic regimes put into place by the international financial institutions to advance the interests of their multinational corporations’ search for new markets. The democratic nature of the Indian state and India’s long tradition of political democracy required a more cautious approach. In the Indian case, political policies were filtered through the political leadership’s own assessment and evaluation of what reforms would be feasible for building a consensus and what would be acceptable to the population at a given time (Asthana, 2009). The reforms were centrally managed, and this management, including the sequencing of the reforms, was done very carefully. While the reforms were publicized in international forums, their importance was downplayed in domestic politics. P.V. Narasimha Rao realized that a low-key approach would help to reduce opposition to the reforms (Manor, 1995). Although the government adopted a go-slow approach in the area of soft reforms like water, plans were already under way with the formation of domestically high-powered committees. The Expert Committee on Commercialization of Infrastructure: For Growth and Welfare, whose scope included water supply and sanitation (1994–1996), made strong

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recommendations for private-sector participation in water supply and sanitation on commercial lines either by private parties or through public–private partnership. The report cited major problems in the water-supply sector such as low water tariffs, high production costs, high system losses from supply, poor demand management, and low cost recovery. According to the report, informal private players had taken over water supplies, but that only marginally challenged the monopoly position of the local authorities. Being in the public sector, the authorities did not take competition as a threat at all: efficiency and cost recovery did not improve. High administrative costs of establishment because of wages and salaries continued to account for a major chunk of the costs (CIDR, 1996). Unbundling of services has been a major mechanism through which the misconception about the economies of scale argument has been overcome. Governments have not been very successful as effective suppliers of many services. Commercialization of infrastructure projects means efficient provision of services to the consumers’ satisfaction on cost recovery basis. Since the public sector in most cases is an inefficient provider due to its inherent characteristics, promotion of privatization itself becomes an instrument of commercialization (CIDR, 1996: 43). The report thus laid emphasis on efficiency, cost recovery, decentralization, and governance in water supplies and sanitation policies. The Indian National Water Policy (2002) also underlines its commitment to handing control of water to the private sector: Private sector participation should be encouraged in planning, development and management of water resources projects for diverse uses, wherever feasible. Private sector management may help in introducing innovative ideas, generating financial resources and introducing corporate management and improving service efficiency and accountability to users. (National Water Policy, 2002) The National Water Policy 2012, approved by the National Water Resource Development Council, refrains from using the term “privatesector participation” in regard to water but advocates for public–private partnerships: The service provider role of the state has to be gradually shifted to that of a regulator of services and facilitator for strengthening the institutions responsible for planning, implementation and management of water resources. The water related services should be transferred to community and/or private sector with appropriate public private partnership model. (National Water Policy, 2012)

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Meanwhile, the World Bank, which had been the largest donor to India since the 1950s on different water projects, produced several reports on water resource management in India. An important strategy advocated by the bank’s Water Resource Management Policy (1993) was to reduce the government from being the sole provider and financier to one of a facilitator, enabler, and regulator. The bank also advocated that the “poor are much better off when water is managed as an economic good” (Briscoe, 1996: 3).

International agencies and water reform The World Bank, which was the largest donor to India since the 1950s on different water projects, produced two reports on India: the Irrigation Sector Review (1991) and the Water Resources Management Policy (1993). The bank highlighted severe organizational and instructional problems that persisted despite the adoption of the National Water Policy (1987). Realizing that project-by-project assistance did not work and project loans had become a disbursement exercise, the bank decided to switch from project to sector loans in the area of water. The report emphasized that water is a “scarce commodity” and argued that “the scarcity value of water” must be reflected in water charges. Another aspect it emphasized was that “affordability” would not be an issue in “efficient” water management. The bank advocated the need for change based on “poverty alleviation,” claiming that “the poor are much better off when water is managed as an economic good” (Briscoe, 1996: 3). According to the bank, increasing prices to enable cost recovery in the delivery of services may actually help the poor. The argument is that the poor often pay higher prices to private vendors, as they are not connected to public services networks. Moreover, easier access to water can free up time, which can be used to earn income and indulge in other productive activities. Unlike the earlier project-by-project investments, the new approach was to cover water resource management, address current and future intersectoral needs, and provide support for the institutional development and reform in line with the bank’s policy. The bank also brought out a series of publications in the 1990s that reemphasized the reduction of public-sector intervention, ensuring appropriate prices for infrastructure through elimination and reduction of subsidies. It stressed the need for development of capital markets for resource mobilization, facilitating private- and joint-sector projects using PPPs to enhance efficiency (Reducing Poverty in India: Options for More Effective Public Services, 1998; India: Urban Infrastructure Services Review, 1996, 1997; Urban Water Supply and Sanitation, 1998). The goal of the bank was thus to reduce monopolies while subjecting everything else to market mechanisms in infrastructure

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development, particularly water. Table 7.1 provides an overview of some of the reports that the bank produced on India’s water sector.

Table 7.1: World Bank reports on India’s water sector: An overview  1.

1990

Irrigation Sector Review—A review of the bank’s past strategy in the irrigation sector

 2.

1993

India: Water Resource Management Policy

 3.

1992

Comprehensive Water Resource Management: Concept Paper

 4.

1995

India—Private Infrastructure (IL&FS) Project: Environmental and Social Report

 5.

1996

India—Private Infrastructure Finance Report

 6.

1998

India—Water Resources Management Sector Review: Initiating and Sustaining Water Sector Reforms

 7.

1998

India—Water Resources Management Sector Review: Groundwater Regulation and Management

 8.

1998

India—Water Resources Management Sector Review: Irrigation Sector

 9.

1998

India—Water Resources Management Sector Review: Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Report

10.

1998

India—Water Resources Management Sector Review: Rural Water Supply and Sanitation

11.

1998

India—Water Resources Management Sector Review: Report on Intersectoral Water Allocation, Planning, and Management

12.

1998

Fifth Meeting of Urban Think Tanks on Financing Options for Water and Sanitation: Working Paper

13.

1998

Sixth Meeting of Urban Think Tanks on Institutional Arrangements for Provision of Water and Sanitation to the Poor: Working Paper

14.

1999

Water Challenge and Institutional Reform: Cross-Country Perspective

15.

1999

Eighth Meeting of Urban Think Tanks on Building Municipal Capacities to Deliver Services to the Poor: Working Paper

16.

1999

Ninth Meeting of Urban Think Tanks on Private Sector Participation in Provision of Water and Sanitation Services to the Urban Poor: Working Paper

17.

1999

Water for India’s Poor—Who Pays the Price for Broken Promises?

18.

2001

India—Country Assistance Evaluation—Operation Evaluation Study

19.

2001

Twelfth Meeting of Urban Think Tanks on Tariffs and Subsidies: Working Paper

20.

2001

Launching Sector Reforms—Government of India Pilot Demand Responsive Approaches to Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (Continued  )

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Table 7.1: World Bank reports on India’s water sector: An overview (Continued) 21.

2002

India—World Bank Assistance for Water Resource Management: A Country Assistance Evaluation

22.

2004

Institutional Reform Options in the Irrigation Sector

23.

2004

India—Attaining Millennium Development Goals in India—Role of Public Policy and Service Delivery

24.

2004

India Urban Finance and Governance Review Vols. I & II

25.

2005

India—National Urban Infrastructure Project

26.

2005

India’s Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future

27.

2006

Water Supply and Sanitation, Bridging the Gap between Infrastructure and Services

Source: Compiled from www.worldbank.org

The assessment reports of the government of India, the business alliance in the water initiative, and the policies of international financial institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank reiterate their commitment to private-sector participation in water resources. The Asian Development Bank’s Water Policy, approved in 2001, seeks to promote water as a socially vital economic good that needs careful management to sustain equitable economic growth and reduce poverty (Asian Development Bank, 2001). The most recent addition to the internal reform measures advocated by various government departments and the Planning Commission of India is the World Bank’s report “India’s Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future” (November, 2005). The report clearly states, India faces a turbulent water future. Unless water management practices are changed—and changed soon—India will face a severe water crisis within the next two decades and will have neither the cash to build new infrastructure nor the water needed by its growing economy and rising population. (Briscoe, 2005) The key elements of this complex agenda are these: ●

India is facing a serious water crisis that needs to be urgently managed within a historic timeframe.

●

Water policy reform is essential for development, economic growth, good governance, and access to water for the poor who suffer the most.

●

Poorly designed fiscal policies and governance constraints have further lessened access to urban water supplies. In other words, the

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real flaw lies with inefficient and politicized governments that treat water as a free public good. ●

The failure to charge people the use cost to reflect the true cost of water has inculcated a culture of wastefulness leading to crisis and scarcity of water.

●

Consequently, ensuring universal coverage and regularity of water supplies in a developing country like India not only requires economic instruments and private-sector participation but devolution of administrative responsibilities (decentralization) and public–private partnerships while the process of privatization of resources and globalization of capital continue at an unprecedented scale (Asthana, 2009).

This national agenda for water policy reform has been under scrutiny by various groups within civil society. But for a government steeped in the ideology of economic growth through liberalization, privatization, globalization, and rollback of the state, and a bureaucracy that has enjoyed the fruits of centralized control since the colonial period, it would be difficult to produce a radical vision for an environmentally sound and socially just development of the country (Lele and Menon, 2004). On a national level, the policies are already in place, but these reports and policy documents are subject to implementation by the states. The impact of liberalization in general and water reform policies in particular have created their own set of subnational dynamics for states to adopt a water policy based on national guidelines. The states proceeded to incorporate changes in their own water provisions as a result of the developments that occurred on the national scene and to enhance their capacities to sustain these programs. These developments included the heightened role of international agencies, the financial problems of the states due to cuts in social spending by the Center, and the political interests of politicians to demonstrate the progressiveness of the state in developmental and welfare projects. It was natural under the circumstances that many states began to take initiatives for fiscal reform. With the central government allowing private-sector investment in infrastructure, a number of states started to negotiate agreements with the private sector in power, roads, water, and other development projects. Reforms shrouded in politics were pursued in a piecemeal manner at the state level. With the share of funds curtailed by the central government policies, many states started to seek alternative sources in the form of loans and grants from international agencies. An overall climate was in place that allowed these agencies and the MNCs to pressure states to liberalize, privatize, and globalize (LPG).

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The case for privatization Over the years, the progress in industrial development, green revolution technology, urbanization, and population increase have affected the availability and access of water to meet the needs of the entire population of the nation. This process of continuous change has led to a crisis in water resources. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund reports that while 88 percent of the population of 1.2 billion has access to drinking water from improved sources in 2008, as compared to 68 percent in 1990, only 31 percent of India’s population use improved sanitation and in rural India only 21 percent use improved sanitation facilities (UNEP, 2008). Only a quarter of the total population in India has drinking water on their premises. Sixty-seven percent of Indian households do not treat their drinking water, even though it could be chemically or bacterially contaminated (UNEP, 2008). In many urban cities, people have to rely on tankers that charge them heavily to provide water. In certain areas, water is irregular, intermittent, and available only for a few hours in a day. The water tankers supply untreated water in many urban cities like Delhi and Chennai, and they do not take responsibility for its quality. These suppliers get water by drilling bore wells and tube wells. Private water tankers have come into existence precisely due to the failure of the government to meet the water demand of the city. A lot of the water is lost in leakage, and losses sometimes account for nearly 50 percent in a city. For example, intermittent supply, seasonal disruptions, insufficient and irregular pressures, and unreliability of supply are some of the major issues facing households in Delhi (CSE, 2003; Ruet, 2002; Ruet and Zerah, 2001). Women, who collect the drinking water, are vulnerable to a number of unsafe practices. In many areas of Delhi, they have to get up early in the morning to collect water for household needs because water in those areas is limited to less than two-hour morning and evening shifts (Canepa, 2004). There is no doubt that water treated as a free good has led to profligate wastage and a lack of conservation ethics. As agrarian economies, countries have heavily subsidized water in irrigation and agricultural development to meet the needs of food self-sufficiency, which has led to overexploitation of water resources. At the same time, urban water supply systems are also priced much less than the actual cost of supplying water. Municipal corporations are bound up in a bureaucratic work culture that leads to inefficiency and corruption. Governments are unable to manage water supplies, citing inefficiency and lack of cost recovery for operation and maintenance programs, which in turn has led to the collapse of the infrastructure itself.

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Privatization as a solution Optimizing a pure-hygienic water supply ranks high among the major challenges faced by India as people lack access to adequate sanitation and safe drinking water. With India aspiring to reach its Millennium Development Goals of a 24/7 supply to its population by 2015, the search for alternatives gets stronger. In looking for alternatives to provide a stable supply of safe water for all, governments have turned toward privatization of water services in a big way, but there is a need to ponder before committing ourselves to this transformation. The argument that “market forces” would more effectively and efficiently foster the development of the infrastructure, provide continuous supply, better quality, customer orientation, improved services to the poor, environmental sustainability, operational efficiency, financial sustainability, accountability, conservation, and reallocation of water, raises important questions about access and equity of partnerships between disadvantaged communities, local governments, and private firms in trying to provide basic services and amenities. In the past, governments have managed water supply and sanitation in most developing nations, and private-sector involvement in water supplies and sanitation has been regarded as against the public interest, and likely to foster monopolistic tendencies. The state assumed the responsibility of providing public services not only as a moral commitment for welfare, but also to produce the infrastructure for national economic growth. This role has undergone a reversal since the 1980s. Since then, the perspective that market can be a solution to the problems of the region has gained strength. The current neoliberal thinking expects the market forces to take care of public services while the state monitors its activities. With the mainstreaming of this ideology, markets for water and for services related to water resources have started developing in the region. Various pressures are driving governments toward privatization. 1. As international funding agencies reduce their assistance and public sources of finance shrink, governments have shifted to private-sector involvement in part to find increased capital involvement to meet the needs of growing populations and increasing demands for water and sanitation services. As a result, governments and public institutions find themselves plagued by crippling debt and deficit problems (Barlow and Clarke, 2002: 91). India’s emerging economy faces significant hurdles in finding the capital to expand coverage in rapidly growing urban areas, to maintain existing infrastructure, and to treat wastewater at minimal standards. 2. Another factor motivating private-sector involvement is the assumption that it can provide more efficient and cost-effective service in dealing with effects of pollution and a seemingly corrupt public administration. The complexity of water systems and the poor historic performance of municipal

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corporations have encouraged the belief that technical and managerial skills in water supply can be achieved through partial or total privatization. 3. Private agents are in a position to charge prices that reflect the true value of this resource and thereby compel consumers to be more inclined to conserve water. It is with this intention that bilateral agencies like DFID (UK), USAID (USA), BMZ (Germany), and OECF (Japan) moved into various projects and policy issues relating to drinking water, sanitation, irrigation, and the like, at the national and subnational levels (Asthana, 2009). Couching their offers in the language of technological assistance and transfer, these agencies have been making inroads into the policy space to generate markets for the entry of multinational corporations under public– private partnerships. These agencies have worked toward providing market access for their domestic corporations to carry out studies to construct and operate water treatment plants (RFSTE, 2005). Most also provide consultants to assess the “efficiency” and “cost-effectiveness” of various schemes. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank also moved into the states. The loans mostly came with structural adjustment programs that entailed privatizing certain sectors, cutting subsidies, downsizing staff, and meeting certain fiscal conditionalities. The bank noted that “its move to focus large scale integrated investment packages on the few states willing to undertake public sector expenditure reform has given the bank much more leverage than it had before” (Pitman, 2002). The first to follow in the series was Andhra Pradesh. However, an analysis of the economic restructuring program of Andhra Pradesh shows that the leverage of the bank led to the opening up of a policy space that moved toward the commercialization of infrastructure in general. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh added the clause of private-sector participation in some form in their water policy documents. Two projects reflect the nature of the trends in water policy reform. The agreement for the Sangli–Miraj–Kupwad Project, which was financed by the USAID, had the following conditions with respect to private-sector providers. The ILFS would answer no queries raised by the public on water issues and would have all rights over the water supplies. It would be the duty of the municipal corporation to generate the revenue demanded by the ILFS and other private US entities. The ILFS and the US private entities would have rights over the property and stocks of Municipal Corporation (Barve, 2002). A similar project taken up by the state government of Tamil Nadu was the Tirupur Area Development Project, aimed at initiating private-sector participation with US-based companies like Bechtel and to persuade the state machinery to experiment with these concepts of privatization (Painter, 1999).

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In 2001, another player, the ADB, announced its water policy, which focused on expanding the delivery of water services through autonomous and accountable service providers, private-sector participation, and public– private partnerships. The policy aimed to reallocate water through “markets of transferable water rights” and stressed that the government needs to modify its role from “one of service provider to regulator” (ADB, 2001). Under its broad umbrella of “poverty reduction in urban areas,” ADB moved into the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Sikkim. There is no doubt that “price” is an issue that needs to be addressed in the Indian context, and there is truth in the fact that subsidies actually do not reach the poor, but the solution offered in terms of private being effective and public being ineffective does not reflect the Indian understanding of sociopolitical realities. However, given the crisis facing the states, the ambition of politicians to showcase their progressiveness combined with their interests in the power exerted by international agencies, a shift occurred in the water policy of the states, most of which went ahead with public–private partnerships (Asthana, 2009). The process continues at an unprecedented pace. Already some thirty cities in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan are bidding their respective municipal water to a handful of MNCs, even though the experience from cities of other developing countries show that the privatized and commercialized supply of water often deprives the poorer and marginalized sector of their basic right to water (Shiva, 2005: 11). Most of these projects are urban based. Corporate giants like Vivendi Water, Vivendi Universal, U.S. Filter Corporation, with Triveni Engineering and Industries Limited, Onyx, Suez Ondeo, and Bechtel are already engaged in some of the Indian projects of water and wastewater management for municipal corporations and industries. A number of states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu have initiated public–private partnerships. In India, the emerging water market has been estimated at over $2 billion, of which one-third will be water provisioning, one-third municipal water treatment, and one-third industrial water treatment (Shiva, 2002: 11). The private sector is becoming increasingly involved in implementing projects on the basis of BOOT (build, own, operate, and transfer), BOT (build, operate, and transfer), and BOO (build, own, and operate) models. The rhetoric in the policies of these agencies emphasizes the need for access to water by the rural poor, but these very policies seem to exclude the poor when it comes to their actual implementation.

Models of privatization Outright PSP (private-sector participation) is not accepted in Indian policy circles; the preferred model is the public–private partnership for urban

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water supply, management, and wastewater treatment facilities. One of the most popular models in India is the concession model, in which operation and management responsibilities are transferred to the private sector under BOOT, BOT, and BOO schemes. For example, the French multinational, Degremont, is under contract to treat raw water for supply to Delhi’s residents. The cost of building the pipelines and transporting water remains with the state. The company will build and run the water treatment facility on a BOT model. Under this scheme, the state still sets tariffs, collects revenues, and overall manages water services. However, the capital maintenance of the plant, the penalty to be paid in case the state is unable to supply raw water to the plant, is all borne by the state. To recoup heavy investments made by the company, concessions are made for a period of twenty to fifty years. In this case, the concession lasts for ten years. The Delhi Water Board already guaranteed the purchase of water even before commissioning the plant. A pilot study was also done for distribution of water by the private sector, but had to be abandoned under intense pressure from civil society protests. Models such as BOT, BOO, and BOOT are partial concessions given to private utilities, but only for a portion of the water supply system. In the second model, while the state technically remains the custodian of the resource, the responsibility shifts to the private entity. The state plays, at best, a regulatory role. The problem arises when the private utility sets tariffs to pay for operating costs and makes profits for providing a service like water in the cities of the developing world. For instance, in (Metro) Manila, in the Philippines, a privatization venture ran into problems. Water-multinational Suez also ran into local politics in Delhi, India. Water is a business in such models, and if the business proves unprofitable, the company moves out (Asthana, 2010). In the third model, “ownership” totally belongs to the private enterprise. An example of this is the river-leasing model. Since the state owns the water resources, the Chhattisgarh government in India entered into a contract with a private company to invest in a barrage on the Sheonath River and provide water to the local industrial estate. In this build-own-operate contract, a 23-km stretch of the river was leased to the company for twenty-two years. In this process, people’s access to this stretch of water was greatly curtailed. While this contract was ultimately cancelled due to mobilization of forces opposed to this project, in many parts of the country small stretches of rivers have been leased to specific industries as their water sources (Asthana, 2010). This private ownership is not limited to rivers but also includes water sold by tankers in areas of extreme water shortage and scarcity. In cities like Chennai, Gurgaon, Jodhpur, and Bhopal, it is not unusual to see tankers selling water in both high-income and low-income areas where water supplies of public utilities are disrupted for several hours. This is also seen in Kathmandu, Nepal, where customers turn to private vendors for water

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supply. These private businesses and small-scale entrepreneurs generally operate free of regulations and charge high prices from even the poor users. The fourth model is based on unregulated resource exploitation. An example is the use of groundwater by bottled water or beverage companies. Groundwater rights in India belong to the owner of the land. Under the existing regulatory framework, companies can simply bore a hole in the ground, extract water, and make profits. All industries, institutions, house owners, and farmers that consume groundwater are part of this “private” army of users (CSE, 2003). State governments have also been selling their water resources to multinationals for supply of bottled water, depriving the local populace and the ecology of these resources. The Tamil Nadu government sold the rights over the Bhavani River, a tributary of the Cauvery, to Kinley, the brand name under which Coca-Cola sells bottled drinking water. The sale went into effect even while the state reeled under severe drought and groundwater depths going down to over 100 ft. The sale of the river was mediated through the local firm, Poonam Beverages, which will draw 1,00,000 liters per day to supply it to Kinley. Poonam Beverages paid the government mere Rs.50,00,000 (nearly US$ 5 million), for which hundreds of thousands of people were denied a vital resource (Shiva et al., 2002: 31). Similarly, the people of Kerala waged a bitter battle with the Indian face of Coca-Cola, Hindustan Coca-Cola beverages, which was extracting water to the tune of nearly fifteen million liters per day through sixty-five bore wells for its bottling plant. The plant had been set up on a sixteen-hectare (40-acre) plot of previously multicropped paddy land. Although Coca-Cola had to leave the area because it affected more than a thousand indigenous communities, the Adivasis, it found a new home in Ghaziabad, Mehdiganj, Uttar Pradesh, and later Uttarakhand. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) describes the groundwater situation in Mehdiganj District—the place of the company’s bottling plant—as critical, putting a question mark over the company request to expand the plant’s capacity. The company extracts about 50,000 m3 of water annually from the underground resources and is required to replenish them through water conservation measures. The board had also found that the water conservation measuring including rainwater harvesting did not have much impact on depleting groundwater sources, a cause of rebellion against the plant by local villagers. Around fifteen village councils in the vicinity of the plant have now written to the board for rejecting the company’s request to expand the capacity of the plant from 50,000 m3 annually to 250,000 m3. These fifteen villages are located within 15 kms of the bottling plant. The panchayats hold the bottling plant responsibility for depletion in the underground water level, a claim denied by the company. The water from underground sources is key for agrarian needs of the local villagers and their livelihood (Chauhan, 2013). Similarly the plant on Uttarakhand

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is being protested by the locals for fear of groundwater depletion although the industry says it will use only river water to meet its needs of 50,000– 2,00,000 liters of water (Hindustan Times, April 22, 2013). Coca-Cola continues to mine with impunity in areas of the Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh, Athur village near Chennai, and Kala Dera of Rajasthan (Box 7.1).

Box 7.1: Case Study: Kala Dera

N

early sixty villages surrounding the bottling plant of Coca-Cola have complained of severe water shortages since it began its operations in Kala Dera. In 1998, the Central Ground Water Board of India declared the groundwater resources in Kala Dera area as “overexploited.” After two years, Coca-Cola decided to locate its bottling plant and begin operations in Kala Dera. It is difficult to predict why Coca-Cola started operations in Kala Dera when the government had already confirmed water shortages in the area. A sustained international campaign against Coca-Cola forced the company to agree to an independent assessment of its bottling operations in India. The assessment was conducted by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) at six bottling plants in 2007 including Kala Dera, and it also confirmed the concerns of the farmers and villagers of Kala Dera. In its assessment, TERI concluded that the Coca-Cola Company operated on a principle dedicated just to the “business continuity,” and community water issues had been completely neglected, making it clear that Coca-Cola cannot continue to use the groundwater in Kala Dera. The report made the following recommendations: • Transport water from the nearest aquifer that may not be stressed • Store water from low-stress seasons • Relocate the plant to a water-surplus area • Shut down the facility In the latest government data obtained by the Indian Resource Center, groundwater levels in Kala Dera have continued spiraling downwards, falling another 3.6 meters (11.8 ft) in just one year, between November 2009 and November 2010. In the ten years before Coca-Cola started operations in Kala Dera (1990–2000), groundwater levels fell just 3.94 meters (12.9 ft). In the ten years since Coca-Cola started operations (2000–2010), groundwater levels have plummeted 25.35 meters (83.2 ft). Source: Community Rallies for Coca-Cola Plant Closure (http://www. indiaresource.org/news/2008/1053.html assessed on November 17, 2008), in http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2011/1008.html (Accessed September 12, 2013).

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The National Green Water Tribunal has recently ordered the shutdown of thirty-four packaged drinking water facilities in Noida and Greater Noida for extraction of groundwater and functioning illegally without sanctions from any competent authority under a petition filed by environmental activist Vikrant Tongad. It had been alleged in the petition that ceaseless extraction of groundwater has been leading to its rapid depletion. The tribunal has also not lifted a ban imposed by it in January prohibiting extraction of groundwater in the twin cities for construction activities or otherwise. The tribunal has ordered the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to issue closure orders to thirty-four industries. “In the affidavit, it has been specifically stated that these units besides being polluting units, are also exploiting underground water. This apparently results in water scarcity,” the bench has observed in the order (Das, 2013). The order goes on to state that “all these units shall stop operations forthwith and shall not carry on activities of packaging drinking water by using underground water and without consent of the pollution control board.”1

Private-sector participation and water security Private-sector involvement in urban and rural water supply in India has been justified in the name of reliable, safe, 24/7 water supply and benefit for the poor. Governments claim that while the poor may be the intended beneficiaries of the low charges and subsidized water, they suffer the most from the poor quality of service that results. All institutional and technical interventions are therefore to be designed with a clear obligation to improve the service to the poor leading to improved and equitable coverage of unserved and underserved poor households at reasonable cost. Another claim made by governments and agencies like the World Bank emphasize the substantial positive effect on women (time and effort) and better health for the entire family through assured supply of safe water in adequate quantity made available to the households. Private companies have also moved in a big way into bottled water, and state governments have been selling land to these companies for groundwater mining. Both situations undermine water availability, quality, and access to different sections of society. Consequently, these processes of water treatment, distribution, management, and groundwater exploitation have differential impacts on the people and the It has recently allowed two units to operate after they submitted clearances from Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), and assured that they would not operate in violations of the terms. They also mentioned that they had installed water meters to monitor the use. The NGT specified that the other 32 industries will still not operate (Das 2013, July 7).

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resource itself. “Impacts can be categorized as: ecological (pertaining to effects on natural ecosystems), social (related to rights of human beings and communities, health, cultural norms, attitudes, belief systems), economic (affecting livelihoods, well-being, and access to basic services) and even legal and institutional” (Manthan, 2009). It is a governmental duty—specified in the constitution—to ensure water rights, and the poor in particular are dependent on the government for its continued provision. The right to water is common to all beings and is a gift of creation. It is a natural right. “Common Rights go hand in hand with common responsibility—common responsibilities to conserve and share water, use it sustainably, and share it equitably. Blind commitment to privatization and attack on community rights and commons amounts to hydro–apartheid” (Shiva, 2003). Water rights did not originate with the state; they evolved out of a given ecological context of human existence—that people have the right to use water, and government and corporations cannot usurp this right. Water as a fundamental human right has been implicitly supported by international law, declarations, and state practice.2 In addition, the fact that only a third of Indians have adequate access to safe water, the right to water requires governments to progressively increase the number of people with safe, affordable, and convenient access to drinking water. The right to water also includes obligations for nondiscriminatory access to water especially by the marginalized and vulnerable sections of society. Thus the right to water is an important aspect of water security as the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. An adequate amount of safe and potable water is essential to prevent dehydration deaths and reduce the risk of waterborne diseases and to provide for household needs such as cooking, personal, and domestic hygienic requirements. All these conditions would not be met if transferred to private players. “Privatization is not a solution to our water crisis, which meets universal needs. Privatization is the enclosure of the water commons”3 (Shiva, 2005). Water resources flow from nature and not from the rules of the market. “The only long-term and prudent water policy is to recognize nature’s limits, live within the water cycle, and guarantee every Indian their fundamental right

While water is not mentioned in the 1966 UN covenant on human rights or in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, it is inferred from Article 6 of the covenant and Article 3 of the Declaration of Human Rights, which grants every human being the inherent right to life, and water is a basic natural life support for all. 3 The commons is generally defined as that which is not legally owned or controlled by private entities—things like air, public lands, oceans, and, yes, public water supplies. From another perspective, any public policy based on the principle of the commons seems foolish and anarchical in the eyes of many free-enterprise proponents. 2

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to water” (Shiva, 2005). Water, opposition groups argue, “is a commons, a public good” (WLC, 2004) and belongs to the community in which everyone should have a share rather than a source of private wealth and profit for individuals. Another concern with how privatization compromises water security is its effect on water quality. For example, there have been concerns about the quality of Suez’s treated water in India and in other parts of the world. As the French company began to focus solely on profit, quality and service have become abysmal. For example, Suez was given a twenty-year, $428 million contract in Atlanta after paying for a $12,000 trip to Paris for the mayor. After the changeover to Suez, residents complained of foul-tasting, brown-colored water. In Milwaukee, an audit found that a Suez subsidiary shut down pumps during hours of peak electricity demand to save money, creating overflows that sent raw sewage into Lake Michigan and area rivers. Another French company, Veolia, was found to have dumped raw sewage into the Mississippi River. The same company got a contract in Indianapolis, where complaints about water quality tripled after it took over (Newstrack, May 29, 2006). These articles argued that where profit becomes the primary driver of the process, issues of quality and service take a back seat. Water has serious health and environmental externalities—the price of neglect can be life-threatening. This is a worry in poorer areas, which are likely to be low on the list of private operators’ priorities (consulting reports indicate they expect to rely on relationships with NGOs to serve these areas). These conditions will compel them to look for dirtier and more polluted sources. Apart from degrading the quality of urban water supplies, private corporations have been polluting groundwater with extensive mining that allows pollutants to seep in from surrounding areas. Once the government grants permission to drill wells, there is no oversight or monitoring: groundwater exploitation thus becomes unsustainable in the long term and depleted water tables lead to saline water intrusions and contamination. In the water-starved city of Chennai, bulk water was transported from Mathur village in North Chennai, which led the residents of the village to sue the water companies that were mining the groundwater in the region in 1995 (Hall, 1999). By 1999, as the suit moved slowly through the court, almost ninety-nine companies had sunk illegal wells in the region to transport bulk water to water-scarce cities. Bulk water exports have grave ecological and social consequences. For example, in the case of Coca-Cola v. Plachimada district in Kerala, the company’s indiscriminate mining dried up many wells and contaminated the rest. Coca-Cola’s bottling plant was set up in 1999 in the middle of fertile agricultural land and near many reservoirs and irrigation canals. Coke’s mining of more than one million liters of groundwater per day has parched the lands of some 2,000 people within 1.2 miles of the factory. The company’s use of agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes has also been questioned by local residents. Due to the indiscriminate mining,

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the groundwater has become contaminated with the excessive calcium and magnesium from the dissolution of limestone associated with the groundwater deposit (Draw and Levien, 2006; Jayaraman, 2002; Manthan, 2009: 13). In India, the bottled water industries and Cola industry have been shown to have high pesticide levels in their products (CSE, 2005). Other examples discussed earlier demonstrate that privatization of water resources limits the availability and quality of clean, safe drinking water to all, which is a key component of water security. An important justification for private-sector involvement has been access to all and especially the poor. The real picture in most cities, however, was demonstrated in the case of Delhi, where a water distribution pilot project was to be commissioned with the help of the World Bank and private utilities like Degremont, Betchel, and Viola. The activists opposing the project stressed the huge impact this would have on people’s lives and raised serious issues of equity. Poor in Delhi are not part of a formal distribution network because they do not have land tenure rights. As a result, they have to depend upon either “free water” (from stand posts and tankers) or “illegal water” (from leaking pipes). These sources of water are treated by the government as part of nonrevenue water. Since both the consultant’s, the PwC and the GkW, and the Delhi Water Supply and Sewerage Reform Project aimed at reducing nonrevenue water, activists alleged that all these sources would be shut and there would be no free water. Water tankers, tube wells, and public taps in poor settlements would first be cut off and then five poor families would supposedly be provided one group connection in the JJ clusters. While they could pull separate taps to their houses, activists claimed that they would have 1 meter and would be collectively responsible to pay the bill. There is, however, no proposal for investment on extending the water distribution network to JJ clusters. How then, opponents argue, would the group connections be provided and how would this lead to targeted interventions for the poor in accessing water? In any event, group meter connections, they contend, would only lead to conflict among the users (Asthana, 2009). Most JJ cluster populations live on less than a dollar a day and would not have any money to pay for metered connections, which implies that most of them would be denied access to water. Given the highly inequitable distribution of income and resources in India, reports mentioned that it is impossible for most poor people to pay the high charges that inevitably accompany privatization. Newspaper reports noted that the government does not talk about low cost supply to the poor but only “urban poor paying less for safe, piped water than what they do through illegal and informal vendors.” In reality, according to opponents of the project, most of the poor will end up paying much more than they are paying now. It should also be noted that the ADB and World Bank strongly push for withdrawal of both

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cross and direct subsidies in the water supply sector—the only mechanisms that can ensure low cost supply to the poor (Dharmadhikary, 2003 and Parivartan meeting on World Bank Policies March 23, 2004). Opponents argue that in a one-sided negotiation process, weighing heavily on the side of sponsors with their expertise and influence, the balance of risk allocation is bound to favor private operators. The poor, as the least attractive customers, will likely bear the brunt of these risks (Asthana, 2009). These decisions will definitely encroach on the rights of poor with their inability to pay for the high tariffs and meters set to recover costs4 from the people for efficiency and continuous supply of water. The World Bank justifies cost recovery requirements by contending that with higher tariffs and costs recovered, private companies will have incentives to extend piped networks to areas which for decades have been without a piped water distribution network relying on private contractors and tankers that supply water at an exorbitant cost. While the rhetoric for tariff restructuring appears to be propoor, it is in fact antipoor because it seeks to transform the public good to a privatized commodity to which access would be proportional to the ability to pay. Moreover, there is hardly any evidence to show the inclination of private corporations to extend water supply connections to areas where people have little ability to pay. The inability to pay means disconnection, and high reconnection fees make reconnection almost impossible for them. Inevitably, they resort to bad quality water from untreated sources (Manthan, 2009). A survey done by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, New Delhi, revealed that most women had to face the task of collecting water for the family from standpipes and other sources nearby. Most slum women did not pay for the water as it was either collected by standing in long lines for hours at a community tap or collected from leakages in the public utility pipelines. Most respondents were against installation of meters as their husbands hardly earned enough to make a living and would not be in a position to pay for water (RFSTE, 2006). Thus both the poor and women were going to be adversely affected by privatization projects. Activists also claim that private operators would have greater incentive to divert water from the poor to the lucrative communities. Giving private operators a free hand, protestors believe, infringes on fundamental and democratic rights. Naturally a question arises—who do these different models of privatization serve? Water is both an economic and social good. It is definitely an economic good in agriculture, industry, and the subsidies that the rich enjoy. It becomes a social good when it is used in firefighting and sanitation. But in These cost recovery conditions mean that user fees paid by water consumers must cover all water system costs, which usually include the costs of operation, maintenance and capital expenditure, and sometimes the cost of servicing past utility company debt.

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terms of sustaining ecosystems and meeting basic human needs of survival, it goes well beyond the definition of a social good. It is more akin to the air we breathe. Financial analysts argue that if the state takes a step back and allows the markets to take over, then supply will meet demand, prices will be correct, conservation will be ensured, and conflicts will be resolved. The adoption of market-based directives derived by financial analysis may bring about higher economic benefits, but for a region fighting poverty on a day-to-day basis and a cultural ethos accustomed to treating water as an expression of hospitality, the market control of water is not easily acceptable in India. The argument here is not to reject outright the role of market forces, but there needs to be sound economics in water management to accommodate the needs of those who are unable to pay. Economists often suggest pricing of water at its marginal cost. In reality, water is seldom priced at marginal cost. The ability of the private sector to provide cost-effective service for poor and marginalized households of people remains suspect. At the national level, the private sector tends to confine itself in urban areas, while rural areas are grossly neglected. This fact reflects the “profit-driven” bias of the private sector. Proper pricing of water is necessary, but not always sufficient to ensure improved service. In India, where the cost per hectare of building a new irrigation system exceeds the per capita national product, pricing water at its full cost is not feasible. Establishment of “water user associations” to coordinate management and collection of fees appears to be a more practical way to finance irrigation. Charging a modest price for initial allotment and higher fee for water used may promote conservation practices. At the same time, there is also the issue of how to price water for the relatively rich of the region. It is evident that urban and industrial sectors do not even pay for the water they actually use. Indeed, they misuse it in their homes and factories. Municipalities unable to recover costs of water services and waste are bankrupt and this, along with all other inefficiencies, makes them failed service providers. The private sector in these circumstances is given the role of providing safe water for all. While the municipal corporations pay the full amount to the private entity, they are unable to recover even 4 percent of the price. The poor are still paying much more for the small amounts that they use. It is the same situation with industrial users, who pay a pittance for huge water extraction. Therefore, it is imperative to resolve the issue of the rich receiving subsidized water first at the expense of poor. The question of equitable access to safe water also arises, but the private sector has no answers for the poor in the developing world. They are scattered, living in shanty townships. They do not have the purchasing power. Therefore, the rhetoric of private-sector involvement in the name of the rural poor is a misnomer. Governments also seem not to care, yet it is the resource of the poor which is being appropriated as urban needs

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are prioritized over rural needs and groundwater piped out and away from their villages and neighborhoods to be sold as bottled water in cities and industries. An issue that needs consideration is related to the role of communities and local governments like the panchayat raj institutions and peoples’ representatives in the water management framework. In 1993, the parliament passed the 73rd and the 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution allowing decentralization of power at the local level in the form of panchayats. This amendment has made a powerful impact on the functioning of the political machinery associated with water at the state and substate levels, but it is difficult to predict their negotiating power with private agents. This is an important concern not only because the rights of the poor must be safeguarded in present and future agreements but also because evidence shows that the state and the private sector tends to neglect their obligation to provide water to poor urban and rural communities. The rights of these communities to control and manage their natural asset must be secured, as water rights are ultimately linked with right to life. Experience in India proves that there is also another side to privatization. The perception that privatization will solve all of the problems and bring about efficiency has not always turned out to be true. The residents of Delhi, due to long power cuts and delay in maintenance and repair, welcomed the privatization of the power sector. Initially, the company took refuge in saying that it had inherited a shaky and inefficient system, but as the company established itself, power outages continued with uncomfortable summers and high bills. Similarly, large-scale protests, opposition, and mass demonstrations have also accompanied privatization of water as part of this neoliberal process. While private-sector participation is no panacea for all ills associated with management of water services, analysts feel that moving toward greater reliance on financially autonomous institutions, private firms, and user associations would open new sources for investment. It will also encourage people’s participation in water management to cover costs and conserve water. Price is an issue that definitely needs attention; however, decentralized pricing of water is only possible when accompanied with institutional reforms sensitive to local realities. Water resource fees, water quality protection fees, increased cost of hydroelectricity, and maintenance fees for flood control are other options to raise revenues and encourage effective water conservation. Its success depends on how well the chosen form of privatization fits local circumstances, the nature of the social and cultural environment, whether the regulatory arrangement is suitable, and how well the reforms respond to the concerns of those affected. Certain questions need to be resolved before a practical prescription can be formulated. What problems does it hope to solve? Which private-sector options offer the best solutions

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to these problems? Do existing legal and regulatory frameworks support private-sector involvement? Are the tariffs and subsidies required by the preferred option politically feasible and the option, therefore, financially viable? Can the government win political support for the preferred option from key interest groups? If not, are there alternative paths that the government can take? What are the views, beliefs, and disbeliefs of communities involved? The success of private-sector involvement in water management depends largely on institutional support of regulatory bodies, service-oriented to the needs of poor people, with attention to poor nations, small-medium towns, and rural areas. All this needs to be strengthened in an effort to bridge inequalities and promote equity. The mechanism of water pricing to encourage water preservation with a balanced economics for subsidies for the poor may turn out to be the components of a mutually reinforcing winwin scenario of private-sector participation. The intervention of market forces in water supplies for irrigation, industry, and domestic drinking water needs judicious analysis before we commit ourselves to this process. Deprivation of access to water through privatesector operations, whether in the case of urban water supply, agricultural purposes, or water/river leased to an industry to meet its operational needs, has undermined the value of water as being synonymous with life. Increased consumption due to patterns of urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture has seen a shift toward the reliance of the market as being the solution to these challenges. There is no disagreement on some of the challenges that public utilities face in terms of low revenue, leakages, bad management practices, and wastages due to low price. While many intellectuals agree that there are issues of pricing and efficiency that need to be addressed, they disagree that water should be described as a commodity. “Water is not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit, but rather a common good. It is a public utility that can be priced but within certain socio-economic parameters” (Viswanathan, 2003). The economic valuation of water tends to disregard the human right to water claimed by citizens as members of the public, which is the ultimate owner of the resource. The fundamental question that faces the poor and marginalized people of India is, “Can water as a basic human and animal need and sustainer of environment be treated as a commodity?” Markets may have a role to play, but there are also important issues of equity, social justice, and sustainability that need to be taken care of by regulatory mechanisms before plunging into privatizing water, the life support of rich and poor alike. Governance, oversight, and regulatory mechanisms for water utilities must provide adequate space to the concerns of different kinds of users and address issues of inequality. It should rely on a transparent process of informed negotiation and dialogue. This process should work in a bottom-up manner on a wider, more consensual basis. In addition, alternatives for better public management and

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supply of water need to be seriously explored. Private-sector engagement and public–private partnerships if necessary must proceed very cautiously in the region with governments paying attention commensurate to the needs and interests of the disadvantaged communities of the state. Other socially responsible solutions can also be explored in specific contexts that can be economical, as well as socially and ecologically sustainable alternative models to privatization.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

Intrastate water disputes Disputes over water use, storage, diversion, pollution, and quality are found in virtually all parts of the world. Most problems occur due to reduced water flow through dams and projects constructed by upstream riparian states. Water diversion, industrial and agrochemical pollution, salinization due to excessive extraction of groundwater for irrigation, and siltation of riverbeds and floods cause abundance or reduced water availability leading to tension among states. Against this backdrop, it becomes difficult to contemplate smooth relations among states with varied interests. Disputes occur, and potential disagreements arise to cope with pressing conditions and scarcity of water resources. Nearly every state in India wants to showcase development to their electorate. Development needs resources and water is needed not only in all sectors that promote the development of the state but also to meet the needs of the people for safe and clean water. If these renewable resources get depleted, polluted, or degraded within the state due to domestic factors or the activities of another state, the lack of availability may set the stage for tension. Added to these are the secondary effects of such degradation that lead to decreased production and economic decline in the country and create conditions in which tensions arise. Within India, the challenges to meet the demand caused by population growth and increase in per capita consumption create a web of causality leading to disputes among states that share rivers and basins across borders. Water as a hydrological unit transcends state boundaries, and supply sharing of river basins becomes embroiled in conflicting political and economic interests.

Disputes over water resources Water conflict is not a new development in history. The transboundary freshwater dispute database of Oregon State University documents 1,200 cases from 1948 to 1999 (Wolf, 2004). Studies of Ohlsson (1991), Upreti

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(1999, 2001, 2002), and Panos (2004) demonstrate that water conflicts and cooperation constitute an integral part of the sociopolitical fabric of society. Disputes between communities or countries over watercourses cutting across boundaries have an ancient history. The Vijayanagara Empire collapsed because of a water crisis. Legend says that the two communities of ancient India, the Sakiyas and Koliyas, went to war over the sharing of the river Rohini. In modern times, there are instances of water problems between Israel and the neighboring countries; issues in the Jordan basin; problems over common rivers between the USA and Canada and the USA and Mexico; disputes over the Parana-la Plata basin between Brazil and Paraguay; water being used as a military tool in the Gulf War; and conflicts over water in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, and Kosovo. The waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris have remained a source of conflict between Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, and the Nile remains a cause of disagreement between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Conflicts pertaining to the Mekong river basin involving China and the Southeast Asian states of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are the most sensitive issues in the region (Elhance, 1999). Largely these conflicts emanate from the actions of states diverting water for their populations without paying adequate attention to the needs and rights of their coriparian. Strategic rivalry over water can be attributed to a number of factors: (a) the degree of scarcity, (b) the extent to which supply is shared by more than one region or state, (c) the relative power of the basin states, and (d) the ease of access to alternative freshwater sources (Gleick, 1994). In effect, the physical, political, and economic geography determines the hydropolitics of the region. An analytical appraisal of water resource vis-à-vis security issues is both direct and indirect. Water scarcity impacts local, state, and regional security directly, but it affects the environment as well, causing indirect impacts on the ecosystem and triggering long-term security challenges. Water conflicts may occur in multiple ways. Firstly, water conflicts between states may arise when one state threatens to cut off water supplies to another state. Sometimes conflicts may also arise when one state deals with another on the source of major water supplies. Conflicts may also arise when certain states refuse to cooperate or participate in intrastate mechanisms. An insight into the past and existing conflicts within the states will help establish the linkage between resource challenges, conflict, and security, and a variety of factors such as demand and supply, trade-offs, power relations, domestic politics, and popular perceptions.

Intrastate water disputes in India Since water is a state subject, states are guided by individual programs of development to show case their progressiveness to the electorate. Interbasin

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transfers and supply sharing of water is looked upon as a means to meet the steadily increasing demands of states for water to supplement irrigation, hydropower, municipal and industrial uses, and the needs of navigation and transport. However, a complex web of cultural, social, economic, and political factors result in interstate contestations. As a country of twentytwo river basins big and small, spreading over one or more states, India has been host to a large number of riparian conflicts related to the sharing of water supplies; constructions of storages, dams, and canals; and problems of pollution in load. Conflicts among riparian states often seem to arise in the context of water resource development projects undertaken by states to supplement their water needs. Conflicts also arise due to the secondary effects of development projects on socioeconomic and equity-related circumstances. Competing demands for water in a country with over a billion people, coupled with problems of urbanization and sanitation, make clean, healthy water a difficult proposition. The emergence of regional parties and coalition governments has politicized water problems. Problems that have arisen in Punjab over supply and sharing of water, and the controversy that prevails between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, over the sharing of water have been fanned by politicization of this scarce resource. The issues of interbasin transfers and diversions do indeed cause the liveliest concerns in view of the elemental importance of water for life and the economy (Verghese, 1990). Some major interstate conflicts in India are discussed in the following sections.

Krishna basin Krishna is the second largest river of peninsular India after the Godavari. The principal states of the Krishna river basin are Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, constituting a drainage area of 2,58,948 km2. The river originates in the Western Ghats at an elevation of about 1,337 m from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and about 64 km from the Arabian Sea and flows for about 1,400 km before falling into the Bay of Bengal. As the river has a catchment area from three Indian states, it assumes the status of an interstate river in terms of the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The history of disputes over Krishna waters can be traced from the mid-nineteenth century when prominent storage and diversion works were undertaken after 1855. At that time, the execution of interstate river provisions did not create any dispute, as water was plentiful with minimal utilization. Only minor disputes cropped up in 1892 and 1933, and were amicably settled. It was in 1951 that three of the four riparian states, Bombay, Madras, and Hyderabad (excluding Mysore), got together to frame proposals for utilizing Krishna waters and ultimately framed an agreement apportioning the maximum flows among the three states. Mysore, however, disputed the apportionment and refused to ratify the agreement. Despite the

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best efforts of the government of India, no agreement could be arrived at and the matter was referred to the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal in April 1969, as constituted under the Interstate Water Disputes Act of 1956. Conflict continued during the hearings of KWDT with Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh initially laying emphasis on the 1951 agreement and demanding its enforcement. Karnataka refuted this demand, as the understanding of 1951 was reached without its approval and agreement as it had refused to sign it. Karnataka demanded a stay order on the implementation of Andhra’s projects on the river and Maharashtra’s proposed westward diversion of Krishna waters in excess of 1,912 bcm. Maharashtra also backed out of the 1951 agreement and sought fresh assessment of dependable flow as well as equal apportionment. It also contended that a state using more than its legitimate share should be made to release the excess and if that was impossible, to order it diverted from Godavari. Andhra Pradesh continued to allege that both Karnataka and Maharashtra had breached the 1951 agreement. In the event of total disagreement among the three basin states, the KWDT framed the issues and adjudicated it in a span of five years, apportioning this flow between the three states, with Maharashtra receiving 565 TMC ft1 (15.9 bcm), Karnataka 695 TMC ft (19.8 bcm), and Andhra Pradesh 800 TMC ft (22.6 bcm) of water out of a total of 2,060 TMC ft (58.3 bcm). It was also held that in a year of surplus flow, when the yield exceeds 2,060 TMC ft, the excess has to be equitably shared by the three states. Each of these states separately agreed to allocate 5 TMC ft (0.14 bcm) of water from their individual shares to Tamil Nadu (Madras) toward meeting the drinking water supply of Chennai. Thus, the problem was resolved on the principle of equitable apportionment of an interstate river, which is to be treated as an indivisible physical unit. The treaty also provided for review after May 31, 2000, by a competent authority or tribunal. But “such a review will not as far as possible disturb any utilization that may have been undertaken by any state within the limits of allocation made to it under the foregoing clauses” (Clause XIV, KWDT Tribunal, 1976). In the year 2000, discordant notes started appearing among the three basin states. Between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the latter wanted to raise the height of the Almatti Dam in the upper Krishna by 7.0 m. Andhra Pradesh intended to increase the height of the Jurala Dam in Krishna River by 0.62 m, and further curtail the capacity of the canals in the Telugu Ganga Project, which was to carry 15 TMC of the water for Chennai as the total contribution of the three states. It therefore appeared that water problems were again going to disturb the peace of the KWDT agreement and that issues of water resource allocation needed resolution and remedial measures. It was with this intention that the KDWT-II Tribunal was set up

1

1 bcm is equal to 35.3 thousand million (1 billion) cubic feet (TMC ft).

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in 2004. The tribunal upheld the raising of the level of the Almatti Dam in Karnataka to 524 m, which was strongly opposed by Andhra Pradesh. Maharashtra was happy with an extra 100 TMC awarded to it by the tribunal. There were mixed responses in Andhra Pradesh as experts argued that Andhra would be at the mercy of the upper-riparian Karnataka, and had lost the right to use surplus water of the river. The award also directed that all three states should each contribute 3.30 TMC ft of water to Chennai city for drinking water supply between July and October and 1.70 TMC ft distributed in four equal installments between January and April. The tribunal decided that Krishna water would be distributed among the three states on a 65 percent dependability basis of the new series of forty-seven years, that is a total of 2,293 TMC ft. Since the tribunal has the force and decree of the Supreme Court, no appeal against the award can be filed in any other court except the tribunal itself. The tribunal placed certain restrictions on the three states over the utilization of the Krishna river water. The second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal gave an interim verdict on December 31, 2010. The allocation of available water was done according to 65 percent dependability, considering the recorded flow for the past fortyseven years. According to KWDT-II, Andhra Pradesh got 1,001 TMC ft of water, Karnataka 911, and Maharashtra 666 TMC ft. The final award given on December 2013 gave Andhra Pradesh a 4 TMC ft raise from its interim award of 2010 reducing Karnataka to get 907 TMC ft with Maharashtra at 666 TMC ft. Andhra Pradesh, however, was expecting a substantial increase in allocation. The fate of Andhra Pradesh’s seven irrigation projects currently hangs in uncertainty as the tribunal rejected Andhra Pradesh’s demand over surplus water rights. The next review over water allocation will be made in the year 2050. However, Andhra Pradesh plans to file a petition in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Krishna Tribunal Award.

Narmada river basin The Narmada is the largest of the rivers of peninsular India falling into the Arabian Sea. The principal tributaries of the river are the Burhner, Tawa, Hiran, Barna, Kolar, and Orsang. The Narmada River rises near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh from Vindhyachal ranges at an elevation of about 900 m, and flows for about 1,312 km before falling into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Cambay. It flows through Madhya Pradesh largely and enters into the Gujarat state. As it flows through the territory of Gujarat, the river on its left bank touches Maharashtra for a short length. The total catchment area of these states is 98,769 km2. The present utilization of the river is only about 8 km since the river waters have not been harnessed so far to an appreciable extent due to internal politics of the basin-sharing states and financial constraints.

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The origin of the dispute dates back to the year 1946, when the Central Provinces and Berar, and the then Bombay Presidency requested the Central Waterways Irrigation and Navigation Commission (CWINC) to carry out studies for the development of water resources in the basin. The study identified seven projects of which only four were recommended: 1 Bargi Project 2 Tawar Project 3 Punansa Project 4 Broach Project

The problem arose with the development of a dam in the Broach Project. The dam site was designated at Navagam instead of its earlier site at Gora which had been under approval of the government of Bombay. This dam was to be constructed up to RL 160 ft in the first stage and raised subsequently to RL 300 ft in the second stage. The height of this dam later on turned out to be a major cause of controversy. The reorganization of states in May 1960 divided Bombay into two states—Maharashtra and Gujarat. Navagam now fell in Gujarat, causing dispute. Although an agreement was signed between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh on the height of this dam, Madhya Pradesh later repudiated the Bhopal agreement. The central government then constituted the Narmada Water Resources Development Committee. The committee prepared a master plan for the development of the Narmada waters envisaging twelve major projects in Madhya Pradesh and one (Navagam) in Gujarat. These recommendations were not endorsed by Maharashtra. The disagreement mainly related to the development proposals on lower Narmada reach and the allocation of water among different states for irrigation. Madhya Pradesh also insisted on absolute right over hydropower, which was to be generated in its territory. Despite continuous persuasion by the central government, these states disagreed, which led the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) formed in 1969 to adjudicate these water disputes. The NWDT made the apportionment in December 1979 of 27.25 MAF (million acre ft)2 between Madhya Pradesh (18.25 MAF, 67 percent) and Gujarat (9.00 MAF, 33 percent). The excess or deficit of water was to be shared in the same proportion. Nonriparian states Rajasthan and Maharashtra agreed to share 0.5 MAF and 0.25 MAF of water, respectively. Although the NWDT submitted its report in August 1979, a long period of ten years was lost while the union of India and the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan sought clarifications on several issues. This caused unwarranted delay in the development of this resource, whose integrated development could have given prosperity to the states and economic security to the country.

2

1 TMC ft = 2.83 million cubic meters, or 22,956.8 acre ft.

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Although the tribunal resolved the initial issue of water sharing the Sardar Sarovar Project, the height of the dam and benefit sharing, rehabilitation of population has caused serious difficulties.

Godavari river basin The Godavari is the largest river of peninsular India. Its main tributaries include the Pravara, Puma, Manjror, Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga, Indravati, and Kolab. The river rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of about 1,067 m near Nasik in Maharashtra and flows 1,465 km in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh before falling into Bay of Bengal. The river has a drainage area of 3,12,812 km2 extending over five states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Karnataka. The utilizable flow is 76.3 bcm (2,694 TMC ft), but the present utilization is only about 38 bcm (1,342 TMC ft), which is hardly 50 percent of the total water. The dispute arose only after independence; prior to independence, major storage and diversion projects were undertaken without any problem. A dispute in the Godavari basin was bound to arise due to five riparian states sharing the waters of this river, making it a compelling issue between the provinces of Madras, Bombay, Orissa, Central Provinces, and some princely states of India. The States Reorganization Act of 1956 changed the configurations and borders of various riparian states. The state of Bombay was also bifurcated in 1960. Thus, five states were formed, but when the government of India formulated a scheme for reallocation of basin flows it was rejected by these states in a conference held in 1960. The government was ultimately forced to form a Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) in 1969. The report of this tribunal was issued in July 1980 where out of 80 TMC ft, Andhra Pradesh was allocated 45 TMC ft and Karnataka and Maharashtra to share 35 TMC ft. It was more a compilation of agreements arrived at mutually by the parties themselves in which each of the states concerned was given the liberty to divert any part of their shares of allocated water of Godavari to any other basin. The final order of the tribunal envisaged that the report could be amended by mutual agreements or act of parliament, a position that can induce regional parties to raise their interests in a multiparty coalition. However, the fact cannot be denied that delayed developmental planning and execution impinged upon the economy of states without sharing its benefits.

Ravi–Beas river waters The river Ravi rises in Himachal Pradesh, enters the plains near Madhopur in Punjab, and then moves along the international boundary between India and Pakistan before merging into the Chenab River. The Beas River flows

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from its headwaters in Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and after flowing for about 460 km, merges into the river Sutlej. Both are major tributaries of the Indus, joining it on the left bank toward the eastern side. Under the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, India was given exclusive rights to the use of Ravi– Beas and Sutlej except for a transition period of ten years during which India was to supply water from these rivers to enable Pakistan to develop a canal system in its territory using the three rivers allocated to it. This period ended on March 31, 1970, after which India had exclusive rights to develop and use the waters. In composite Punjab, these three rivers—the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—provide ample water for its needs. With flows of Ravi and Beas estimated at 15.85 MAF, Rajasthan got 8 MAF, Jammu and Kashmir 0.56 MAF, and Punjab 7.20 MAF. The subsequent partition of the Punjab state into Punjab and Haryana under the Punjab Re-organization Act of 1966 sowed the seeds of discord as the 7.2 MAF share of water was now to be divided and shared between the states of Punjab and Haryana. The act stipulated that rights and liabilities of the composite Punjab state vis-à-vis the Bhakra Nangal Project and the Beas Project would be the rights and liabilities of the successor states of Punjab and Haryana in such proportion as might be fixed subject to adjustments made by arrangement. Both these states made unreasonable claims on this apportioned water. After persistent efforts to no results, the government of India in December 1981where out of 17.17 MAF (21,176.86) estimated flows ultimately allocated shares of 3.5 MAF (4,317 MCM) to Haryana, Punjab 4.22 MAF (5,205 MCM), Rajasthan 8.60 MAF (10,068 MCM), Jammu and Kashmir 0.65 MAF (801.76 MCM), and 0.2 MAF (246.7 MCM) to Delhi. It also stated that through a statutory decision, the construction of the SYL (Sutlej–Yamuna Link) Canal provision for diverting the waters of the Beas should be made for full utilization of Haryana’s share in its territory. This considerably reduced Punjab’s share of water, which it considered essential for its rich grain yield and to its generation of electricity to pump water from tube wells. The union government’s allocation of water from Punjab to Rajasthan and Haryana, both Hindu-dominated states, was also one of the factors that pushed the Akali Dal to make separatist demands. This was inextricably linked to the continuing violence and the assassination of Indira Gandhi in November 1984. Prolonged negotiations ultimately resulted in settlement of the Punjab issue through the Rajiv-Longowal Accord (1985), followed by the Ravi Beas Water Tribunal Award that was constituted in 1986. The tribunal gave its report on January 30, 1987, where it allocated waters between Punjab and Haryana on the basis of 1.3:1. Punjab was allocated 5.00 MAF (6,167.4 MCM), 3.83 MAF (4,724 MCM) to Haryana, Rajasthan 8.60 MAF (10,068 MCM), Jammu and Kashmir 0.65 MAF (801.76 MCM), and 0.2 MAF (246.7 MCM) to Delhi. This total of 18.28 MAF (22,548 MCM) was estimated based on utilizable surplus water of 2,882 MCM (WRIS, 2013). However, Punjab

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witnessed much militancy and terrorist activities during 1987–1993. It was recommended that the SYL Canal be completed at an early date to enable Haryana to utilize its allotted share of waters, but the Punjab state has not completed its 121 km long portion of SYL Canal to Haryana. The Punjab militancy did not allow construction of the SYL Canal and killed the engineer in charge of the project in 1990. The issue has thus generated tremendous discontent and strife amidst people of the two states. It has also played a destabilizing role within the domestic politics of India, a situation which was exploited by Pakistan to create more instability in the country by encouraging militancy and giving assistance in the form of arms and ammunition to a state whose interests affect the relations of India with its western neighbor. In an unprecedented decision, the Punjab Assembly terminated its obligations of water sharing with Rajasthan and Haryana under the 1981 agreement. This move came three days ahead of the Supreme Court deadline for the center to take up the construction of the canal in the state. Under the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act of 2004, passed by the assembly, Punjab justifies the decision based on the adverse consequences of such a huge transbasin diversion of waters, which is likely to impact irrigation and render nine lakh acres of Punjab dry and barren. Describing the agreement of 1981 as unfair in the present circumstances, Punjab has decided against its implementation, creating a crisis for the states of Haryana and Rajasthan (MOWR, NA). This act is currently under the purview of the Supreme Court on presidential reference under Article 143 of the Constitution of India. Thus the final report of the tribunal awaits the outcome of the hearing of the Supreme Court.

Cauvery river basin The Cauvery is one of the most important rivers of South India. It is often referred to in history as the Ganga of the South. Its main tributaries are the Hemavati, Harangi, Kabini, Suvarnavathi, Bhavani, and Amravati. The river rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of about 1,341 m from Talakaveri in Brahmagiri ranges (Karnataka state) and flows for about 800 km before falling into the Bay of Bengal. A small portion of Tamil Nadu or Kerala, the state of Karnataka, Karaikal, and a part of the Union Territory of Puducherry form part of the Cauvery delta, thus making it an interstate river. The discharge in this river basin comes from about 87,900 km2 of catchments spread through three states. The present utilization is about 18 bcm of the average annual flow of about 21.4 bcm, which comes to about 94 percent of full utilization capacity. The history of the dispute goes back to the nineteenth century when prominent diversion and storage works that started in the Cauvery basin led to a controversy between the Madras presidency in British India and

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the princely state of Mysore. It was in 1892 that the two parties signed an agreement followed by another dispute. An award made by the arbitrator was challenged by an appeal to the secretary of state in London and at the instance of the secretary of state, a resumption of mutual negotiations between the two parties led to an agreement in 1924. The agreement of 1924 stipulated certain changes in the arrangements after the expiry of fifty years. But in the meantime, as India became independent, several changes occurred in the organization of states and their boundaries giving rise to the dispute among four states of Mysore (later named Karnataka), Kerala, Madras (later named Tamil Nadu), and the Union Territory of Puducherry (later the state of Puducherry). With the formation of these new states, things became more difficult, with Kerala making claims on the waters for development of hydroelectric power and irrigation facilities for its own people. This was vigorously opposed by the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Puducherry, which does not contribute to the flows of Cauvery, also wanted water to meet its traditional irrigation requirement in the Karaikal region in addition to its principal demand for domestic and industrial purposes. The upper-riparian Karnataka came under severe pressure from these states to release water. Talks between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have gone on intermittently for over two decades since the 1970s, but no amicable solution has been reached. The government of India made an effort to bring about an agreement that was worked out in August 1976; however, Tamil Nadu did not consider it wholly satisfactory and refused to ratify it, so the prospects of a resolution to this dispute receded. Despite efforts made by the central government, the problem remained unsolved. In 1986, the failure of negotiations led the farmers of Tamil Nadu to petition the Supreme Court of India to set up a tribunal. The Supreme Court ordered the Cauvery Waters Tribunal that was established on June 2, 1990. Under an interim award on June 25, 1991, the tribunal decided that Tamil Nadu should get 205 TMC ft of water every year and asked Karnataka to release waters to the Mettur reservoir in a stipulated pattern. Karnataka was also directed not to increase its area of irrigation under Cauvery command. Karnataka rejected this award, and called for a statewide bandh, a move that led to a lot of violence, arson, looting, and bloodshed. Similar incidents also followed in Tamil Nadu, though to a lesser degree. From 1992 to 1995, the Cauvery dispute remained dormant due to a good monsoon meeting water demand, and the tribunal continued the adjudication process. But in the meantime, the lean and inadequate monsoon in 1995–1996 aggravated the water crisis causing difficulties in the distribution of flow. Karnataka expressed its inability to release waters, and Tamil Nadu again appealed to the Supreme Court to intervene. The court, however, chose not to issue any direction and thought it expedient to ask the prime minister to intervene instead. The prime minister decided that Karnataka should release 6 TMC ft of water to save the standing crops

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of Tamil Nadu and also set up a committee to determine the amount of water needed to save the standing crops in both the states. Karnataka’s noncompliance to release the amount of water led to heightened tension between the two states. The drought challenges from 2001 to 2003 caused great distress to the farmers of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. On September 3, 2002, the Supreme Court passed an apex order asking Karnataka to release 1.25 TMC ft a day to Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery River Authority (CRA), headed by the prime minister, was charged with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the tribunal’s interim award. The CRA scaled down the quantum of release of water from 1.25 TMC ft to 0.8 TMC ft a day until the end of October. The snap decision of Karnataka to suspend the release of water from the Kabini Dam left the farmers of Tamil Nadu in a position of uncertainty regarding the availability of water for their main paddy crop. Karnataka insisted that the water crisis was temporary, but the situation in Tamil Nadu turned explosive when a farmer committed suicide by drowning himself in the Kabini River (Hindu, 2002). Consequently, the release of the water by Karnataka to the Mettur Dam was a boon for the farmers of the delta who were affected by the drought. But uncertainty over sustained flow of water continued to trouble the minds of these farmers. Karnataka stressed that in the years of distress, it would be difficult to meet its own water needs, but if possible they would spare water. While this was not unfair on the part of Karnataka, the state cannot reserve the right to decide what it needs and how much it can spare for Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the confrontationist positions of the two states, the mistrust shared by the states and the center at the highest political level contributed little toward the resolution of distress water-sharing plans between the two states and instead snowballed it into a major crisis. Despite a dry a spell in the summer of 2003, no confrontation emerged between the two states. The monsoons in 2004, 2005, and 2006 were abundant, and this helped to keep the tempers calm on both sides. The tribunal was given an extension after its deadline of 2005 expired. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) announced its final verdict on February 5, 2007. According to this verdict, Tamil Nadu gets 419 TMC ft of Cauvery water while Karnataka gets 270 TMC ft. The actual release of water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is to be 192 TMC ft annually. Furthermore, Kerala will get 30 TMC ft and Puducherry 7 TMC ft. While Tamil Nadu appeared willing to accept the verdict, the government of Karnataka, unhappy with the decision, filed a revision petition before the tribunal seeking a review. In such a case, there can be a review by the same court or an appeal to a higher court. Review by the tribunal itself is possible, but appeal to the Supreme Court is ruled out by a bar, on the jurisdiction of the court (Iyer, 2010). Three years passed since the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal gave its final award on the interstate sharing of river waters. The Inter-State

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Waters Dispute Act of 1956 bars any court, including the Supreme Court, from having or exercising jurisdiction “in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to a Tribunal under this Act.” A 2002 amendment to the act provides further that “the decision of the Tribunal, after its publication in the Official Gazette by the Central Government … shall have the same force as an order or decree of the Supreme Court.” But this is only on paper. The final award of the CWDT has not entered into force because the matter was taken to the Supreme Court over the head of the tribunal and was therefore not gazetted. As Karnataka is challenging the very foundation of the final order and seeking fresh adjudication, Kerala and Tamil Nadu under political pressure have also pressed their demands in the highest court of the land. Not surprisingly, the tribunal refused to hear applications relating to the final award on the grounds that the Supreme Court had admitted special-leave petitions against it. By any estimation, the awards of 1991 and 2007 were just, equitable, and viable instruments. Both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are paying a heavy economic price: “in the absence of a settlement, the former’s massive scheme for the modernization of the Cauvery delta zone is on hold and the latter’s plans for new check dams along the river cannot go ahead. If the dispute is not to drag on for another decade, the Supreme Court must dispose of these petitions efficiently—and allow the Tribunal to be the final adjudicator, as envisaged in the Inter-State Water Disputes Act” (Hindu, 2010). The tribunal was also less than clear about the crucial question of sharing in times of distress, when the real problems surface. “It would have helped if the Tribunal had clarified exact manner of sharing the distress in each month of the year. The award does not consider the consumptive use of surface and ground water. Karnataka has less ground water availability than Tamilnadu.” (Thakkar, 2007) The conflict relates to Karnataka, an upstream state with a long history of irrigation development, and Tamil Nadu, a downstream state with a history of irrigated agriculture substantially supplied by Cauvery waters. Karnataka feels that being a late starter in using Cauvery waters for agricultural and other development purposes should not be denied its rightful share. A fair resolution to the dispute would have been to provide for the legitimate interests of all four states involved. However, what has actually occurred is the politicization of this issue in both states, assuming a dimension in state electoral politics. People hold the view that a party is weak if it cannot champion the interests of the state. Popular political frenzy led to tragic violence and further intensified strain in the relationship between Tamils and Kannadigas, adding to divisiveness and strife in the country. The situation is still unstable, and violence can erupt repeatedly any time. The political leadership of the two states need to rise above parochial

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and narrow partisan considerations so as to avoid the nightmarish violence of 1991, which affected the social harmony of the entire nation. Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu need to recognize riparian rights and resolve the issue with flexibility, accommodation, and goodwill rather than remain under the shadows of fear and violence. In addition to these major interstate river water disputes, India has also faced minor interstate disputes such as the disputes over the sharing of waters by the riparian states of the Yamuna River, mainly Delhi and Haryana. Delhi accuses Haryana of not releasing enough water for drinking purposes of the capital. This dispute led to the formation of the Upper Yamuna River Board for regulating the flow of the Yamuna and help in execution of the Renuka Dam and Kisan Dam projects. The list of disputes and discords extends to states vying for the river waters in Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the Bhavani River or Orissa and Chhattisgarh over the Indravati, all experiencing contention over lack of availability of the promised share of their riparian rights.

Constitutional and institutional provisions in interstate river water disputes India being a quasi-federal state in practice delegates water management and decision making to the states. Since most rivers in India navigate through different states, the Interstate River Water Disputes Act of 1956 (ISRWD Act) (discussed in Chapter 6) was passed by the parliament of India under Article 262 of the Constitution of India. This act (ISRWD Act, 1956) was passed to resolve the upsurge in water disputes arising among two or more state governments. It adjudicates disputes between river-basin states, especially if they are unable to reach amicable agreements to share river waters and helps in the dispute resolution process through a formal tribunal. This act has been further amended in 2002 and applies to only interstate rivers and river valleys. The central government receives a request under section 3 of the act from any aggrieved state of the basin involved in water sharing and dispute. “In accordance with the said Act, the Central Government is required to refer a dispute to a Tribunal after it is satisfied that the dispute cannot be settled through negotiations. Accordingly, the water disputes, related to Cauvery and Krishna were referred to the Tribunals for adjudication in 1990 and 2004 respectively” (GOI, 2011). As the earlier cases demonstrate, the tribunals have not been very successful in solving all disputes, because the disputes are not just about water; rather, they are serious political questions that create binaries of Us versus Them and get entangled in state and electoral politics. A tribunal’s decision is considered equivalent to Supreme Court decision and should be

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binding upon states for implementation. But in practice, most states have challenged the verdicts of the ISRWD tribunal in the Supreme Court. Often there is a delay of several years, which creates more insecurity for people whose lives and livelihoods depend on water. Competing water demands, combined with an increase in population, often lead to political challenges and mobilization over uneven water distributions. Most scholars argue that mechanisms for resolving interstate disputes are inadequate and ambiguous. Richards and Singh (2002) state that “ … the process of resolving inter-state water disputes, and of allocating water more generally, has been made inefficient by being entangled in more general political conflicts, conducted within the current structure of Indian federalism”(622). In other instances, the center has largely abdicated its powers under Entry 56, List 1, which states that “regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.” Even in cases when states refuse to comply with tribunal awards, however, the center has been unable to take any sanctions or punitive action against violators (Iyer, 2002). Further, in the Ravi–Beas dispute, Iyer argues that it has been clear from the start that what we are witnessing in Punjab is as much a political game as a water dispute (2004: 3435). Institutional mechanisms are not in place and the absence of enforcing legal instruments adds to the woes of the conflicting states. As human and climatic factors outweigh water availability and access, the potential for conflicts also rises. The New National Water Law draft bill of 2013, which recognizes the increasing competition in the distribution of water among states, recommends a series of measures and institutional arrangements at all levels within the state and beyond, up to an interstate basin level, in order to obviate and resolve emerging differences through negotiations, conciliation or mediation, or other such means, at the earliest stages and before the differences become acute, so as to avoid recourse to adjudication as far as possible. The state governments in the dispute shall lay down principles for allocation of water resources for amicable resolution of differences and disputes. Data of all kinds with the exception of classified data shall be freely shared by the concerned States and put in the public domain (Alagh Committee, 2013: 40). A draft River Basin Management Bill has also been proposed to amend the defunct River Boards Act of 1956, which never became operational. This bill aims at integrated planning, development, and management of water resources at a basin level. A two-tier structure for a River Basin Authority has been proposed in the bill that comprises apolitical Governing Council and

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an official-level Executive Board. The council will make river master plans and will also enable states to resolve disputes for implementing the plans. Should dispute resolution fail, the states will turn to the ISRWD Act of 1956 for adjudication. “The bill proposes river basin authorities for 12 basins including Brahmani-Baitarni, Cauvery, Ganga, Godavari, Indus, Krishna, Mahanadi, Mahi, Narmada, Pennar, Subarnarekha, and Tapi” (Parsai, 2013: NA). Guidelines are also being created for sharing and distributing interstate waters on the principle of equity. States are moving forward to discuss these documents to evolve comprehensive plans to resolve present and potential water challenges, which will increase with the driving factors discussed in Part II of this book.

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CHAPTER NINE

Water security in India’s neighborhood: Reconciling human development and national security In the region that hosts nearly a quarter of the world’s population and nearly half of the world’s poor, the human security paradigm becomes critical to human development, secured food security, employment, and environmental security. Naturally then, the concept of human security becomes more relevant to the situation in the region in terms of ensuring against threats to life, health, human dignity, and personal safety. Historically, the region has been volatile due to the rivalry between India and Pakistan, and the Indiacentric domain with its smaller neighbors has its own complications. The volatility of the region due to its historical past also translates into water sharing in the Himalayan region as a national security concern. Under the circumstances, the ecological threats to the physical security of the region also have transnational implications. While the potential for such threats is episodic, their gravity in the context of resource depletion, quality of life, sharing of river waters, consequences of acid rain, overfishing, and so on have the potential to affect the security and tranquility within the country and in interstate relations. The ecology–security nexus redefines the security concerns of India and South Asia. On a national level, this linkage helps us appreciate how environmental scarcities, poverty, and civil strife weaken state legitimacy by diminishing the quality of life and limiting opportunities for livelihoods; on the regional level, it enhances our understanding of South Asia as an integrated ecosystem, fostering a basis for equity and sustainable development. The challenges to human development are common to the region, and this chapter attempts to reconcile the twin concerns of human development and national security and argues for creating a resource

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security community where the risk of common environmental harm will tend to outweigh other social and political tensions that have historically dominated the region. With the exception of Bhutan and Nepal, South Asia’s per capita water availability falls below the world average. Annual water availability has plummeted by nearly 70 percent since 1950, and from around 21,000 cubic meters in the 1960s to approximately 8,000 in 2005. If such patterns continue, the region could face “widespread water scarcity” (that is, per capita water availability under 1,000 cubic meters) by 2025. Furthermore, the United Nations, based on a variety of measures— including ecological insecurity, water management problems, and resource stress—characterizes two key water basins of South Asia (the Helmand and Indus) as “highly vulnerable.” (Kugelman, 2011) In recent years, moreover, evidence indicates that water security is becoming increasingly affected by erratic weather patterns. Thus, water security is becoming an increasingly important and challenging issue for South Asia. Several factors1 discussed below are the key drivers of water insecurity in the region.

Agriculture and irrigation factors South Asia is highly dependent on irrigation, as water is directly linked to crop yields and therefore to the production of food. The agricultural contribution to South Asian economy is about 18 percent (World Bank, 2013), and more than 50 percent of the population is employed in this sector (World Bank, 2013). In spite of the shift toward industrialization and urbanization, a large part of the rural communities in the region will remain dependent on agriculture. Increased production and food security are key drivers of poverty reduction in the region, which is highly dependent on the availability of freshwater and on the hydrological cycle (Jacoby et al., 2011). Irrigated land constitutes about 40 percent of cultivated land, and rain-fed crops constitute about 58 percent. Rice and wheat are the staple foods. There is a very large population in the Indo-Gangetic plain, comprising Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, spread over 13.5 mha. However, “declining productivity, ground water depletion, and declining water availability as well as increased pest incidence and salinity already threaten the sustainability and food security of the region” (Wassmann et al., 2009).

The chapter discusses the factors more in the context of India’s neighbors, as Indian drivers are already dealt in detail in Part II of the book.

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The Green Revolution resulted in increased crop yields but achieved these yields largely through extensive irrigation and with increased reliance on freshwater. Irrigation can be a powerful tool for expanding crop yields, but it can also be extremely dangerous if mismanaged. Mismanaging water resources can result in the erosion, waterlogging, and salinization of the soil, which makes it less productive. Poorly managed irrigation can also result in water pollution and waterborne diseases. Waterlogging and salinity exist at alarming levels in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In India, it is estimated that nearly 8.4 mha are affected by soil salinity and alkalinity, of which about 5.5 mha are waterlogged (Ritzema et al., 2007). Rapid increase of human activity on irrigated croplands, intensive use of agrochemicals, and poor infrastructure for drainage and water supply have impacted the availability of water and led farmers to abandon at least 10 mha of irrigated land (Razzaque, 2004: 9). In Pakistan, agriculturally inefficient irrigation uses up 97 percent of the country’s water resources to support one of the lowest conductivities in the world per unit of water (Kamal, 2009). Pakistan’s excessive cultivation of water-intensive cash crops like sugarcane has increased the stress on water. Thirty-eight percent of Pakistan’s irrigated lands are waterlogged, 14 percent are saline, and saline water has intruded into mined aquifers in Pakistan. Water tables have declined alarmingly in Baluchistan, as has sweetened water in the lower Indus basin. It seems an accepted fact that the Indus basin irrigation system, the only source of water in Pakistan, is vulnerable and alternative water resource development and management techniques must be explored (Kamal, 2009: 29). The strategy of putting dam structures when there is no water downstream creates water scarcity. Dams are losing their ability to supply water, as in the case of Tarbela Dam, which has lost 30 percent of its storage capacity since the late 1970s and now retains so little water that irrigation supplies are threatened. In Afghanistan, more than 80 percent of Afghans live in rural areas and rely on natural resources like land and water and subsistence agriculture for their daily survival. Despite Afghanistan’s more favorable position than its neighbors, Iran and Pakistan, it faces a clear shortage of water as a result of war-inflicted damage to 45 percent of irrigation structures and canals. Traditional system water losses are responsible for 40 percent of total water losses and attributable to poor management of resources (Qureshi, 2002). In Nepal too, the demand for irrigation water is increasing due to highyield varieties of rice, wheat, and water crops. This has led to increased water conflicts between farmers where an unreliable water supply due to excessive use of water in the head section of the irrigation canal has increased stress on availability of water users at the tail end of the irrigation system. Ninety-six percent of water consumption in Nepal is in the agricultural sector, but performance in the irrigation sector is disappointing. Irrigation is available to less than 20 percent of the 2.2 mha of land areas that can

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potentially be irrigated the year round (Shah and Singh, 2001; World Bank, 2004). Irrigation projects in Nepal have performed dismally relative to the resources poured into the sector. Irrigation systems in Nepal have become increasingly vulnerable due to higher sediment rates and frequent damage caused by flash floods. This has led to increased watershed degradation in the country, and decreasing access to water resources is negatively affecting crop production and productivity. Investment in drainage was widely neglected in the region. Even if such investments were made, there was a lack of follow-up maintenance, causing many drainage systems to be silted up. Experts estimate that only 30–40 percent of water from canals, dams, and rural tube wells actually reaches the fields. Crucial but entirely unglamorous, maintenance has to compete with spending on new irrigation projects. The breakdown of maintenance threatens the entire rural water program. By 2025, sectoral demands in irrigation will increase due to the increasing population of the region. More water storage projects will be needed for increased food grain production and more sustainable practices will be needed to have an integrated land and water management program.

Industrial factors Industrial use of water depends on the degree of industrialization of the country. In developing nations, the percentage of industrial use of water is 10–30 percent. Naturally, increased industrial activity can be expected to require more amount of water for such activities as boiling, air conditioning, cooling, processing, transportation, and energy production. South Asia has seen 5.6 percent industrial growth, which has quadrupled in the last 30 years due to a high demand of consumer products that require resourceintensive processes to transform raw materials into industrial products like steel, paper, and chemicals. This growth alone has contributed to 4 percent of the large-scale industrial pollution and 20 percent of the small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) pollution load (SESA, 2001). As a growing export market, South Asia has seen an increase in large-scale and small-scale industries in the region. Many of the bigger corporate firms in Europe contract out to the Indian corporations which further subcontract them to local small-scale industries that contribute 50 percent of the total industrial pollution. Compliance among the estimated 6 million small-scale industrial units in South Asian countries is extremely low in comparison to larger firms which possess sufficient capital and have incentives to promote greener technology and compliance (SESA, 2001). The majority of these units belongs to the “unorganized sector” and thus difficult to regulate. The pollution load of

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these sectors can be defined in terms of contamination of water resources, including pollution of groundwater. For example, India and Bangladesh’s textile dyeing industries create health hazards caused by dye effluents, which contain both chemical and organic pollutants. These can be highly toxic. Empirical evidence proves that the volume of such effluents from small-scale industries in the Third World often exceeds acceptable standards. This is also true in South Asian countries. Surveys in India reveal that rivers make up 80 percent of the total surface water and are home to about 85 percent of the population. Most of these rivers are dead or dying; they are so polluted—mainly in stretches near towns and industrial belts—that bacteria feeding on the waste are the only things that have proliferated, their counts anywhere between 20 and 1,000 times over safe levels (Jaiswal, 2009). In spite of a National River Conservation Authority, all 13 of the great river systems are endangered. They are fought over by states to provide water for crops and for teeming cities and industrial estates. This combination reduces the volume of water in many rivers so drastically that the Yamuna in Delhi and Agra is left with no original water but for the streams of urban and industrial wastewater that is pumped continuously into these glorified sewers (Asthana, 2005). According to the UNEP Report (2008) released on the state of the environment in South Asia, “The wastewater streams in the region contain suspended solids, oils, waste acids, chromium salts, phosphates, ammonia, cyanides, phenols, chlorides, fluorides, sulfides, and heavy metals. Contaminated gas water, quench water and condensate are in many cases being discharged without treatment.” These have grave implications for people drinking lead-, mercury-, and cadmium-contaminated water, which also enters the food chain through fish eaten by the population. Lead contamination in particular affects the health of both adults and children, causing problems in mental development, headaches, stomach problems, memory problems, anemia, miscarriages, and kidney diseases (SESA, 2001). Pakistan provides a good example of the sort of developing country in which human health is endangered by water pollution from industrial zones. Studies by Rehman et al. (2008) reveal concentrations of essential and toxic metals in the drained water of three main industrial estates of Pakistan in Peshawar, Gujranwala, and Haripur. The elevated concentrations of heavy metals continuously enter into the food chain through agriculture, leading to serious health hazards and a threat to the sustainability of local ecosystem. It is alarming that most industries have been started without proper planning, especially for waste treatment plants. Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi, and Sialkot contribute major pollution loads into their water bodies. The work of Aftab et al. (2000) concludes that industrial pollution is increasing rapidly and that health and productivity impacts are significant and worsening.

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In developed industrial nations, compliance with water pollution laws is emphasized in both letter and spirit. Preventing water pollution through pollution control laws is more economical than first making the dust and then saying the skies are murky. Unfortunately, pollution control compliance in the region is poor, and there are few incentives provided to industry to use water efficiently. As industrial growth becomes a priority of the states of the region, problems of water quality will continue to be aggravated by pollution.

Demographic factors Growing population coupled with wasteful consumption has led to a gradual decline in per-capita availability of water. However, population growth in the region is expected to keep on increasing. South Asia’s population is set to top 2 billion people by 2025 (GWP, 2013). The demographic pressure stresses water availability. As projected by the United Nations, 90 percent of population growth until 2050 is likely to take place in developing countries, and the demand for freshwater resources in these countries will make sustainable economic development increasingly difficult. The UN Report also predicts that India’s population will surpass China’s by 2050, and Pakistan will be the fourth most populous state in the world. The pressure on water is bound to increase as the per capita availability declines. In addition, inequalities in water distribution will lead to decreased access. This will have huge implications in terms of water security. While the World Bank Report (2012a,b) claims that “the improved water source (percent of population with access2) in South Asia was last reported at 90.05 in 2010,” only 36 percent of South Asians have access to sanitation. A WWF-Pakistan report concludes that municipal sewage is a major source of pollution. About 2 million wet tones of human excreta are annually produced in the urban sector of which around 50 percent go into water bodies to pollute them. The National Conservation Strategy (NCS) states that almost 40 percent of deaths are related to waterborne diseases. Domestic wastewater collects on the streets and in low-lying areas. The situation is further aggravated by the addition of untreated wastes from small-scale industries (Raza, 2009). Municipal sewage is a common concern that dominates the region. Access to an improved water source refers to the percentage of the population with reasonable access to an adequate amount of water from an improved source, such as a household connection, public standpipe, borehole, protected well or spring, and rainwater collection. Unimproved sources include vendors, tanker trucks, and unprotected wells and springs. Reasonable access is defined as the availability of at least 20 liters a person a day from a source within one kilometer of the dwelling (Trading Economics, 2013).

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Urbanization factors Urbanization is likely to be a defining process and characteristic of South Asia in the years to come and the process is already posing a serious challenge to the sustainability of water resources in the region. Predictions are that by 2025 forty percent of the region’s population will be living in urban centers. Very often, rural areas adjoining the cities serve as receptacles of urban waste, while providing the much needed land and water resources that sustain urban expansion. Cities in South Asia are exploiting the water resources of the rural hinterlands in their vicinity, leading to conflict and competing claims over the right to this resource. Increasingly, drinkingwater sources in the cities are drying up, and water is brought from far distances to quench the thirst of an ever-increasing urban population. In India, metropolitan cities like Shivaji Park, Mumbai; parts of the national capital of Delhi; and Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, are very deficient in domestic water supplies. Despite the claims that water will be provided two to three times a day for few hours, the fact is that taps run dry for days. People keep buckets below the open taps in hope that water will come, but often in vain. If this is the state of water supply in the metropolises, one can imagine what will be the situation in smaller townships and rural villages. In Pakistan, too, the situation is identical: in Karachi, the old water supply system cannot efficiently supply domestic water to the residents. Lahore is a city that relies exclusively on groundwater for drinking water needs, but as urbanization grows, water tables have fallen by roughly five feet over the last five years in several parts of the city and by 65 feet in others. According to reports, the water is highly contaminated and found to contain arsenic beyond permissible levels (Chaudhary and Chaudhary, 2009). In many areas, access is inequitable due to the purchasing power of the people. Rich households have privately installed groundwater pumps, while the urban poor, especially women and children, suffer most from the intermittent supplies. In most of South Asia, domestic sewage is the major source of pollution in surface water, which is the main source of waterborne diseases and depletion of oxygen in water bodies. In countries such as Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, pollution of rivers is more severe and critical near urban stretches due to discharge of huge amounts of pollution load by urban activities. The Bagmati, Bishnumati, and Manohar river systems in the Kathmandu valley (Upreti, 2007), the Yamuna River at Delhi, and peripheral rivers (mainly Buriganga River) of Dhaka suffer from severe pollution these days. Analysis reveals steady increase of pollution loads, nearly in step with the trend in urbanization. Unplanned urbanization and industrialization in these cities may be largely responsible for this grave situation. Inadequate sewerage, poor on-site sanitation, and lack of wastewater treatment

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facilities, on one hand, and lack of effective pollution control measures and their strict enforcement, on the other, are the major causes of rampant discharge of pollutants in the aquatic systems (Karn and Harada, 2001). The conservation as well as the purity of water is of considerable importance for ensuring water security. In urban water supplies too, 17–44 percent of water is wasted due to leakage in the mains and pipelines (Government of India, MOWR, 1999).

Climate change and water security A major threat to the region will be the impact of global climate change and rising sea levels. Changes in climatic patterns will be disastrous for arid and semiarid regions in India and Pakistan. Most countries of this region depend on monsoons for agricultural production, which is the source of livelihood for around 70 percent of the population in the region. Disruptions in climatic patterns are bound to create drought, floods, with negative effects on food security in the region; however, a World Bank Report (2013) mentions that the effects of such extreme events will be felt differently in different parts of the region. For example, half of the country in Bangladesh lies at elevations of less than 5 m. In the worst case scenario, a local 209-cm rise would put 18 percent of the habitable land under water. As a result, more than 17 million people would become environmental refugees. By the year 2100, the very worst scenario shows that 35 percent of the nation’s population—38 million people—will be forced to relocate (Gaan, 2002: 67). A 1989 study of rainfall variation estimates that there would be changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. In Bangladesh, the study shows that the annual frequency of heavy rainfall will follow an increasing trend in rainfall areas and a decreasing trend in relatively drier areas. It is also anticipated that the country’s vulnerability to climate change will force many people to migrate into other regions of South Asia or beyond (Huq et al., 1998). A report released by the World Bank in June 2013, “Turn down The Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience,” predicts: In South Asia, climate change shocks to food production and seasonal water availability appear likely to confront populations with on-going and multiple challenges to secure access to safe drinking water, sufficient water for irrigation and hydropower production, and adequate cooling capacity for thermal power production. Potential impact hotspots such as Bangladesh are projected to be confronted by increasing challenges from extreme river floods, more intense tropical cyclones, rising sea-level and very high temperature … . Sea-level rise is projected to be approximately

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100–115 cm in a 4°C world and 60–80 cm in a 2°C world by the end of the 21st century relative to 1986–2005, with the highest values expected for the Maldives. (World Bank, 2013: xxii) This will definitely destabilize the peace and tranquility of the region (Ahmad and Ahmed, 2000).

Floods Floods are a constant recurrence in mostly every season throughout South Asia, temporarily displacing large populations who have to survive in the unhealthiest environments. Annual floods occur in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan on a regular basis, leaving millions affected each year. Human-induced (anthropogenic) causes include deforestation, impeding of river flows, and other such activities. Governments have created embankments and dams, but they have become part of the problem rather than the solution. Flood control has not been a feasible proposition, and every year the region sees floods and destruction on a large scale. Security in this context would mean timely knowledge by government and individuals so that appropriate measures can be taken to minimize the impact (Iyer, 2002). Inter-country cooperation is essential for flood monitoring and water flows. However, sharing of hydrological data due to disputes over water use becomes a sensitive issue, and therefore information is either not received or received too late to prepare for an oncoming disaster. Efforts in this direction have been made in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Transboundary issues and water security The major source of tension over water in South Asia can be attributed to rapidly escalating multiple society needs in river basins shared by one or more basin states (Biswas, 1981) and the degree of cooperation or conflict arising out of the acts and omissions of the sharing states. Beyond doubt, hydropolitics between India and its neighboring riparian states is one of the most urgent, complex, and contentious issues facing the regional community in the twenty-first century. The prospect is not only limited to the traditional existing issues but also extends to more complicating issues needing resolution. To predict water wars in South Asia would be unrealistic, but there may be conflicts and confrontations as spillovers of water problems (Cohen, 1975). It is in this politico-economic and social backdrop that India looks for a meaningful, secure relationship with its riparian neighbors. Contentious

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domestic politics and volatile interstate relations have so far prevented the riparian states from achieving basinwide cooperation. The relations between small and weak riparian states and their powerful neighbor continue to be affected by suspicion, mistrust, envy, and domestic political concerns driven by the electoral politics of the respective states. There is a complex interaction between water issues and politics. The hydrology of a river basin links the riparian states sharing it in a complex network of environmental, economic, and politico-security interdependencies, and this network creates the potential for both cooperation and conflict in interstate relations. It is not always a case of conflict over water resources and worsening political relations: difficult political relations are often responsible for making water problems intractable as well. During every dry season, South Asian nations find themselves entangled in skirmishes over the distribution and supply of water, causing both governmental and intergovernmental tension. Questions involving water have contributed to confrontations and stress, whether bequeathed by the partition of British India in 1947 or the division of river waters among the Indian states. The role of water as a source of international tension or domestic conflict needs to be dealt with mainly in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Island countries like Sri Lanka and Mauritius are not linked to the water systems of the mainland. While China is physically separated from the Indian landmass by mountains and plateaus, the role of China cannot be obliterated while dealing with water security concerns of the country, especially in the northeastern region of India. The focus, however, in this chapter, is on the transboundary South Asian rivers—the Indus in the Western Himalayan river system, Bangladesh in the Eastern Himalayan river system—the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna (Barak) or GBM basin as it is commonly known—and Indo–Nepal waters (Figure 9.1). One cannot ignore the fact that the commonality of ecological systems forms the contours of a number of countries or even a region that needs to be dealt in an integrated manner rather than bounded into territorial space. Since environment does not follow the dictates of politically carved state borders, what one country does or does not do in the context of these common resources within its borders can have impacts beyond its borders. Both in the west and in the east in the erstwhile India, the river systems were divided following independence and the partition of 1947. This partition transformed these rivers, giving them a transnational character requiring inter-country goodwill, understanding, and agreements. The northern river systems assumed both the international and domestic dimension of conflicts, with more than one state actor contending with the problems of seasonal flows and global environmental change. In recent years, water scarcity and the conflict interconnection have aroused concern in India and the region. Since the government’s ability to provide and manage access to water is critical for ensuring political, economic, and social stability, the

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Figure 9.1  South Asia and India’s transboundary rivers http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/South_Asia_UN.png

danger posed by water scarcity and bad management practices triggers human insecurity that intensifies volatile situations among states in the region. Conflicts among riparian states seem to arise in the context of water development projects undertaken by states to supplement their water needs. Conflicts also arise due to the secondary effects of developments related to socioeconomic and equity-related issues and conflicts. There is a school of thought that argues that water conflict is neither strategically rational and economically viable nor hydrologically effective (Wolf, 2004). However, the arguments of rationality, effectiveness, and viability do not shape the behavior of politicians and the actions of major

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actors who are embedded instead in the rationality of political strategies and interests (Upreti, 2007). The Indian subcontinent represents water resources as a symbol of the political power that relative basin states can impose upon each other. Hence, the discourse and practices of states and their leaders have a substantial impact on the water politics of the region. Power relations constitute a key element in the hydro-conflicts of the region; they also shape human perceptions. With respect to India and its neighbors, the politics of the region also helps to shape the water relations of the region. Some of the major disputes that translate into national security concerns are discussed below.

India and Pakistan Indus water dispute between India and Pakistan The partition of India in August 1947 created one of the flashpoints in the relationships of two newly independent states, beginning a series of water disputes between India and Pakistan. Prior to the partition by the British, all the rivers of the Indus basin were flowing through the different provinces of undivided India, yet the utilization of its water resources was still not undisputed. The root cause was the apprehension of the Punjab and Sind provinces over the availability of adequate waters. Formerly, there was considerable irrigation facility in the undivided Punjab province based on waters of the Indus system. The partition of erstwhile Punjab and the large-scale movement of people made it imperative for the two countries to come to an understanding on water sharing. Due to the partition, the existing canal headworks of Upper Bari Doab and Sutlej Valley canals fell within the state of East Punjab in India, while the lands irrigated by their waters fell within West Punjab and Bahawalpur States in Pakistan. Therefore, it became necessary to facilitate irrigation development in the western part of Punjab that went to Pakistan. The Indus water system has six rivers: the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. Five of the six rivers have their sources in the upper reaches of India. The Indus originates in Tibet and is joined by the remaining five at Punjab in West Pakistan. The rivers are so interlinked with a series of canals that in case there is shortage of water in one, a main link canal can draw water from another. After partition in 1947, when the line dividing the former province of Punjab was drawn, it cut right across this system, with India controlling the headworks of the canal. The Suleman Ki Weir in Montgomery district belonged to India. The Ferozepur Weir on the Sutlej River is also on the border of the Indian territory. The headworks of the Upper Bari Doab canal that irrigates

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both Indian and Pakistani lands are also within India at Madhopur on the Ravi River (Khan, 1959). Such a scenario was an ideal theater for sparking water disputes. Accordingly, the dispute arose when India desired that government of Pakistan replace the supplies it was receiving from eastern rivers by building link canals from the western rivers. Pakistan disagreed, as it not only needed the water but also considered it their right as the lower riparian under international law. Negotiations began, and an agreement was reached. Firstly, an agreement was signed in May 1948 to tap alternative resources for waters of eastern rivers by Pakistan (Jha, 1982). Secondly, it was only at the insistence of Eugene Black, president of the World Bank, that a group of experts studied the Indus basin and submitted a plan in 1954. It was on September 19, 1960, at Rawalpindi, that the historic Indus Water Treaty was signed between the prime minister of India and the president of Pakistan. The Indus Water Treaty of 1960 between India and Pakistan is one of the few examples of successful resolution of a major dispute over an international river basin. The British colonial administration invested large sums between 1860 and 1947 to create the Indus basin irrigation system, one of the largest contiguous irrigation systems in the world, with a command area of about 20 mha and annual irrigation capacity of over 12 mha. However, a serious dispute over the shared water resources occurred in 1948, when India halted water supplies to some Pakistani canals at the start of the summer irrigation season (Pitman, 1998). When the agreement for allocation of water in the Indus basin system expired in 1947, India cut off water supplies to West Pakistan by diverting water from the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers in the Punjab, a border state between India and Pakistan (Bains, 1962). For five weeks 1.5 million acres of land in Pakistan received no water. This action on the part of India threatened Pakistan’s agricultural output during the cropgrowing spring season, when the water demand was high. This situation was described as devastating: No army with bombs and shell fire could devastate a land so thoroughly as Pakistan could be devastated by a simple expedient of India’s permanently shutting off the sources of water that keep the fields and people of Pakistan alive. (Lilienthal, 1951) Accordingly, water was transformed into a potent weapon in the hands of India to wreck disaster on Pakistan’s agriculture (Stephens, 1964). The dispute was eventually resolved through the World Bank intervention, and the Indus Water Treaty allowed exclusive rights to India over the waters of the eastern Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas rivers. The waters of the western rivers, the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, were assigned to Pakistan, except for limited, specified consumptive uses in Kashmir and permission for India to tap the

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hydropower of the Pakistani rivers before they reach Pakistan (with specific conditions to ensure that India could not manipulate the quantity or timing of flows into Pakistan). To a large extent, this treaty forestalled any major crisis, but it has been unable to stop tensions from brewing among these two states. India’s decision of constructing hydroelectric plants on the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum in Kashmir has put the treaty under unprecedented stress. Among the Indian states, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, and New Delhi are all highly dependent on the Beas, Sutlej, and Ravi for irrigation and power, and Pakistan is similarly dependent on the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. Certain restrictions were placed on India as the upper riparian over construction of water storage facilities in the rivers allocated to Pakistan. Restrictions were also imposed on the extension of irrigation development in India using the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. India also had to pay Pakistan a sum of approximately Rs.100 crores to help Pakistan develop its own indigenous system of irrigation works. Conflict resolution mechanisms were incorporated in the treaty, and if disputes arose, they were either to be resolved at the commission level or referred to the two governments. However, if this provision failed to reach an agreement, the treaty provided for an arbitration mechanism. This treaty has worked well in spite of a very volatile and insecure relationship between India and Pakistan. It even functioned well during the period of wars. Differences arise from time to time, but efforts are also made to resolve them cordially. The only major dispute that arose was regarding the Salal Hydroelectric Project in Jammu and Kashmir. This was referred to the governments by the commissioners of India and Pakistan and was solved after a lengthy and difficult negotiation. The three western rivers allotted to Pakistan are relatively unaffected by anthropogenic pollution upstream on the Indian side. The conflict in the difficult terrain of Kashmir and the ethnic issues has restricted population growth and industrial and urban expansion in the upper reaches of the Indus basin. Fortunately, there are no water quality issues yet, and within this format, water sharing has continued, unaffected by the political instability between the two countries. The major focus of the treaty is irrigation, so the treaty either overlooks or only marginally addresses sectors such as power generation and Kashmir (Paukert, 2002). India has honored the treaty in the turbulent periods of all the wars with Pakistan. Threatening millions of people and their livelihoods to gain strategic advantage in war did not constitute India’s neighborhood policy. India was also cautious not to anger the international community, bargaining for short-term gain in wars. However, as demands for water rise, controversies have arisen between India and Pakistan on waters of certain western rivers that India claims to have rights guaranteed under the Indus Water Treaty.

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Controversies in Tulbul, Baglihar, and Kishenganga projects A continuing water dispute between the two countries is the Tulbul Navigation Project. The proposed project is on the Wular Lake about 25 km north of Srinagar on the Jhelum in Kashmir (Hussain, 1998). Pakistan has objections to this project on the ground that it violates the Indus Water Treaty by creating storage on the main Jhelum River that has been allocated to Pakistan. The treaty permits building storage aggregating 3.6 MAF on the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. Out of the 3.6 MAF water storage capacities, 1.6 MAF is for hydropower, 0.75 MAF for flood moderation, and 1.25 MAF for nonconsumptive uses (MOWR, 1960). It also permits additional irrigation of 1.21 lakh ha, effective from the date of April 1, 1960. The dispute is over the proposed construction by India of the Tulbul Navigation Project, which Pakistan calls the Wular Barrage, on the Jhelum downstream from the Wular Lake. India wants to construct this barrage to control the flow of water in the Jhelum in the lean season, from October to February. During this time, the flow of water in the Jhelum is about 2,000 cubic feet per second, and its depth is about 2.5 feet. However, year-round navigability requires the flow and depth of water to be almost 4,000 cubic feet per second. The barrage would make the river navigable between Sopore and Baramula, but Pakistan objects to this for a reason to be explained in the following sections. Although work on the barrage started in 1984, India stopped work on it as a goodwill gesture after Pakistan protested in 1987. The contention of Pakistan is that building a barrage on the Jhelum at the mouth of Wular would amount to storage of water, which is in contravention of the Indus Water Treaty. According to the treaty, India was allowed the limited use of the western rivers for domestic and agricultural purposes, run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation, and any non-consumptive use that would not diminish the flow of water to Pakistan. India is also allowed limited storage of water of the western rivers—a general storage capacity of 3,00,000 acre feet on the various channels of the Jhelum (excluding Jhelum Main) and 10,000 acre feet on the Jhelum Main itself. The basic controversy is whether the barrage on the Wular is a storage work or whether it amounts to controlling the water for navigation, a permissible activity under the Indus Water Treaty. The Indian stance has been that this is an act neither of storage nor of impounding the water of the Jhelum, but merely an act of holding waters temporarily, retarding the rapid depletion of floodwaters, and thereby extending the period of navigation (Kulkarni, 2004). The volume of water flowing to Pakistan would remain undiminished. However, Pakistan contends otherwise and the dispute remains unresolved. The talks have been going on but have made no headway at the moment, as the creation of the

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barrage, according to Pakistan, will affect its downstream projects (Hussain, 1998). Until the resolution of the conflict, work on the Indian side remains at a standstill. The Baglihar Project was another cause of disagreement over dam construction. Pakistan conveyed its objection to the Indian government on building a dam on the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir, which would produce 450 MW of electricity for the people of the state. This according to India was guaranteed as the treaty contains provisions for India to establish run-of-the-river power projects with limited reservoir capacity and flow control needed for feasible power generation. The Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in the southern Doda district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. This project was conceived in 1992, and construction began in 1999. The design of the billion-dollar project was opposed by Pakistan, which felt that the gated spillways could allow India to manipulate the storage of the water to Pakistan’s disadvantage. According to the technical experts of Pakistan, the high storage capacity could deprive Pakistan of up to 8,000 cusecs of water per day (Dawn, 2003). After formal objection to the project, India allowed the Pakistani engineers to visit the site for inspection, but disagreement continued on the gated structure, and Pakistan feared vulnerability to this project. Consequently, Pakistan decided to invoke Article 9 (2) of the treaty, which provides for settling disputes through neutral experts or arbitration if the two Indus water commissioners cannot resolve the problem (Gupta, 2005: 13). The World Bank declared this problem a “difference” rather than a dispute. In 2005, the World Bank appointed Professor Raymond Lafitte, a Swiss civil engineer, to adjudicate the difference. In his final verdict, Lafitte declared that poundage capacity be reduced by 13.5 percent, height of dam structure be reduced by 1.5 m, and power intake tunnels be raised by 3 m, limiting some flow-control capabilities of the earlier design to which Pakistan had objected. However, he rejected Pakistani objections on height and submerged gated spillways, declaring them in conformity to the current engineering norms. Even though Pakistan was disappointed with the verdict, since both countries had earlier agreed to abide by the decision of the neutral expert, the matter was not moved forward. The first phase of the dam was completed in 2004 and on October 10, 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the 450 MW project to the nation. After the Tulbul Navigational Project and the Baglihar Hydroelectric Project, the Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project became the third most controversial project between India and Pakistan. The site of this storagecum-hydroelectric project is the Neelum River (called Kishenganga on the Indian side), a tributary of the Jhelum River, assigned to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. The Indian government informed the Pakistani side in 1994 about construction of this project, with an 880-feet

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high concrete dam with gated spillway and a storage capacity of about 0.18 MAF. The scheme envisages that the diverted waters of the Neelum into the Jhelum would produce 330 MW of power. The powerhouse will deliver water through a nullah into the Wular Lake. Pakistan objects to this project due to the adverse effects it will cause on its own hydroelectric project on the Neelum/Jhelum River in Azad Kashmir, projecting a shortfall of about 21 percent of Neelum flow, which will reduce power in the project by 9.25 percent (Yaqoob, 2004). Pakistan believes that because of this 100 km diversion of the Neelum River, Pakistan’s Neelum Valley will be water scarce and dry. After Pakistan’s objection to the design, India made some alterations in the project and awarded it to the National Hydroelectric Planning Corporation. India has been working toward completion of this project between 2014 and 2016. Pakistan, on the other hand, has taken the case to the UN International Court of Arbitration as discussions between the commissioners of India and Pakistan established under the Indus Water Commission failed. Pakistan hoped to get an interim order from the tribunal to stop the construction of the Kishenganga dam. However, in the hearing on the case in The Hague, the Pakistani lawyers did not press for a suspension when Indian lawyers objected to the process. Pakistan argued that such a diversion contravenes the Indus Water Treaty of (1960), which would compromise Pakistan’s rights over the river and reduce the flow of water into Pakistan significantly. The International Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled in favor of India’s position on the diversion of the Kishenganga water, setting aside objections by Pakistan that has halted work on the 330 MW Kishenganga hydel project in Jammu and Kashmir (Tiwari, 2013). In the final award of the 330-MW Kishenganga project, the Hague Court of Arbitration ruled that Pakistan will now receive the minimum flow of 9 cubic meters per second (cumecs) into the Neelum/Kishenganga River below the Kishenganga Hydroelectric Plant (Khep) at all times. India has got access to at least half of the average flow at the site of Khep from December to February while Pakistan will get half the water of the dam during the driest months of the year. The court ruled that India could not take water to a very low level in the dam. The decision of minimum flow downstream had been pending since February 2013 when the court had granted India permission to construct the dam but asked it to redesign the dam due to drawdown sediment flushing below the dead storage level of the dam, which according to the court would have violated the terms of the Indus Water Treaty (The Nation, 2014). Indian analysts contend that going by the principle of equitable sharing, India received a smaller share of water supplies but retained control of the several key Indus tributaries. Legislators in Indian-administered Kashmir passed a resolution demanding that the treaty be scrapped. Kashmiris believe that the treaty has been a sellout, as the state’s hydroelectric potential of 15,000 MW could not be developed. In spite of this potential, 80 percent

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of the power in the state comes from outside (Noorani, 2002). This has an impact on industrialization, improved irrigation facilities for agricultural growth, and employment opportunities that would have arisen out of these endeavors. The opportunity to develop the Jhelum and Chenab would provide gains not only to Jammu and Kashmir but also to the neighboring states of Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana. However, the government of India categorically states that the treaty would not be abrogated and refuses to bow down to the demand of hardliners to revoke the accord (The Times, May 30, 2002). Meetings of the Indus commission have continued as usual in spite of the high level of tension that occurs in India–Pakistan relations over time. Analysts, however, point out that the population of India can be expected to rise from 1 billion to 1.3 billion by 2025 and 1.5 billion by 2050; and that of Pakistan from 140 million to 270 million and 357 million respectively. With future food shortages resulting from this burgeoning populace, claims could arise on either side for more water (Klare, 2001). Such a situation could create pressures that may have disastrous consequences to Pakistani Punjab. Kashmir as such is a matter of life and death for Pakistan. Should the rivers that flow into Pakistan lose their flow due to natural reasons, the water treaty with India might come under stress. Sindh nationalists accuse Punjab of compromising their needs by agreeing to the Indus Water Treaty, which ignored their needs from the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. Kashmiris also accuse India of ignoring their needs and excluding them from the consultation process. Abrogation or suspension of the treaty does not seem a probability and would amount to a breach of the treaty provisions that stipulates, “This treaty or provisions of this treaty as modified by such a duly ratified treaty shall continue in force until terminated by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purposes between the two governments” (Indus Water Treaty (1960): 12(4) as cited in MOWR, NA). The concept of water wars seems improbable, as even if India decided to abrogate the treaty, it would take the country more than a decade and significant finances to build an infrastructure to hold the water flow. India also recognizes that the vital irrigation needs of Pakistan depend on the rivers that flow from Kashmir, and any attempt to interfere with the flow would amount to abrogation of the provisions of the treaty. A coordinated utilization approach to the Indus River system is essential to ensure that both countries benefit from the Indus basin arrangements.

Sir Creek issue Sir Creek is a tidal channel along the Gujarat–Sind coast along which the boundary between India and Pakistan has not been demarcated. There are

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two issues involved in the dispute: the delimitation of the boundary along the creek and the demarcation of the maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea. Due to the continuing Sir Creek boundary dispute, neither India nor Pakistan can submit their claims under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the limits of their respective continental shelves. Without the maritime boundary demarcation between them, neither country can exploit the resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone (200 nautical miles) or its continental shelf (up to 350 nautical miles) in an area that could have subsea oil and gas deposits. The Sir Creek dispute between India and Pakistan is a leftover problem of the boundary demarcation in the Rann of Kutch, an exercise that was carried out in 1968 by the India–Pakistan Western Boundary Case Tribunal. This tribunal only helped demarcate the boundary to the east and northeast of Sir Creek over which armed clashes had taken place between the two countries in 1965. It was chaired by a Swedish judge, Gunnar Lagergren, and included two other judges, Ales Bebler of Yugoslavia (Indian nominee) and Nasrollh Entezam of Iran (Pakistan’s nominee). The central point of the tribunal’s award was that it rejected Pakistan’s claim that the border between Gujarat in India and Sind in Pakistan should run roughly along the 24th parallel, beginning at the head of the Sir Creek and moving eastward from there. This would have involved dividing the Rann in the middle and consequently transferring about 3,500 square miles of territory from India to Pakistan. However, the tribunal upheld India’s claim that the line from the head of Sir Creek went a short distance eastwards and then turned sharply northwards at a right angle, and then the border ran along the northern edge of the Rann. This northern edge had also formed the boundary between the British Indian state of Sind and Kutch state before 1947. The Indian contention was broadly upheld by the tribunal and only about 300 square miles of territory was awarded to Pakistan. The award of the tribunal was accepted by both countries. This left the boundary from the head of Sir Creek to its mouth in the Arabian Sea and the maritime boundary between India and Pakistan undemarcated. There have been several rounds of India–Pakistan talks on demarcating the border along Sir Creek, but to no avail. Pakistan believes that the boundary must lie along the eastern edge of the creek. India believes the boundary should be fixed along the middle. Pakistan wants the Sir Creek boundary to be demarcated first and only then should the maritime boundary be delimited. India’s primary concern is the maritime boundary. In demarcating the maritime boundary, Pakistan wants to follow the principle of “equity” (i.e. it must get as much maritime zone as India along this border). India does not accept this principle; the methods India has proposed for determining the maritime boundary is to use a seaward approach (median/ equidistant line method) without any reliance on a baseline point on land. Using the Indian approach, the land boundary along Sir Creek can be left to be negotiated later while agreeing on the maritime boundary to the extent

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possible in the short run. The problem is that Sir Creek is not so much a flowing creek but a shifting tidal channel. Its position keeps shifting over time. Therefore, it becomes difficult to define the exact position of Sir Creek or the boundary on a map. Both India and Pakistan refer to a map attached to a 1914 resolution of the government of Bombay. This resolution recorded a boundary dispute over an adjoining creek called Kori Creek between Sind and Kutch. The map shows the boundary between Sind and Kutch running along the eastern edge of Sir Creek. Veteran lawyer and analyst A.G. Noorani’s research shows that Pakistan itself had admitted in 1958 that “this map was intended to be more than an annexure to the Bombay Government resolution,” and from this he concludes that “Pakistan was right. It is the resolution not the attached map that is decisive.” The significance of this lies in a letter from the Bombay government referred to in the resolution, which in turn refers to the commissioner for Sind, writing “that the Sir Creek changes its course from time to time and the western boundaries of the area, which it is proposed to surrender to the Rann of Kutch should, therefore, be described as the center of the navigable channel of the Sir Creek” (Bhushan, 2005). This supports the principle of demarcation that India has proposed. This would also be in consonance with the international principle of thalweg (thal—valley; weg—way), the line connecting the deepest points along a river channel or the lowest points along a valley floor. Sir Creek channel does not flow as shown in the 1914 map today. It has shifted westwards. However, the head of the creek as it existed then is marked by a boundary pillar, called the Western Terminal. It is from this point that some 38 pillars marked the boundary going eastwards. Pakistan does not recognize the existence of the Western Terminal. Pakistan wants to demarcate the Sir Creek boundary on a historical basis. India is ready to go by the 1914 map and demarcate the boundary following the middle of the channels, as it existed then. By extending this line further to the last point on land, a baseline point could be defined to determine the maritime boundary. Pakistan, meanwhile, has defined a baseline point by extending the boundary, as it sees it, along the eastern edge of the creek on the 1914 map. This point, notified by Pakistan in 1996, lies eastwards of the creek on an Indian lowtide elevation (a landmass that keeps appearing and disappearing depending on the tidal conditions). This is not acceptable to India. Differences persisted between India and Pakistan on the demarcation of the boundary in Sir Creek, and Pakistan proposed international arbitration that India rejected outright. Both countries were close to a resolution when they exchanged hydrographic maps and converged on points of commonality. However, the Mumbai attacks of November 2008 froze the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries. Although the disputed area constitutes only 6–7 km2, it includes 250 square miles of ocean and ocean floor area that could be

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mined by countries for oil and natural gas under the Exclusive Economic Zone for mutual benefit. The problem of Sir Creek is therefore not just about land area but also about resources undersea. The deadline set by the UN passed without resolution of the issue, but there is hope for cooperative studies and management with the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan recently (Times of India, February 10, 2011). Of late, there have been reports that the problem has been resolved technically, but there needs to be a political will to implement it (India Today, 2013). Relations between Pakistan and India have always been sensitive due to historical and geopolitical factors, but there have been no serious problems on the existing water agreements. As pressure over water increases in future, probabilities of tension will also increase between these two neighboring states.

India and Bangladesh Bangladesh has been called “a land of rivers,” with about 250 rivers of various lengths forming a network along three major rivers: 1 The Ganges 2 Padma, Brahmaputra–Jamuna 3 The Meghna

Fifty-four of these rivers and streams cross the Indo-Bangladesh border, and questions of water sharing can arise on any of them. Bangladesh can ironically be called “a land of plenty,” yet of scarcity, because of the total volume of water entering Bangladesh, only 12 percent is used for agriculture, and the rest flows into the sea. With multifarious demands of agriculture, navigation, industrialization, and fisheries, and with inland penetration of seawater into rivers, which have a very low flow during November– March, the availability of water causes serious problems. A major dispute over the Ganga waters that continued for two decades was seen in the eyes of Bangladesh as “unilateral withdrawal by a big and powerful neighbor disregarding the legitimate interests of a smaller neighbor.” Whether there was drought or flood, responsibility was laid on India. A study of the nature and substance of the dispute becomes essential in the context of potential water-sharing disputes that may occur due to the large number of rivers flowing through the two borders. The Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna river system, known as the GBM basin, lies in a number of countries in South Asia and China. China contributes solely to the flow of Brahmaputra, and Nepal to the flow of the Ganges. Both China and Nepal are upper-riparian states. Since the potential

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contribution of the tributaries to the GBM system is not fully realized in China and Nepal, there are no contentious issues with their lower riparian, India. As of now the remaining two countries, India and Bangladesh, depend heavily on this water system. The dwindling of the supplies in the dry season has been a very contentious issue between India and Bangladesh. The situation is assessed as critical because Bangladesh depends on about 80 percent of the annual freshwater supply coming through transboundary rivers.

Farakka Barrage The most prolonged problem of sharing of Ganga waters in its lean season between India and Pakistan (before 1971) and India and Bangladesh after its liberation remained the cause of disagreement. The problem arose due to the construction of a barrage by India, the upper riparian, across the Ganges at a place named Farakka in West Bengal about 17 km upstream from the western borders of Bangladesh and India (Lok Sabha Debates, 1973, 1974). The barrage was designed to improve the navigability of the Calcutta port by supplying sufficient water, during the lean months into the Bhagirathi–Hooghly River, to flush out the silt (India, 1970). The purpose was to augment the water quantum in the river by diverting a certain portion of the Ganga dry-season flow. Besides improving navigation and arresting the deterioration that threatened the existence of the port, this measure would even reduce flood hazards in the catchments area of the river (Ministry of External Affairs, 1961). While Bangladesh was still part of East Pakistan, the chance of a compromise on this problem was very remote. Despite India’s repeated assurances that the barrage would not disturb the irrigation schemes, as conditions there called for drainage of excess water served by Brahmaputra throughout the year and flood control, the Indian government could not convince the government of Pakistan of its noble intentions. Pakistan conducted abortive negotiations with India from 1951 to 1970, and on the emergence of Bangladesh, it was felt that the problem could be resolved in view of the amicable relations between Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and the positive role played by India in the independence of Bangladesh. Bangladesh began negotiations with India, seeking an early solution to the dispute. Bilateral consultations resulted in the creation of a Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) during Indira Gandhi’s visit to Dhaka in 1972. The JRC was to formulate detailed proposals on advance flood warnings, study of flood control, irrigation projects on the major river systems shared by both countries, and equitable utilization of water resources to the mutual benefit of the two countries (Asthana, 1999). An interim accord was signed in 1975, but Bangladesh started accusing India of unilateral withdrawal of waters after

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the expiration of the 1975 agreement without the consent or consultation of Bangladesh, thus leading to a chain of adverse reactions in Bangladesh. Bangladesh lodged a formal protest with India on January 15, 1976, against the operation of the barrage. Leaving aside a bilateral solution, it even raised the issue at international forums like the Islamic Foreign Ministers Conference in Islamabad in May 1976 and at the Nonaligned Summit in Colombo in August 1976. The Janata Dal interregnum government found a short-term solution. Data collected over a period indicated that the leanseason flow of Ganga was as low as around 55,000 cusecs at Farakka. Experts believe that the minimum needed to keep the Ganga port navigable in the lean season of April–May is 40,000 cusecs. The remaining 15,000 cusecs would be more than what Bangladesh would need in the leanest phase. Yet Morarji Desai, the prime minister of India, agreed on November 5, 1977, to a much smaller share of the Ganga waters to flush the Hooghly, giving Bangladesh a much larger quantity than the lean-season flows of the Ganga justified. The leaders and officials of the Congress government that came to power in 1980 were critical of the Janata Dal government agreement and considered it detrimental to the interests of the Calcutta port. They initiated fresh attempts to achieve a permanent solution when both governments decided to terminate the 1977 accord. The new sharing arrangements agreed upon were to be in force for the next two dry seasons of 1983 and 1984. The discharge agreed for the first 10 days of January was 40,000 cusecs for India and 50,000 cusecs for Bangladesh. The quantum would be reduced progressively with the advance of the dry season until the ten days of April, when the respective shares for the two countries would be 20,500 cusecs and 34,500 cusecs. By setting a time limit, the governments intended to convey their serious intentions to carefully consider each other’s proposals and reach a final solution. The JRC met frequently, but in spite of intensive efforts to work out a comprehensive solution on the question of augmentation of the dry-season flows of Ganga at Farakka, it eluded the solution and the problem persisted (Asthana, 1999). Efforts to solve the Farakka problem were also made at secretary-level talks in October 1991 in New Delhi and February 1992 at Dhaka, but the actual solution to the problem came with the signing of the historic treaty on December 12, 1996, when the prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Haseena, came on an official visit to India. The period of the treaty is 30 years and will be reviewed after every 5 years.

Indo-Bangladesh Treaty, 1996 According to the provisions of the treaty, if the water level in the river is 70,000 cusecs or less, from January 1 to May 10 each year, both states will

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get 50 percent of the total water available. If water is between 70,000 cusecs and 75,000 cusecs, then Bangladesh will get 35,000 cusecs of water, and the rest will go to India. If the water available is more than 75,000 cusecs, then 40,000 cusecs water will go to India and the rest will be diverted to Bangladesh. This way both nations will benefit during lean periods of water. Both nations will also make efforts to increase the volume of water. The treaty also mentions inclusion of northern and northeastern states like Bhutan and Nepal to increase the volume of river water. The treaty also specifies that between March 1 and May 10, both nations will be using at least 35,000 cusecs of water every day. The treaty is implemented under a joint committee, and in case of any differences, the solution will not be sought from the joint committee, but from the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission. While the issue stands resolved in the absence of any further differences between the two countries, it cannot be considered to have entirely disappeared.

Opposition to the treaty The Indo-Bangladesh Treaty has drawn considerable opposition from different quarters, especially from Bihar in India. Bihar utilizes a large amount of water from upstream Ganga for irrigation purposes, and its objection is that the allocation of waters to Bangladesh as masterminded by the then West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu adversely affects irrigation development in the state. Added to this was the categorical assurance by the Gowda government of India to the chief minister of West Bengal that clearance to any future irrigation project in the Ganga basin would be given only after consideration of lean-season requirements at Farakka. This meant curtailing any further utilization of the Ganga by the riparian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This problem of upstream use leading to a lower quantum of water for Farakka has remained unresolved. There are plans to augment supplies to Farakka by building a 141-km long canal from the Sankosh River in Bhutan across the northern part of West Bengal into the Teesta River. The proposed canal project has been criticized severely on environmental grounds.

Bangladesh’s position The treaty ran into rough weather in the lean season of 1997 due to low flows in the first lean season. Low flows are normal hydrological phenomena. Issues connected with the shortfall of water flows, discrepancy between releases at Farakka, arrivals at Harding Bridge, and the Gorai River problem were seen by the people of Bangladesh as deliberate on the part of India.

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Bangladesh alleges that the withdrawal of 1,133 cubic meters of water per second at Farakka has endangered the entire ecosystem of Ganga-dependent Bangladesh, especially during the dry season. Estimates of Bangladesh show that the average discharge of the Ganges in April (lean season) in the Harding Bridge area decreased from 1987 m3 per second in the pre-Farakka period to 1,044 m3 in the post-Farakka period (Mirza, 1998). Because of the decreased flow, many of the tributaries of the Ganga have died, and the Gorai has choked due to changes in sedimentation patterns. Salinity is a result of this diversion as it has penetrated inland through surface water systems. The agro-ecological changes have been immense in the area. Fisheries play an important role in nutrition, income, employment and poverty alleviation, and foreign exchange earnings (Majid and Alam, 1998). Fish production has declined in the entire southwestern region due to shrinkage of surface water systems (Rahman et al., 2003). Reduced flow of the Ganga, according to Bangladesh, has affected agriculture, fisheries, and navigation. Water for irrigation is not available to the adjoining districts of Bangladesh-Kushtia, Jessore, Pabna, and Faridpur. Critics in Bangladesh allege that the agreement has not worked and is not adequate to deal with drought situations in the country. The seasonality of water and the secrecy of information sharing is another aspect of tension between the two countries. Since all information regarding flow and water utilization is classified, the precise impact of the Farakka Barrage remains unknown. This situation is compounded by the lack of trust between the two countries. Due to lack of flushing of the Ganga and Gorai, the worst impact has been witnessed on the mangrove forests in Sunderbans. It is reported that Sunderbans lost the high-value timber-producing species Sundri, which replaced low-value shrubs. Potkin (1987) reported that the ecosystem of the region suffered greatly due to upstream diversion of the Ganges. A very conservative estimate of the timber lost because of the Farakka dam project is 320 million US dollars (Swain, 1996). These forests also provided livelihood security to about 3 million people. Bangladesh believes that diversions by India from the Teesta and the Mahanada rivers have also affected the ecosystem and livelihoods of many people. Illish (Hilsa) is the most important fish species for Bangladesh, found abundantly in the Ganges and the Meghna rivers. The annual production of this fish has declined, and its market price hiked to the extent that middle-class populations are unable to afford it. While part of the reduction can be attributed to juvenile catches, many experts argue that increased sedimentation has blocked the communication channels of the fish to enter inland waters from the Bay of Bengal. The two countries have been trying to negotiate a deal for over 3,000 cusecs of water per day during the lean season to Bangladesh, but the negotiations have not made any headway. Iyer (2003) states that although Bangladesh is a water-abundant state, the seasonal shortages create a sense of insecurity in the country. Compounded by the size and population of

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India, the upper riparian, the situation has the potential to cause insecurity and friction between the two countries. In spite of these differences between the two countries, the IndoBangladesh Treaty has been working as an example of cooperation. Here, it is imperative to mention India’s position with respect to the treaty. The treaty is based on the recognition of Bangladesh’s rights as a lower riparian (Iyer, 2002). Not only has India bound itself to a sharing formula, but it has also undertaken to protect the flows arriving at Farakka and is bound by its commitment to release the quantum of water specified in the treaty even in a distress year. The sharing formula operates even under those circumstances. When the flow falls below a certain level, the two countries have to hold consultations on an emergency basis so that the treaty rights of Bangladesh are in no way abridged. Thus, while water-related problems are perpetual between the two riparian states, cooperation exists in the appropriation of the Ganges waters. Certain other issues that the treaty needs to address are, for example, pollution, additional barrages, link canals, and storage to augment and regulate seasonal flows. Suspicions and allegations of India’s secret withdrawal of the Ganga water upstream during dry season continue to fuel criticism of the treaty (Asia Society, 2009).

Teesta River cooperation India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers and some of the rivers like Muhuri, Dharia, Gumti, Manu, and Dudhkumar still need some agreement over these waters. The Teesta is a river that is important to both West Bengal and Bangladesh for irrigation. Efforts for cooperation in regard to other rivers like the Teesta in West Bengal and Bangladesh are very important both for agriculture and food security of Bangladesh. The Teesta is also significant for irrigation of rice crops in Rangpur and hydropower generation in West Bengal. In 1983, an ad hoc water-sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh allocated 39 and 36 percent of the water flow respectively. Bangladesh, on the other hand, proposes to share water with India near the Indian barrage at Gozaldoba on 50:50 basis. The new bilateral treaty proposed in 2012 expands upon this agreement by proposing an equal allocation of the Teesta River. Since water is a state subject, the government of India could not take a decision due to opposition from the state of West Bengal on this issue. However, for the first time in the JRC meetings in 2010, Bangladesh and India have made efforts to cooperate (Malhotra, 2010; Times of India, 2010). Teesta is a highly passionate issue between these two countries, and both need to develop a strategy to allow equitable sharing of water, thereby reducing challenges to food production and livelihood.

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Tipaimukh Dam project Assam’s Barak Valley Dam Multi-Purpose Project, funded by Japan’s Overseas Economic Corporation Fund (OECF), created a new conflict between India and Bangladesh. India plans to build a dam on the Barak River. Bangladesh alleges that the dam would reduce the Sylhet region of Bangladesh to a sandy waste. The dam would affect the quantity of water coming into Bangladesh, and this would adversely affect fishing, ecology, irrigation, agriculture, drinking-water supplies, navigation, biodiversity, and wild life in northeastern Bangladesh. The Surma and Kushiara rivers will dry up, choking the northeastern region of Bangladesh and affecting the lives and livelihood of people living there. The Jamat-e-Islami and many other nongovernmental organizations have made efforts to mobilize international support to pressure the Indian government to stop the construction of the dam. In response to the reaction of the Bangladesh government and public, the OECF may stop funding the project. The communities of Manipur in India also oppose the project because they believe it might cause 31 tribal villages in its Charachandpur district to be submerged, affecting 1,310 families. The dam is also opposed as it will be located in an ecologically sensitive seismic zone. On the other hand, some on the Indian side hold Bangladesh’s objections as groundless and point out that the dam would enhance lean-season flow and avoid recurrent floods. On the Tipaimukh Dam Project, the Indian side reiterated its commitment to refrain from any steps that would adversely affect Bangladesh. It also gave assurances that it would not make any unilateral decisions on its river-linking project (JRC, 2010), but Bangladesh currently remains unconvinced. However, the project is further delayed as both governments in India and Bangladesh decided to take up additional studies about the impacts and mitigating measures. Additionally, the Ministry of Environment and Forests panel rejected the Dibang Tipaimukh hydel project on the basis of loss of large tracts of forest land that would be submerged (Juneja, 2013).

Territorial disputes due to the shifting of river courses The Muhuri River is one of the transborder rivers of India and Bangladesh. The Muhuri River rises in the eastern Indian State Tripura and enters into the Feni district of Bangladesh before falling into the sea. The river is the international boundary between India and Bangladesh. The Muhuri River flows from Belonia subdivision into Bangladesh and the sar that had formed in the river in the late 1960s continues to be a disputed area because both the countries have been claiming their right over it. The problem arose when some strips of land called the Char or river islands started to emerge from the river beds in the years 1956, 1960, 1961, and

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1966 due to the silting, shifting, and erosion of the rivers lower course. When the formation of this land became complete the total area was 62.27 acres. This area, called the char land, was very fertile, which allowed the Indian farmers to use this area for farming. Of this total stretch, 44.87 acres fell on the Indian side while the remaining 17.4 acres was under cultivation by Bangladesh nationals. The problems arose when every time Indian peasants wanted to cultivate the area on the Indian strip, the Bangladesh Rifles, now known as Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB), prevented them from doing so by firing on these farmers. The BGB claim a very different size of the area and thus conflict has become a continuous problem in the area. A number of shooting incidents from the Bangladesh border occurred in the post-Mujib period since 1975. On April 20, 1976, the government of India lodged a protest against “unprovoked shooting” on the Border Security Force (BSF) accompanying its Director-General Ashwini Kumar. On April 21, 1976, India sent another protest note to the Bangladesh government following a border incident in the Garo Hills area. This incident occurred in the first week of November, and the Tripura government lodged a strong protest against the “unprovoked” firing. Despite the fact that firing was intended to scare away Indian farmers, the intention of the BDR was not to allow the Indian cultivators to harvest paddy in the Charland area (Tribune, 1980). Firing continued, and on November 7, the BDR opened fire on the Char area of Belonia town. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government had lodged a strong protest with the Indian government against continued attempts to forcibly harvest crops by the Indian farmers in Muhuri Char in Noakhali district. Bangladesh radio contended that India had violated the provisions of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Agreement on the border of the Belonia subdivision of Tripura, signed in 1974 to the effect that the status quo would be maintained. From Ballamukh Cherra to a point near the international checkpost in Belonia, the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated under the Indira-Mujib agreement of 1974. Bangladesh has been working on embankments in gross violation of the stipulations of the JRC that the status quo on these islands be maintained until the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Survey Committee resolves the issue. The 1974 agreement allowed both sides to construct embankments on Muhuri River to prevent erosion and flooding only to the breadth of the revetment works, which should be 75 ft according to the JRC and not 250 ft as was the case in some places on the western side. The Fakhirkhil and Nijkalikapur embankments threaten the border town of Belonia. In 1983, Bangladesh built several dams in areas adjoining Agartala town. As a result, the state approach is inundated even when there is moderate rainfall. Therefore, the Tripura government built a 1-km-long embankment at Amzadnagar to protect the state from the floodwaters of Muhuri. An extension of another 100 m is needed for full protection, but Bangladesh opposed it at the point of a gun. Talks were held in Delhi between BDR and BSF representatives, in

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which the Bangladesh side demanded that the whole of Muhuri Char area should be declared as “no man’s land,” and wanted joint patrolling by BSF and BDR conducted only on the Indian side of the border and not on their side. Presently the middle of the river is demarcated as the Indo-Bangladesh border. Since the river has been changing its course during the past few years, causing land erosion and necessitating the construction of spurs on its banks, the Muhuri had persistently eroded the banks on the Bangladesh side, causing erosion of land. This has led to boundary differences between the two countries. The shifting of the river courses due to erosion on the Bangladesh side as well as new land formation on the Indian side of the rivers has resulted in tension and firing between the two countries. When river courses shift, they cause the loss of agricultural land and human settlement (Asthana, 1999). In this case, the course change shifted the mid-channel, which is considered as the international boundary line between India and Bangladesh. As the mid-channel shifts toward Bangladesh due to erosion of the riverbank on the Bangladesh side, it has created problems. This is also found in the case of bordering rivers such as Kushiara, Muhuri, Khowai, Ichamati, Gumati, and Feni.

Ganga–Brahmaputra link canal Another difference between the two countries is related to the proposals made by India and Bangladesh to augment the lean-season flow of the Ganges. The Indian proposal calls for building a canal across the Bangladesh territory to link the Brahmaputra with the Ganges at a site above the Farakka Barrage. The Indian experts argued that the project would contribute substantially to India’s own industrial and irrigation needs in the Gangotri plain, produce hydroelectric power for the two countries, and facilitate navigation to the northeastern region, besides reducing flooding and intrusion of saline water into Bangladesh. It would also help execute India’s National Grid Plan, which is aimed at providing water for all of India’s drought-prone areas by utilizing the subcontinent’s water resources (Rao, 1975). India also argued that the combined water resources of the two rivers are in excess of the projected needs of the two countries and therefore the project could supply additional water to West Bengal without compromising the interests of Bangladesh. The canal was proposed to be 324 km in length, of which 128 km would be in Bangladesh; 0.8 km in width; and a minimum 9 m in depth. Bangladesh’s border and sovereignty would not be violated, especially if India controls the project at both ends. It would also enhance the defense and security perspective for India by allowing a vast and effective movement of troops and materials to its remote northeastern states bordering China and Burma (India Lok Sabha Debates, 1968). However, it would also

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cause social, economic, and environmental disruptions: displacement, resettlement, and livelihood issues would also come to the forefront in both nations. Bangladesh also apprehended that this proposal might compromise its claims on the Ganges (Hassan, 1988). Moreover, China expressed concerns to Bangladesh over the military and strategic implications of allowing military supplies to Arunachal Pradesh, where India and China have contesting territorial claims. Bangladesh’s reluctance to approve the scheme reflects its perception of China as an ally to counter Indian economic and military domination in South Asia. Alternatively, Bangladesh has proposed building dams and reservoirs in the Himalayan foothills of India and Nepal, but has not met acceptance from either country. Recent concerns have been raised by Bangladesh on the decision of the Indian government to interlink major Himalayan rivers and divert surplus water to the drought-prone southern areas of India. Scientists of Bangladesh estimate that even a 10–20 percent reduction in flow to the country could dry out great areas for much of the year. More than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s small farmers grow rice and depend on water that flows through India. The interlinking river project could have disastrous consequences for Bangladesh’s economy. According to T.A. Khan, of the JRC, India’s unilateral move to link transboundary rivers contravenes existing articles 2(2) and 9 of the 1996 water-sharing treaty between India and Bangladesh and would affect the ability of the lower co-riparian to receive its due share of water (Khan, 2003). If implemented, this decision will have serious implications for the peace and security of the region. The above analysis shows how the continued existence of national economic priorities, power asymmetry, and extreme physical conditions is likely to ensure continued conflict over dryseason stream flow (Treadwell and Ali, 2009). When countries are under pressure to meet domestic demands, the seasonality of physical conditions can cause existing governance structures to fail, especially with regard to transboundary domains.

India and Nepal India has shared a cordial and harmonious relationship with Nepal in comparison to its other proximate neighbors, but conflicts over utilization of water resources and riparian rights have occurred between these two states because major rivers originate in Nepal and flow into India. Hydroconflict with Nepal tends to focus on developmental projects for mutual benefit by harnessing water resources for hydropower generation, irrigation, flood control measures, and navigation rather than on water sharing. However, negotiations regarding such projects have always been dominated by strains

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of politicization and lack of trust (Salman and Upreti, 1999), and efforts to cooperate have caused serious strains in their relationship. The main rivers—the Ghagra, the Gandak (Kali or Mahakali), and the Kosi—originate in Nepal, the upper riparian, and flow into India, the lower riparian, to join the great Indian river, the Ganga, and thereby acquire international status. Both India and Nepal have taken up the task of developing water resources from those common rivers with a view to maintaining the sovereignty and riparian rights of Nepal while simultaneously giving India the freedom to take whatever action is necessary in Nepalese territory to effectively execute its plans. In this regard, the relation of Nepal with India has been full of tensions, controversy, and political trade-offs. The Sarada (1920), Kosi (1954), and Gandak (1959) projects were criticized in Nepal for conferring substantially more benefits on India than Nepal, resulting in inequitable treatment with regard to water resource development (Upreti, 1993). These projects were essentially conceived to meet the needs of India with some benefits to Nepal and were designed with the agreement of Nepal (Iyer, 2000). However, they suffered from bad planning, poor maintenance, and inefficient implementation, and the benefits were delivered to neither India nor Nepal. While the Kosi/Gandak agreements were revised to incorporate Nepalese concerns in 1954–1959, the sense of grievance remains in Nepal even today. Floods have been a key source of tension. The April 2008 floods in Kosi displaced 50,000 people in Nepal and 30 lakhs in India (Bisht, 2008). Both sides blamed each other for the tragedy, and Nepal claimed that it was due to the failure to upkeep and maintain embankments on the Indian side. The Nepalese government held India responsible for a breach of the embankment. There have been other issues where Nepal feels India did not give it a fair deal; for example, Nepal considers compensation for land acquired by India for building the Kosi dam project inadequate. Nepal also complained that it also did not get fair barrage benefits as it was only able to irrigate 29,000 ha of land while the irrigation capacity was 1.5 mha (Bisht, 2008). Nepal alleged that there was also no compensation for displacement of people and submergence issues. Furthermore, Nepal considered India’s construction an encroachment on its territorial sovereignty. The Kosi project was essentially conceived as a flood mitigation project for the plains of Bihar, caused by the nature of the rivers Kosi, Gandak, and Baghmati, which cause floods as a result of their very high sediment loads. India offered to send engineers to study the problem and help design a solution, but due to the Nepalese distrust of India, the project of storage reservoirs in Nepal could not go forward (IPCS, 2008). The anti-India psyche and its role as “big brother” came to dominate Nepalese politics. Nepal felt cheated, and in this backdrop, none of the projects—Karnali, Pancheshwar, and Saptakoshi—that were under consideration between the two countries could make any headway. Nepal believes that hegemonic interests of India in the region continue to dominate

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its water politics. Examples cited by Nepal include Indian insistence on building the SaptaKoshi Dam and problems of Nepalese village inundations because of dams constructed by India on the other side of the border. Dams in Laxmanpur, Lotan, Rasiawal Khurda, and Mahalisagar inundate a lot of land and affect thousands of people (Dixit et al., 2004). Despite an effort to mitigate the problem of inundation by creating a joint commission, people continue to suffer, fueling the perception of India’s hegemonic attitude in the minds of the Nepalese people (Upreti, 2007).

Mahakali Treaty The 1990s saw another major controversy over the Mahakali River between India and Nepal in December 1991. Traditionally, both India and Nepal disagreed over the interpretation of Sugauli Treaty, signed in 1816 by the East India Company and Nepal, which delimited the boundary along the Mahakali River in Nepal. Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to construct a barrage at Tanakpur. The matter related to a very small piece of land—2.9 ha—to be provided by Nepal and to be used by India for building the Eastern Afflux Bund for the protection of Nepalese territory from the possible backwater effects of the Tanakpur Barrage, which was wholly in Indian territory. India agreed to provide some electricity and water to Nepal, and the amount was later increased in intergovernmental meetings. However, the Tanakpur issue became very controversial in domestic Nepalese politics, leading to the collapse of the Koirala government. Raised as a matter of territorial sovereignty, it had the potential of souring Indo-Nepalese relations, and it remained in dispute for over five years. India, for its part, resisted any change in the agreement on Tanakpur. The MOU, the Nepalese argued, seemed to imply that the water and electricity given as a gesture were actually appropriate recompense to Nepal for conceding its territory for completion of the project. While the Supreme Court ruled that the MOU was in fact a treaty necessitating ratification, it left it to the wisdom of the Nepalese government to decide the kind of ratification needed. Subsequently, the government sought to ratify it by simple majority, but the opposition and elements within the ruling party rejected the motion. In 1996 a new era in water resource development emerged between India and Nepal. The Mahakali Treaty (1996) was signed between India and Nepal and was ratified by a two-thirds majority of Nepal’s parliament. The treaty overrode the earlier MOU on Tanakpur Barrage (1991). It is now in force and in the process of implementation, but the process has been stalled due to some differences. The treaty sets the basic premise for “Integrated Development of the Mahakali River.” The Mahakali has been described as “a boundary river on major stretches between the two countries,” and the treaty is known

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as “a treaty on the basis of equal partnership.” The treaty brings three separate water resource development projects within its ambit. The treaty covers the Sarada Barrage, the Tanakpur Barrage, and the proposed Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. Replacing earlier understandings, this treaty guarantees to Nepal 1,000 cusecs of water in the wet season and 150 cusecs in the dry season under the Sarada Barrage and even provides that in the event that barrage becomes nonfunctional, an equal amount of water would be provided from the Tanakpur Barrage. There is also a provision in the treaty to maintain and preserve the ecosystem of the river by providing for not less than 350 cusecs of water flow downstream of the barrage. The sovereignty of Nepal over the 2.9 ha of land is recognized as well as 9.0 ha of pondage area. In lieu of this recognition, the treaty gives Nepal the right to 1,000 cusecs of water in the wet season and 300 cusecs in the dry season from the Tanakpur Barrage, as well as 70 million Kwhrs of electricity as against an earlier agreed figure of 20 million Kwhrs. The Pancheshwar Hydro-power Project of 6,480 MW will provide a 3,240 MW capacity on each side of the river. When completed, the 315 m high rock fill dam will be the second highest in the world after Rogun Dam in Ukraine, having a 12 billion cubic meter reservoir to store the flow of the Mahakali River to yield 885 m3/s discharges below the powerhouse. With this, Nepal will be provided with additional water and additional energy while bearing a part of the cost of generating incremental energy. Since Mahakali is a boundary river on large stretches, the project is intended to be developed in an integrated manner, maximizing the total net benefit from development. Both nations, in principle, will be entitled to equal benefits in the utilization of the river’s waters without prejudice to their respective existing consumptive uses and will share the costs in proportion to the share of benefits they actually accrue. The treaty stipulated that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the dam needs to be prepared in six months in order to assess the benefits of energy, irrigation, flood control, power generation, etc. There has to be a Binational Mahakali River Commission guided by principles of mutual benefit, equality, and no harm to either party. The treaty will remain valid for a period of 75 years, with a review after 10 years and arbitration in the event of disputes. Yet while the treaty is formally in operation today, there are still problems in its implementation. The DPR, which was to be prepared in six months, has been stalled because of certain technical differences regarding the location of the re-regulating structure downstream of the dam and serious political differences. Today, so many years after ratification, the basic provisions of the treaty remain unimplemented. Before ratifying the treaty, the Nepalese parliament passed certain strictures redefining provisions of the treaty. These clauses relate to water rights, power tariff, status of the river, and disagreements about the origin of the Kalapani. The disputes over these issues remain

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unresolved. The opponents of the treaty now call it an illegitimate venture, despite its ratification by a two-thirds majority of the Nepalese parliament (Gyawali and Dixit, 2001).The government insists that unless the Kalapani issue and the source of the Mahakali is settled, it is impossible to prepare a DPR. It is also felt that even if India agrees to this position, it is still doubtful if the water-sharing issue could be resolved, leaving the treaty frozen in deadlock. In the context of the treaty itself, differences also exist between India and Nepal on what the “equal sharing principle implies.” Since the Mahakali is a boundary river, the Nepalese contend that the river belongs equally to both countries and therefore half the waters belong to Nepal. India believes that the river can be used by both countries, but does not “belong” to either. Equal sharing therefore applies to the incremental benefits of storage in reservoirs to be created by the Pancheshwar Project, with the relative benefits gained by the two countries to determine their respective shares in the cost of the project. Discussion is needed to arrive at a common position. The Nepalese believe that since India has played a crucial role in the political change in Nepal, in return it has bargained away some of its water resources. They cite several precedents: engagements of India with Nepal in 1950 and 1990 were followed by resource-sharing agreements in 1954; 1959; 1990; and 1996. The Nepalese view India as orchestrating the waters of Nepal to serve its vested interests, and therefore water remains a perennial source of problems in the relationships of the two nations (Regmi, 2007; Upreti, 2007). Unlike the Nepalese, the Indians believe that they have provided a solution to Nepal’s water problems. However, the Nepalese cite their own perceptions of treaties such as Sharada Treaty (1927); Letters of Exchange of 1950 and Treaty of 1950; 1965; Koshi Agreement (1954); Gandak Agreement (1959); Tanakpur Agreement (1991); and the Mahakali Treaty (1996) to reinforce their belief that the Nepalese people have not been treated fairly.

Nepal–India hydropolitics A glimpse into the Nepalese psyche will give us a picture of the whole situation. The arrangements for the Kosi and Gandak projects were agreed on by Nepal, and its role was limited to that of facilitating their implementation. However, the construction of these projects engendered suspicion and discontent among the Nepalese, who believe that India was unilateral in the initiatives and actions regarding these projects. The inability of Nepal to construct large water projects in its own territory means that it is more dependent on India. It also means that India can continue to use river waters downstream without compensating Nepal for it. In other instances, in a kind of seesaw diplomacy, both India and Nepal

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have acted either unilaterally or through international donors to frustrate each other’s attempts to develop water projects that could have been of tremendous potential benefit for both countries (Verghese, 1990). The water relations in the coming years depend on the kind of response Nepal receives on issues of “joint initiative and management.” Unless satisfactory answers are forthcoming, we may see the next generation of water professionals in the two countries still wrangling with mutual suspicion just as the last generation has done, much to the detriment of the Himalayan-Ganga Development (Gyawali and Dixit, 1994). The asymmetry of water needs of both countries largely define the contour and context of their agreements (Shaha, 1994). The stakes for both Nepal and India are likely to remain high so far as the sharing of water is concerned. Nepal has 83,000 megawatts (MW) of theoretical hydroelectric potential, about 42,000 MW of which is technically and economically viable yet it has installed capacity of just 705 MW (Jha, 2010) having harnessed about 1.53 percent, far below the level of every other South Asian country. In 2011–2012, peak power demand reached 1026.65 MW, far beyond the total installed capacity of 705 (NEA, 2011/12) and is projected to continue increasing by around 7.5 percent annually until 2020. While this is insufficient to meet not only its domestic energy demand and economic potential, the country’s comparatively low internal demand in proportion to its potential compels Nepal to look for markets beyond its borders. On the other hand, the demand of India for irrigation and power is so large that it can readily absorb whatever surplus is made available from Nepal. Technical groups in Nepal question the technical feasibility of projects cleared by India based on its own classified database. Instead of subscribing to the policy of India to ensure a price close to the cost of electric power, the technical group of Nepal relates the cost of electricity sold to the cost of alternative thermal power generation in India in order to corner energy and maximize profit for Nepal (Shaha, 1994). The mainstream notion in Nepal about water is that water is to Nepal as oil is to the Middle East, and the country is recognized as “the Kuwait of South Asia” (Ohlsson, 1991) in export of energy from large hydroelectric projects. There is another viewpoint arguing for a more people-centered development through small and medium local schemes and projects that are sustainable and ecologically balanced. The power asymmetry with India and its geographically inaccessible location places Nepal in an extremely difficult position, which is further constrained by Nepalese politicians. A paradigm shift in the Nepalese perspective is essential for harnessing increased benefit in water resource development. Until then, joint initiative management remains a unilateral initiative on the part of India. Further, more transparency in the handling of data while assessing the technical feasibility of projects, seems imperative to define the beneficial nature of water resource development and avoids water disputes between India and Nepal. Despite a murky past, India and Nepal have made

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substantial progress in resolving their water disputes and moving ahead toward cooperation.

China and the GBM basin China also forms part of the GBM basin by virtue of its occupation of Tibet, but China until recently made no substantial claims relating to its upperriparian status on the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River or on any of its tributaries originating in Tibet. Probably China’s earlier disinclination to involve itself in the hydropolitics of the region was probably due to the unique physical geography of the region that does not allow China to substantially manipulate the river waters. The contention was that even if China were to fully develop the hydroelectric potential of the Tsangpo in Tibet,3 the mostly coastal and southeastern orientation of its mainland economy would extract very high costs and losses for transmitting electricity from Tibet to industrial cities and areas of China. China has dammed the Tsangpo in Tibet for the first time in order to begin the main construction work on a 510 MW hydropower station project (Economic Times, November 2010). In response to its growing demand for energy, China has planned a series of dams on the Tsangpo River in the Tibetan Plateau. China proposes seven dams on the Brahmaputra main channel and recently approved construction of three dams on the middle reach of the river. This activity has raised numerous concerns for its neighbors and opposition from India. India is concerned that these dams could pose both flooding and military risks to downstream areas on the Indian side (Dasgupta, 2013). The dams are located in highly sensitive and seismic zones and are expected to entail adverse environmental impacts for the region as well as for farmers downstream. China, however, contends that these are run-of-the-river projects aimed at developing hydropower for Tibet and therefore will not reduce water flow and entail any ecological harm to the downstream countries of India and Bangladesh. However, analysts contend that India is concerned that China may eventually divert water from the transboundary rivers to its dry northern regions to supply its coal and grain production centers. China is the only country with which India shares a transboundary river without a formal water sharing agreement. Others however, argue that India’s concern is also stemmed from the fact that India itself plans about 300 dams on the Brahmaputra, Ganga and Indus rivers which could help double the country’s hydropower by 2030 and stabilize the power supply (Turner et al., 2013) and China’s diversion or storage upstream might hamper India’s own plans for hydropower development. 3

The river is known as Brahmaputra when it enters Arunachal Pradesh in India.

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In spite of these contentions, one cannot negate the Chinese presence and its potential for casting a shadow on the hydro-politics of the GBM region as its demand for water continues to increase for the country’s economic growth.

Reconciling human development and national security Water is not just a topical subject like many other social, political, or economic variables that periodically invoke furor, and as the passions die, become a part of history. Water is our life- support system, and its relevance is steadily rising with each leap in economic growth and population increase. This finite but renewable resource faces an aberrant hydrological cycle under anthropogenic impacts. For sustained supply of water to its citizens, states are trying to manage water resources for food, energy, and survival. The chronology of water conflicts in South Asia, as described in this section demonstrates the urgency of developing an understanding of water-based crises and their ramifications on national security and human development. Some of these issues lie dormant, and some have been partly resolved, yet these have left a scar on the cordiality of relationships among the comity of nations in the region. Scarcity of freshwater is causally related with other factors such as poverty, population growth, infrastructure problems, and environmental degradation that can escalate problems of human security into national security issues. One of the most striking examples has been in the Sindh province of southern Pakistan. Due to increasing demographics, large volumes of Indus river water are diverted upstream in Punjab province to meet the demands of agriculture and urban consumption. This has created serious tensions between the two provinces as the river’s disappearance in certain parts of downstream Sindh has affected livelihoods in the river delta, particularly of those fishermen who now gather firewood for a living and buy water at high costs from the trucks. Water is a major source of conflict in Afghanistan, especially between upstream and downstream users. Due to the cultivation of rice by upstream users, the downstream users get no water at all, which leads to tension between the two (Najimi, 2005). The drilling of wells by rich Afghans has created serious issues of access for the poor Afghans because of the effect on traditional water sources like karezes, springs, and shallow wells located in the vicinity. A shortage of drinking water, therefore, can be very critical in both urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. This can lead to distress migration and conflicts between and within communities (Najimi, 2005). Several examples of conflict between the head users and the tail-end users in canal irrigation abound in Nepal (Upreti, 2007) and India (Asthana, 2005). Other examples of serious intrastate river conflicts that cause concern are

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for example, the Cauvery and Krishna conflicts in the states of southern India and the Sutlej-Yamuna link conflict in Punjab. Water conflict and management involve some of the complex and socially challenging sets of issues facing South Asia in the twenty first century. Economic decline, population movements, and the weakening capability of states to meet people’s expectations and needs will raise broader political and economic questions reflecting human development and national security concerns in the country. Ensuring access to potable and quality drinking water is essential to prevent waterborne diseases prevalent in the region. One of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity in the region is poverty and its various manifestations that are seen in communicable diseases caused by the poor quality of drinking water and unhygienic sanitation. Safe drinking water and sanitation has direct linkage with the health of the people, their productivity, and their quality of life. Waterborne diseases are endemic in South Asian cities, frequently assuming large-scale epidemic proportions. The villagers use peripheral, often-contaminated surface water sources. An estimate shows that disease spread by Ganga pollution alone deprives the country of nearly 40 million man-days because of ill health (Verghese, 1990). The loss in terms of mortality and economic injury is incalculable. Another report of the World Health Organization (WHO) says that 25–30 percent of all hospital admissions in Pakistan are related to waterborne bacteria and parasitic conditions, with 60 percent of infant deaths caused by water infections (Raza, 2009). Arsenic contamination creates huge health problems in Bangladesh, where it is estimated that three-quarters of all diseases are linked to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation facilities. Diarrhea diseases, moreover, are prevalent in countries with inadequate sewage treatment. The challenge of securing water in parts of rural Pakistan has grown since the 2005 earthquake. This has led to displaced people who are still living in unsanitary conditions. Health consequences of water scarcity in Pakistan—such as high numbers of young children from waterborne diseases are on the rise in rural Pakistan (Halvorson, 2009). These are issues of water governance to ensure human security by proving clean and good-quality water. Human drinking requirements are estimated to be at least 50 liters per capita per day (LPCD), yet in Pakistan, the poorest urban dwellers have access to only 10 LPCD and all of it is polluted (Westcoat, 2009: 15). The amount of resources dedicated to water supply and sanitation in Pakistan is less than 0.2 percent of their gross domestic product. Water Aid, an organization working in water concludes that Islamabad spends 47 times more on military budgets than on water and sanitation. In India, too, a large part of water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and diseases as sewage collection is irregular and sewage stagnates in the city limits. Water quality does affect the quality of life and therefore is integral to the web of human security.

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From a human development perspective, the challenges of water availability, access, and quality are common to the region. From a transboundary perspective, the region has a history of violence, distrust, and sometimes intractable political relations. Water issues can become the most dominant factors and can have a decisive impact on the general political relationship. Despite this hydrological interdependency, states are generally inclined to act unilaterally and exploit the transboundary rivers as the demand for water increases and current supplies of water become insufficient to meet the demands. Human beings have historically shown the adaptability to adjust themselves to most of the resource-deficient environments on earth. However, when severe scarcities of an essential, unsustainable, shared resource like freshwater occur or are experienced in one or more states, or when the resource is wrongly or rightly perceived as being exploited or degraded by one at the cost of another, states may become prone to conflict. What lessons do we learn from the evidence cited above? The above examples and analysis enunciate the various ways in which water security issues tend to manifest themselves in the broader context of human development and national security. The challenge lies in reconciling these twin challenges.

The challenge of sustainable development as a new security paradigm for water One of the major challenges of water security in South Asia needs to be contextualized in terms of sustainable water resource development and management practices. Placing water within the human security paradigm has key implications for the region. The notion of security in this region is intricately linked to the issues of food, livelihood, and survival and therefore cannot be delinked from developmental goals. In this context, water is more a component of sustainable development than a dimension of traditional national security. The discourse of development is guided by a scientific, technocratic perspective where supply-side augmentation takes precedent over all other alternatives in the decision-making process. Simply projecting demand and providing water supply through the production of water not only damages the environment but also raises issues of equity, rights, and justice (Asthana and Shukla, 2003). Sustainable development is a process that aims at using resources in a manner that there is enough for present as well as future generations. Current water resource development in South Asia is not sustainable. There needs to be a shift in emphasis on demand management practices and further incentives for conservation of water resources. Alternative discourses

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that focus on locally sustainable projects that are cost effective and cater to the local community should be encouraged and incorporated in the decision making. Several projects such as check dams, rainwater harvesting, and tank irrigation systems are examples of sustainable management practices in the region. Investment in water-saving techniques in irrigation, stakeholder participation, and farmer organizations are also essential. An ecosystem-services approach should be adopted for better management of water resources in the region. What is needed is a reorientation of priorities toward sustainable management practices to reduce the pressure on water and the services that the resource provides.

The challenge of water rights, equity, and social justice Throughout the region, we find several examples of water being an issue of social justice and equitable access. Big dams, interstate water allocations, and conflict between head and tail users in canal irrigation in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan demonstrate that there are serious issues of equity and justice common to the region. The debate on water rights is dominated by the problems of riparian users, indigenous community rights, rural versus urban access, caste and class issues, groundwater rights, etc. Privatization in the region is a new trend that is directly related to issues of access and social justice. In a region where a large population lives on less than a dollar a day, the discourse of water as a human right should acquire salience in policy making. Water resource development and planning should also be guided by considerations of equity and access (Asthana, 2012). The dams upstream on the Indus in Punjab, Pakistan, the Narmada and Tehri dams in India are testimony to the violation of peoples’ rights to water and human dignity. Decisions on water should be guided by questions like, Water for whom? Whose development are we talking about? Who will benefit from these decisions? Such perceptions should guide water resource development and management in the region.

The challenge of good governance: Accountable and effective institutional arrangements A major challenge to the region is less a challenge of water availability than a distinct problem of institutions and good governance in water resource management. The region is governed by a highly politicized bureaucracy, a technocratic engineering bent of mind in the governance structures, and a tendency toward bad management practices in water resource development. Corruption is rampant in irrigation practices, and bribes form a part of the lower bureaucratic process. Many examples of water quality control, water

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rights, and irrigation practices reveal that institutional and governance weaknesses lead to a significant amount of human security issues of health and water access. Almost every country in the region suffers from these problems, and therefore the solutions not only need technocratic fixes but institutional and governance reforms. Institutional arrangements need to be structured toward accountability, transparency, evaluations, and penalty for officials in case they default on their responsibilities (Asthana, 2012). Good governance entails decentralization of roles, participatory processes, transparency in project decisions, and democratic norms of policy making. In most cases, participation of stakeholders begins only when the decision is already announced, after which stakeholders engage in activist roles and resort to collective action rather than being part of the planning process. Policy making needs to be more inclusive of other voices in the formation process, engaging civil society, and moving beyond the top-down exclusionary approach (Asthana, 2009).

Transboundary challenges and scope for cooperation The region faces common environmental risks as a result of rising temperatures, decreasing snowmelt, and altered weather patterns that can increase the intensity of flood cycles or create severe drought in the arid and semiarid regions of South Asia. They all share an intimate and heavily dependent relationship with the water system in the region. Over 3 billion people derive their livelihoods, either directly or indirectly, from the river systems that originate in the Greater Himalayan Watershed. The majority of them work in agriculture and rely upon water from the Greater Himalayan Watershed to provide for their families. In South Asia alone, the population is growing at a rate of 1.7 percent per year. In addition to safe living environments, the 25 million new people added each year will require the region to produce more food to eat, water to drink, power to light their homes, and jobs to employ them. Yet, freshwater is becoming scarcer just as demand for it is rising. Inefficient irrigation systems, pollution from urban areas and industries, and toxins from fertilizers are putting serious constraints on the availability of clean, usable freshwater throughout the region. The region has already experienced an increase in devastating floods (Goodyear, 2012). There is a need to focus on the common environmental harm to the region due to issues of scarcity, pollution, and climate change rather than individual gains. An example of this could be the current deadlock over the Mahakali Treaty, where the costs and benefits are a key issue in the cooperation between the two countries. Another example is the contention over the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna river basin popularly known as the GBM basin. Controversy exists over whether states should adopt a single- or

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three-basin approach. While India favors the single-basin theory, Bangladesh insists on considering it three basins, as it wants to maintain a legal claim on the Ganga as a separate river (Iyer, 1999). There are major constraints in the idea of common environmental harm because the individual impacts might be differential, however moving beyond the narrow conceptualization of water interests toward a regional focus might lead us to the path of sustainable growth and prosperity. The Himalayan Region could be a tower of economic growth and therefore begs for regional cooperation and strong management institutions. The need for transboundary cooperation has been emphasized consistently at the regional level in agencies like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was formed in 1985 to discuss all other issues except bilateral contentious issues in the region. SAARC has the potential for promoting a multilateral peace-building effort but it could not succeed, as states of South Asia could not move beyond the statecentric policies and visions and has not been very successful in the management of water resources. Efforts to prepare mitigation responses to the impacts of climate change on rivers of the region and their hydrological flows could provide inroads to move beyond the narrow thinking of national interest and work for the common good. The South Asian Cooperative Environmental Program was created to promote regional cooperation in South Asia in both natural and anthropogenic contexts of sustainable development and management of resources of the region and to work closely with national, regional, international, governmental, and nongovernmental institutions as well as groups engaged in cooperation and conservation efforts (SACEP, nd). While such initiatives are significant in fostering regional cooperation, South Asia still lacks a coherent strategy to move forward and make water an instrument of peace building rather than conflict. There is some literature arguing that water offers more opportunities for cooperation than conflict (Wolf, 2004, 2007; Yoffe et al. 2004; Lowri, 1995; Lowi, 1993). From 1945–1999 cooperative incidents have outnumbered conflict by more than two to one (Wolf et al., 2003). South Asia needs to move forward with a cooperative and participatory approach on river basins and water sharing. There needs to be regional awareness that rivers can be better harnessed through collective efforts and recognition that cooperation is essential to alleviate threats to water security. A cognitive connection and trust building can lead to institutions of regional water governance with a set of rules and mechanisms to mitigate conflict and disputes. A regional information base where all countries can have access to information and take adequate steps to mitigate damages can be made to remove problems of data secrecy. De-escalation of tension through increased interaction can also be a positive pathway to increased cooperation and peace building. Cooperation on information sharing, disaster management, and advance

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warnings have been discussed in the SAARC environmental committees. Since agriculture and fisheries are the main sources of livelihoods, integrated development and management of water resources in the region can actually alleviate poverty and create sustainable levels of comfort, health, and well-being amongst the people of the region. States need to rationalize and depoliticize water in the region to pave the way for integrated water resource management in South Asia.

Is a shared resource security community possible? Given the challenges common to the region is a resource security community possible in South Asia? The main criterion for creating a security community is to treat a region as a policy unit in which the exercise of military might, economic resources, human rights, and social welfare, if practiced strategically rather than eclectically, create a shared sense of community (Hansen, 2006). The making of this “imagined community” of self-likes is made possible through increasing transactions that produce shared identities, values, and meanings (Barnett, 1996). Common identity facilitates inter-communal trust, which in turn increases cooperation in spite of differences. In fact, “trust and identity are reciprocal and reinforcing,” and together help to create a security community (Adler and Barnett, 1998). Constructivists admit that ideas will have a greater impact when backed by powerful states and reinforced by enduring material forces (Walt, 1998). While the concept of a security community was rationalized in terms of military security during the cold war and the US effort to keep Europe safe from the scourge of communism, the end of the cold war brought about a paradigm shift to nontraditional threats to security, which focused on issues of human development in terms of economics, environment, population, and migration. In this context, the emphasis is on issues based on both survival and development security. With the progress of globalization, human survival and development have been exposed to a lot of nontraditional threats, such as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, environmental deterioration, ecological crises, epidemics, emigrating refugees, multinational crimes, drug smuggling, computer hackers, and racial and tribal conflicts (Jiangli, 2007). As in a traditional security community, the same fundamental concept guides nontraditional security where the feeling of collective identity, mutual dependency, and cooperation guides relations between states and societies. However, the case of South Asia is unique in this context. Nontraditional threats are also securitized across borders due to a bitter past, mistrust and hatred that dominates the socio-political structure in these countries. Economic expansion and population growth in the region have resulted in rapid increases in water and energy consumption in recent years. The region has marked similarities in most aspects of their water

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and energy predicaments and their respective responses: the need to alter the consumption pattern, water deficits, challenges of reform, geopolitical considerations shaping water and energy situations, structural problems, and difficult choices ahead. The major issues facing the region today are to keep up with rising water and energy demand and begin promoting crossborder energy trade and cooperation in managing water resources from an integrated management perspective. Most of South Asia is grappling with water shortages. Given this situation, and in particular its political and economic ramifications, improving the supply of water is a major concern facing regional governments as water forms an integral part of the life and livelihood of the regional community. Cooperation in the environment emerged in the form of the South Asian Cooperative Environmental Program as an incremental step toward forging a relationship in environmental problems. Programs in biodiversity, coastal reefs, South Asian seas, marine life, and coastal ecosystems are some steps that states have taken in the task force meetings. In 2005, the program initiated the concept of ICARM—the integrated management of coastal areas and river basin management for India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The success of these concepts awaits translation into practice due to the volatility of the politics in the region, and the absence of Pakistan keeps the Himalayan river systems meshed in politics with a hope for regional goodwill, understanding, and agreement over these transnational rivers. Water is perceived as a property linked with territories that were assigned by way of partition to India and Pakistan in 1947. But the fact is that water does not recognize political boundaries and rivers waters flow transnationally. Therefore, equitable distribution of water has always remained contested amongst states sharing river waters. The geopolitics of water dominates the security thinking and policies of the two states. Water in this case is perceived as a critical resource for survival by Pakistan, the lower riparian, and therefore becomes an important security commodity. Different power structures sustain these geopolitical discourses and practices of imagined water communities, constructing the self and the other. This hydro political discourse is used by these highly volatile states as instruments of domination and control. Water in the understanding of the political elite is far removed from being a social and technical issue needing an engineering solution to maintain continuous supply. The language of the discourse is used in the politics of the state and its nation building. These postcolonial states are characterized by issues of legitimacy, stability, regime survival, and identity creations. Water resource sharing between the two states is marred by political rivalries and geopolitical obsession with borders, which create the category of us versus them in water access and use of resources. Even though water does not recognize borders, these hydroborders are produced in the imaginations of the political elite under statesponsored security narratives and water-boundary discourses. For example,

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the Tulbul project is framed differently by India and Pakistan. Pakistan sees it as damaging to its economy, but India considers it is as essential for transportation and also beneficial to Pakistan. These framing, based on a history of partition, increase the trust deficit, and water becomes a strategic tool in the imagination of state governments. In contrast to the west where the United States was able to create a security community over the threat of Communism—a common regional security threat—the region of South Asia and its countries have treated issues affecting cross-border implications more often on geopoliticalsecurity perceptions than commercial considerations and development and survival strategies. The obstacles to such cooperation and transactional relationships can be understood in a broader context of the geographical and political compulsions, which are particularly aggravated by aberrations in the foreign policies of these countries due to a lack of common security perception for the region. While India would prefer to act with a “strategic altruism” that values the long-term interests of relationships with the rest, most countries of the region consider India as a threat. This leads to a lack of correlation between economic and political pluralism and the rise of a security community. Thus, in South Asia, free and mutually beneficial trade, cross-national investments, increasing demands for services across borders, societal welfare, and transnational arrangements between governments have faltered, and there has been a lack of a common vision for the region. The absence of such transactions annihilated the prospect of establishing a security community in the region. Water is treated as a geostrategic military tool instead of being elevated as a global common and a common resource recognized as vital for life. Within this vast milieu of insecurities, constructing a security community, using water as drivers of peaceful change, is a grave challenge. The nontraditional security paradigm has certain obstacles that seemingly eclipse facilitation of a security community in the region. Firstly, as suggested by Alder and Barnett, a security community can be constructed among core states that project a sense of purpose and are prepared to pay transaction costs for collective action. The region lacks the willingness to pay the transaction cost for developing a community feeling in the region. India made an effort under the “Gujral doctrine,” but was not appreciated by its neighbors. Secondly, the ruling elites of the region fear constructing a security community because they presume that any cooperation between states may adversely affect public opinion and domestic politics. This fear makes it difficult for the states to solve these vexed issues and build water and energy bridges enhancing regional security. Thirdly, relationships between internal and external security are weak in the third world. The issues of water and energy are guided not only by domestic factors but also by externalities outside the region acting as negative drivers in the regional policy processes. This prevents states from having direct transactions within the region that

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may enhance security environment. And lastly, there is a need to open wide vistas of opportunity for citizens across the borders to expand economic use of water and energy as a commodity for mutual economic gain. But this kind of shared management of these resources is not happening, and this lack of cooperation continues to delay fulfillment of the promise for building and expanding a security canvas. The politics of water, instead of being bogged down in the pursuit of narrow political gains, should look at the core issue of water insecurities in the resource-starved states of the region and instead achieve security and development by enhancing cooperation. Such an approach would act as a confidence-building measure in an otherwise strife-ridden region. There is a need to politically face water-linked insecurities and promote transactions in the areas of food and energy. Only if the water-management policies are decided on the basis of social and political debates among water-sharing states leading to improved political relationships will we be able to avert future crises of water insecurity. Creating a security community means (1) shared identities, meanings and values; (2) many-sided and direct relations among members; and (3) a reciprocity among members that recognize the value of long-term interest and perhaps strategic altruism. South Asia lacks all these factors. India’s relations with smaller neighbors have doubtless improved significantly in recent years, but distrust of the “big brother” has not wholly disappeared in Nepal or in Bangladesh.

Big versus small country Smaller states form a united policy to attain their interests by raising the banner of big-country, and India finds it hard to dispel the hegemonic tag propagated against it despite reassurances on its part. The twin dangers of bigcountry insensitivity or arrogance and small-country pathology can wreck even a good relationship. Everyone recognizes the first danger, but not many perceive or understand the second. Bhutan has shared cordial relations with India and benefited greatly from in terms of earning revenue from Bhutanese exports of power, but some Bhutanese questions the country’s near total dependence on India for security, trade, and aid. Economics plays a very important role in the development of joint projects for energy, navigation, etc. to maximize benefits under optimum exploitation as a prerequisite of welfare economics, but the “big” and “small” rivalry creates an unbridgeable gap that brings integrated projects to a condition of stalemate. Nepal and Bhutan have huge hydroelectric reserves that constitute their largest single resource endowment and source of wealth. Not to develop this potential is to accept a self-denial and loss of income, employment, whereas cooperation may bring about area development, manpower training, and

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export earnings by sale of power to India and Bangladesh, and at times even to Pakistan (Verghese, 1990).4 This resource can move these countries from poverty to prosperity and from underdevelopment to development. However, these nations are entangled in electoral politics, misgivings, and a psyche of distrust, suspicion, and political machinations, all of which act as impediments toward improving quality of life in the region. It should be recognized here that the big vs. small country notion does not extend to Pakistan to the same extent because it has always tried to deal with India on an equal footing. Problems between the two countries exist, but are not seriously compounded by the water factor. The position of India as middle riparian between Nepal and Bangladesh, together with its desire to avoid accusations of big country dominance, places it in a difficult situation. In the case of Nepal, India accepts the right of the upper-riparian state, Nepal, to use whatever water it needs and even allows it to make inter-basin transfers, giving primacy to the upper riparian. However, in the case of Bangladesh, India implicitly grants primacy to the lower riparian. It has undertaken to protect the flows reaching Farakka to the extent of regulating upstream flows. Bangladesh has all along accused India of maneuvering upstream in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The position of India vis-à-vis compromising with another country is based on its size, neighborhood concerns, and relative power in comparison with other basin states (Iyer, 2000). The developmental agenda of states should be not only to manage water as a resource, but to utilize it as a potent tool necessary for food and energy security to uplift the region from the depths of poverty and underdevelopment. Thus, the counterpart to big-country insensitivity—that is, small-country pathology—manifests itself in many ways especially during negotiations for fear of being considered weak; complaints at a later stage that negotiations had been between unequal parties as seen in case of Kosi and Gandak, and categorization of difficulties and differences during the course of treaty as non-implementation and violation. Instead of reopening a difference or a problem and looking for solutions, slogans of “non-implementation” or “violation” of treaties are raised and subsequently fanned by politicization of the resource.

Bilateralism versus multilateralism Another issue that has inhibited the security community concept is that of bilateral/multilateral cooperation. Though India’s participation in regional There has been increased cooperation in hydropower in the last few decades between India and Nepal, but domestic politics and the mindset of the leaders tend to create strains in these relationships (Upreti, 2007).

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organizations is affecting this approach, the official policy still remains one of bilateralism. The considerations behind this seem to include (a) the feeling that negotiations are difficult and protracted enough between two countries, and that they will become vastly more complicated and intractable when three or more countries are involved, and (b) the fear that smaller countries may join hands and make common cause against the bigger country. These fears may sound somewhat exaggerated, but they cannot be dismissed as totally unfounded. On the other hand, a view that has gained considerable currency not only in Nepal and Bangladesh but even in India is that “regional cooperation” has better solutions to offer to most problems than purely national or bilateral approaches. On April 2013, Nepal, India and Bangladesh agreed to jointly exploit hydropower and manage water resources in the Ganges River Basin (Mehdudia, 2013). The issue of complementarities in the water and hydropower sector suggests that an optimum development of the resources of the region is necessary to get maximum benefit from the proposed cooperation to ensure the security of supply. Negating the complementarities of geographical proximity, economic benefits, and integrated infrastructure is to deny the benefits of the economic prosperity in the region. A resource pool that could move these countries from poverty to prosperity, development and improved quality of life gets entangled in distrust, suspicion, and politics and thus impinges upon the expected pace of progress in the region. Until these hurdles are overcome, the process of constructing a resource security community in South Asia through a water-and-energy paradigm will remain a mixed bag of conflict and cooperation. Peace making can lead to the creation of shared regional identities and institutionalize cooperation on several issues common to the region to reconcile human development challenges and national security concerns.

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CHAPTER TEN

Water vision and shifts in management practices Water resources are viewed as a key to economic development and prosperity. The requirement for water is closely related to population growth, the need for more food, more nonfood agricultural and industrial items, more hydropower, better quality of life and livelihood, and preservation of the environment. The present circumstances call for a fresh look and new approach to water management. It was with this intent that the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the South Asia Technical Advisory Committee of the GWP proposed a vision for best practices in water management for South Asia and India. This chapter highlights the key proposals, evaluates India’s current management practices, and makes recommendations to help overcome the obstacles in the path of water security.

The water vision for India and South Asia The water vision for India contains certain key elements that are common to all of South Asia and some that are specific to certain countries. Some of the key elements can be elaborated as follows: Welfare of the People ●

Availability of safe drinking water to all near households at affordable prices

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Women and girls required to spend less time in fetching water

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Full coverage of safe water supply and sanitation in urban and rural areas

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Reduction of the gap in per capita rural and urban area water supply to be reduced

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Reduction in mortality and morbidity due to waterborne diseases

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Availability of food at affordable prices

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Equity in access to safe and affordable drinking water

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Absence of famine, starvation, and malnutrition

Efficient Use of Water Resources ●

Improvement in crop production technology for increased food production per unit of water used

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More effective use of water

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Optimized crop selection to minimize the demand for water under certain agro-climatic conditions

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Sustainable delivery of water through proper maintenance of infrastructure

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Integrated local watershed management, water harvesting to prevent soil erosion, and improved water and land productivity

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Efficient conservation of water

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Technological improvement of aquifer recharge

Sustainability and Harmony ●

Clean rivers, lakes, ponds, and other water bodies to ensure availability of clean and pure water

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Micro-watershed development and rainwater harvesting at the local level to augment supplies

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Ensured minimum flows in rivers and water bodies

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Maintenance of tanks and water bodies, especially in urban areas

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Conservation and sustainability of wetlands and watersheds

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Strict enforcement of laws related to the recycling of water and the discharge of industrial effluents

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Reduction in the ill effects of fertilizers and pesticides on the environment and promotion of integrated pest management

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Promotion of regional and bilateral cooperation, sustained efforts at conflict resolution, and elimination of interstate disputes and tribunals

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Development of hydropower and microhydel schemes

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Policy and Institutional Aspects ●

Integration of water sector, development, resource, and management

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Good governance vis-à-vis water

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Institutional reform policy

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Participation of stakeholders and women in water planning and management

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Increased role of women in decision making on water use

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Political, administrative, and fiscal decentralization and devolution

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Timely takeover of stakeholders and women

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Decentralization and people’s participation

Increasing Market Role ●

Treatment of water as an economic commodity beyond basic needs

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Greater private-sector involvement and public–private sector collaboration

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Adequate cost-recovery measures

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Generation of water-related tourism and recreation activities

India Specific The elements listed above are common to the region, but India’s specific needs include: ●

Pumped storage schemes to reduce flow of fresh water to seas

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No interstate water disputes and tribunals

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Extensive local micro-watershed development and rainwater harvesting

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Groundwater development and management Source: Global Water Partnership: World Water Forum (2000).

This vision was created due to the impending water stress that the country would ultimately face as a result of the pressures over water resources discussed in Part II of the book. Problems of waterlogging and soil salinity have emerged in irrigation commands, leading to the degradation of agricultural land. Agricultural efficiency stands at only 38 percent (Planning Commission, 2013). Complex issues of equity and social justice have surfaced with regard to water distribution. The development and

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overexploitation of groundwater resources in certain parts of the country have raised the concern and need for judicious and scientific resource management and conservation. Planning and implementation of waterresource projects involve a number of socioeconomic aspects such as environmental sustainability, appropriate resettlement and rehabilitation of project-affected people and livestock, public health concerns of water impoundment and dam safety. With the increase in irrigation area, there has been a concomitant decrease in crop production. As populations burgeon, increasing food grain production will be necessary and sectoral demands must be balanced. The drinking water needs of people and livestock must also be met. Domestic and industrial water needs have largely been concentrated in or near major cities; however, the demand in rural areas is expected to increase sharply as the development programs improve the economic conditions of the rural masses. Demand for water for hydro- and thermal power generation and for other industrial uses is also increasing substantially. The major challenges are the rate of urbanization and industrialization: megacities with large slums; problems in supplying good quality drinking water as well as providing treatment for waste water, sewage, and industrial effluents; and coverage of urban and rural sanitation. The high incidence of waterborne and water-related diseases is a consequence of these problems (IHD, 2000). The nonhuman needs of water deserve equal attention. Water must also be allocated to meet the needs of ecosystems: watershed development and afforestation; protection of aquatic resources and mangroves; protection of the habitats and migratory routes of fish to increase food production; treatment of effluents before discharging into rivers and streams and dilution by low-flow augmentation; as well as cooperation of all countries in the region to enforce uniform and consistent environmental regulations for industries. Given its indispensability for society and for the ecology, water in its current state needs to be managed. In spite of the political and scientific discourse for change and the need for a paradigm shift in water management, change at the policies and operational management levels has been very slow. The rhetoric of change in the water management regimes is apparent in many of the policy documents, but these regimes are not being enforced. Until current management regimes undergo a shift in thinking and implementation priorities, sustainable management of water resources will not be realized. Over the years, more and more emphasis has been given to the need for just such a paradigm shift in water management (Cortner and Moote, 1994; Gleick, 2000; Pahl-Wostl, 2002; Ward, 1995). While the approaches may differ in the details, they share a broad set of principles: these include decentralization, sectoral integration, incorporation of the environment into management goals, shared information sources, attention to human behavior, and management of the sources rather than the effects of problems (Pahl-Wostl, 2002).

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Water management framework Water management thus involves a vast range of institutions, complex technologies, and environmental factors that collectively form the basis and foundation for the functioning of a system targeted to fulfill a societal purpose. Pahl-Wostl (2008) refers to a water management paradigm that includes understanding the waterscape to be managed, identifying the goals of management, and looking at the means through which the target can be achieved. He contends that an epistemic community of actors, which in this case includes the social, cultural, scientific, and indigenous actors who can produce the mechanism to meet these goals, should share these assumptions and goals (Box 10.1).

Box 10.1: Water Management Paradigm

A

set of assumptions about • The nature of the system to be managed   • The goals of management   • The ways in which these goals can be achieved Is shared by “an epistemic community” of actors involved in water management, Is manifested in artifacts such as technical infrastructure, planning approaches, engineering practices, models, etc. Source: Pahl-Wostl (2008: 6)

Under this water management paradigm, the Indian water system is seen as a complex, uncertain, dynamic, and nonlinear interdependent system that is plagued by the drivers of environmental change, which include material, institutional, and behavioral factors. With the existing pressures over water in India, it has become clear that current planning and management approaches are no longer adequate. Given its indispensability for society and for the ecology, the issue of water in its current state is not about the desirability of management reform but about how to make it work efficaciously. If we do not take action now, whether through our capacity to improvise or innovate, we are headed for a breakdown in the system. Water planning needs political astuteness and pragmatism in shaping and finding policy direction. The goal is to achieve a sustainable standard that can maintain the long-term key functions of the system to avoid irreversible developments and catastrophic shifts toward undesirable states

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(Pahl-Wostl, 2008). In spite of the political and scientific discourse for change and the need for a paradigm shift in water management, change at the policies and operational management levels has been very slow. The rhetoric of change in the water management regimes is apparent in many of the policy documents, but these regimes are not being enforced. The existing framework and mechanisms for water resource allocation and management in India has focused on supply management and service delivery in the water subsectors, with water being treated as a resource needing technological management under a command-and-control approach. A process for change in the current approach is imperative to build existing initiatives, strengthen management capabilities and processes, and build capacity through participatory management and collaborative decision making through a set of policy resources. Policy resources are linked through internal and external drivers discussed in Part II of the book. On the one hand, there are biophysical challenges of meeting the needs of ecosystems: watershed development and afforestation; groundwater recharge; protection of aquatic resources and mangroves; protection of the habitats and migratory routes of fish to increase food production; treatment of effluents before discharging into rivers and streams and dilution by low-flow augmentation; as well as cooperation of all countries in the region to enforce uniform and consistent environmental regulations for industries. On the other hand, there are complex issues of equity and social justice in regard to water access and distribution. As populations burgeon, increasing food grain production will be necessary and sectoral demands must be balanced. There is no water law that addresses sectoral needs given the competing demands for water between urban, rural, and industrial uses. States are largely left free to change the allocation of water between and within particular systems and between uses at their discretion without consistently applying clearly defined principles and procedures laid down by law (Vaidyanathan, 1999: 15). For long-term water security, there needs to be shift in the way water should be perceived, used, managed, and evaluated in these sectors. In three critical areas—groundwater, canal irrigation, and urban water supply management—there is ample evidence that a radical change in the institutional structures, efficient use, and pricing policy for water and electricity is crucial for any significant movement toward effective governance. Governments have failed to enforce regulations concerning groundwater extraction; rational pricing on allocations and scheduling of water in public systems; and the restructuring of management institutions. Externally, the challenge of climate change has confronted water managers with a unique challenge of uncertainty and risk. The precise impact of climate change for rainfall, temperature, precipitation and vaporization remains deeply uncertain and it is becoming more and more apparent that

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weather and hydrological records are unable to predict exact and precise changes in weather patterns and future impact on hydrology. To improve the quality of delivery, it is essential to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework, create economic and financial incentives, and build a strong data and information base to deal with impending crises in future. A sectoral balance is also needed to deal with the increasing number of competing water users and their demands. To prescribe management practices in depth is beyond the scope of this book. To improve water management practices, the authors explore a set of schematic policy options from the vast pool of policy resources that constitutes a body of work in itself. There is no uniform prescription and solutions may therefore vary, making the model a complex one. A range of policy options and strategies have been suggested from the state elite, civil society, IGOs like the World Bank, and epistemic communities of economists, hydrologists, and engineers. The chapter does not go into the technicalities and the pros and cons of different water management strategies, because each of these can only be adopted after considering the local landscape, socioeconomic, and contextual circumstances in mind. Considering the water vision for 2025, the authors draw on a set of schematic solutions based on the analysis of the internal and external drivers and domestic and regional factors to meet the goals of water security. “In seeking solutions there is a high level of uncertainty with the consequence of their actions as they deal with social and ecological consequences that exhibit complexity, variability, non-reducibility and collectivity” (Dryzek, 1987: 28–33). These are not universal solutions but may need experimentation, adaptation, improvisation as well as constant evaluation in the uncertain environment from different standpoints. The key areas needing intervention are described below.

Policy and institutional reform The government of India has created a set of policies for implementation based on certain principles of global water governance and local biophysical and social water needs. While these exist in principle, the challenge is making them work. Some of them are discussed below with the potential for reform to make them successful.

The framework of integrated water resource management Agenda 21 of the Rio Summit and several international conventions on environment and development have emphasized the role of integrated water

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resource management in water sustainability and the sustainability of human life and lifestyles. Implementing the IWRM approach has been problematic due to the differences in conceptual understanding and analysis. We lack a widely agreed-upon definition of the approach, and intellectual discourses point to certain lacunae in the concept. To some, the approach does not provide much insight into how sustainability can be achieved. To others, it is a question of establishing a measurable criterion caused by a lack of a knowledge base as well as social and motivational feasibilities. In spite of the different frames and entry points, the goal is to achieve a balance between economic efficiency, social equity, and environmental sustainability (Gooch et al., 2010). The approach promotes coordinated development of land, water, and related sources by maximizing economic and social benefits without compromising the sustainability of the ecosystems. Planning should include the understanding of the hydrological unit as a whole: the availability of surface and groundwater for sustainable use; the agro ecology of the region; and the interactions of soil, water, and plants. Overall, the approach involves incorporation of quantity and quality aspects as well as environmental considerations. What does this approach mean for water resource managers in India. The State of the Environment Report, India (2009), recommends the following measures for adopting the IWRM approach (Box 10.2).

Box 10.2: Promote Integrated Water Resource Management Approach • The water needs of the poor and underserved must be given the highest priority through the preparation of a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework aimed at integrated management systems that can ensure rational and equitable allocation of resources. • The water requirements for ecosystem services and security need to be scientifically assessed and incorporated into the analysis of all water resource management projects. • Industrial, agricultural, and municipal water systems should be designed to take full advantage of innovative approaches structured to maximize delivery and minimize waste such as zero-emission systems, controlled irrigation, and 24/7 drinking-water supplies. • Water resource management must go well beyond environmental impact assessment and minimizing externalities to becoming an integral component of national and local action to improve the environment and human security.

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• The information base and analytical framework for integration of water resource management needs to be continually revised and updated in the light of experience and made widely available through intensive programmes for the education and training of planners, designers, engineers, and civil society. • Integrated planning and action will also require modified baselines (including environmental parameters), monitoring systems, and the associated metrics, tools, and techniques. Source: State of the Environment Report MOEF (2009: 112).

IWRM provides a normative framework that is considered a step forward from the traditional sectoral approach of a water-specific paradigm. However, while these principles adorn the State of the Environment Report, there is very little done from the perspective of practices. The ecosystem needs are still being assessed and there is no legislative or policy initiative toward that goal except certain court directives. Sectoral water systems are yet to take advantage of many innovative approaches within their reach due to social, economic, and investment challenges. Integration itself is a very complex and dynamic process within India, with competing actors framing their interests around the values they attach to water. There is a lack of guidance to policy makers about how the concept can be operationalized. In a multi-institutional, bureaucratic environment like India with separate ministries for land, water, and energy, integration is somewhat difficult to achieve, as there exists a lack of coordination among these various agencies. “In a real world, integrated water resources management, even in a limited sense, becomes difficult to achieve because of extensive interand intra-ministerial turf wars and bureaucratic infighting. In addition, the legal regimes (for example, national constitutions in countries such as Canada, India and Pakistan) make integrated management of any single resource very difficult. Integrated management of two or more resources by institutions that have been historic rivals is an almost impossible task. The current evidence indicates that irrespective of the current popularity of the concept, its impact to improve water management has been, at best, marginal” (Biswas, 2008).

The challenge of a river basin approach: Politics versus geography Rivers are the lifelines of civilizations. The water of these rivers is used for competing purposes across states and across borders. One of the

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major problems and challenge that planners and water managers face is our bounded understanding of the river and its flow in their geographical and territorial spaces. Most rivers in India flow across three or four states but constitute one river basin. Policy makers are bound by the territories constituting their electorate and therefore approach the river with a myopic vision. Rivers need to be treated under the basin approach, which has been universally recognized to be a logical and rational unit for optimum development and utilization of water resources. The fragmented and piecemeal approach needs to give way to a basin or sub-basin approach. The national water policy also recognizes the basin as the unit for planning, including land use and other resources, but problems arise in the course of implementation of such ideas. Because the hydrological boundaries of a river basin do not follow the politico-territorial boundaries of a state, conflicting interests and divergent priorities of development often result. However, sustainable development and management of water require a holistic approach. The first step in this direction has been taken by recognizing the importance of treating the Ganga as a basin and taking adequate steps to implement that approach in a “Clean Ganga Mission.” Appropriate river-basin organizations should be established for the planned development and management of each river basin as a whole or by subbasins wherever necessary.

Watershed planning: Need for reform While a river-basin approach is a good way to develop and manage water resources at the macro level, the watershed approach delivers well at the micro level. No matter where we live, we are always part of a watershed. A watershed is that land area that drains into a river or stream. A watershed approach is considered advantageous because it includes not only all activities within a landscape that affect watershed health but also strategies that protect the livelihoods of the marginalized people that inhabit fragile ecosystems experiencing water and soil erosion stress. Watershed management should be promoted through extensive catchment-area treatment, preservation of forests and augmentation of forest cover, and the construction of check dams. Efforts shall be to conserve the water in the catchment. The basic components of a watershed approach include water supply, water quality, soil and land management, afforestation, livestock management, fisheries, biodiversity, habitat preservation, fodder development, floods and navigation, community development, and recreation. Such an approach offers a blueprint for water resource management, conservation, community participation, and sustainable production. In India, the Watershed Management Program was launched in 1984 and has been carried out for the stated purpose of preventing accelerated erosion, flooding, and desiccation of water supplies.

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It was originally carried out through conservation practices that sometimes excluded local populations from water access but now provides benefits that support livelihoods (Vira, 1999). While many believe that strategies of involving stakeholders and prioritizing action based on community benefits have contributed significantly to better management of watersheds and evolution of more rain-fed technologies to improve agricultural production, employment generation, and soil-moisture conservation in rain-fed areas in some cases, there are others (Joy et al., 2009; Kerr et al., 2000; Shah, 1997, 1998) who reveal that there are serious limitations even in the heavily funded and intensively managed programs. Productivity gains are often limited and temporary. Marginal and landless farmers often do not benefit and often receive marginal benefits that increase inequities within village. Common lands are not adequately treated and revegetation does not take place as expected. Gains from recharge are rapidly dissipated by increased withdrawal. Downstream impacts are not kept into consideration. People’s participation is limited to the implementation stage. There is lack of institution building, regulation, and decentralized resource governance for collective management of resources. A heavy focus on engineering structure ignores the social processes and institutions. Self-help and user groups are promoted without real democratization; inadequate biophysical knowledge of local conditions, poor technical analysis, and no integration of local knowledge lead to poor performances of these programs. Challenges of domestic and rural water supply are currently inadequately addressed. There exists a need to shift from integrated and participatory watershed management to integration and decentralized resource governance. Critics argue that in the absence of institutional and resource regulations such programs could lead to privatization of common pool resources. Socioeconomic stratification of caste and class also need to be kept in mind when managing and distributing water in these watersheds.

Reforming participatory irrigation management As populations grow and additional water for irrigation is not forthcoming, the increased burden on rain-fed agriculture will be detrimental to the environment and increase the migration of peoples to areas of greater environmental risk. It will be essential to encourage farmers’ and waterusers’ organizations to resolve their problems through increased efficiency and capacity building consistent with their participation in local groups. Local wisdom and indigenous knowledge have also been very effective in land and water management, but this wisdom has been dying out due to the positivist approaches that outcompetes it.

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A lot of emphasis has been given in the past decades to the participatory process of irrigation management (PIM), an approach that involves not only the various governmental agencies but also the users and other stakeholders in various aspects of planning, design, development, and management of water resources in an effective and decisive manner. The involvement of the stakeholders through water users’ associations and local governance structures such as municipalities and gram panchayats in the planning, design, and operation of their projects will enhance the maintenance and management of these water infrastructure facilities, as these organizations and institutions understand the local context better and develop a personal stake in these projects (MOWR, 2013). However, the engagement with stakeholders is limited to the implementation stage rather than at the planning and input stage. The role of women is also marginalized, and necessary legal and institutional changes needed to be made at various levels for the purpose of ensuring women an appropriate role. Several states have enacted the PIM Acts (Table 10.1) and created water user associations (WUA), with 63,147 associations covering 41.62 million hectares. Shah (2011) argues, however, that this dominant view about farmer management cannot restore canal irrigation to its old glory as the sociotechnical aspects in which this process could thrive among small agrarian holders is absent today.

Table 10.1: States with PIM Legislations Name of State

Position of Issue/Amendment of Irrigation Act

Andhra Pradesh

Enacted Andhra Pradesh Farmers’ Management of Irrigation Systems Act, 1997

Assam

The Assam Irrigation Water Users Act, 2004

Bihar

The Bihar Irrigation, Flood Management, and Drainage Rules, 2003, under Bihar Irrigation Act, 1997

Chhattisgarh

Enacted Chhattisgarh Sinchai Prabandhan Me Krishkon Ki Bhagidari Adhiniyam, 2006

Goa

Enacted Goa Command Area Development Act, 1997 (Goa Act 27 of 1997)

Gujarat

Gujarat Water Users Participation Management Act, 2007

Karnataka

Promulgated an ordinance on the 7th of June, 2000, to amend the existing Karnataka Irrigation Act 1957

Kerala

Enacted the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, 2003

Madhya Pradesh

Enacted Madhya Pradesh Sinchai Prabandhan Me Krishkon Ki Bhagidari Adhiniyam, 1999

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Management of Irrigation Systems by Farmers Act, 2005 (Continued  )

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Table 10.1: States with PIM Legislations (Continued  ) Name of State

Position of Issue/Amendment of Irrigation Act

Orissa

Enacted the Orissa Pani Panchayat Act, 2002

Rajasthan

Passed the Rajasthan Sinchai Pranali Ke Prabandh Me Krishkon Ki Sahabhagita Adhiniyam, 2000

Sikkim

Sikkim Irrigation Water Tax, 2002, and Sikkim Irrigation Water Tax (Amendment) Act, 2008

Tamil Nadu

Enacted the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Management of Irrigation Systems Act, 2000

Uttar Pradesh

Enacted the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Management Act, 2009

Source: MOWR (n.d.) Status of PIM Legislation in India. Retrieved from http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/ mainlinkFile/File421.pdf, (Accessed 2013).

India has the second largest irrigated area in the world. Since the deficiencies in irrigation management have accumulated and irrigation productivity is suboptimal, interventions are required through research, crop diversification, capacity building, and operation and maintenance of the structures. Future irrigation planning should take into account the close integration of water and land use, feasibility and cost effectiveness, appropriate techniques for optimizing use, and conserving wastage to extend the benefits to as many farm families as possible. A synergistic approach must promote efficiency and inclusiveness and seek congruence of productivity, sustainability, profitability, and equity (Singh, 2002).

Linking water and sanitation policy In spite of huge investments by both central and state governments, the goal of achieving water security by providing adequate water to the community at a convenient location is yet to be achieved. One hundred percent coverage in both water supply and sanitation, recommended as early as in 1949, still eludes India. In spite of the rural drinking-water mission being well on target, the challenges of sustainability, equity, and potability still remain. Convenience and affordability are other key issues that need attention. To make it more effective, an effort initiated by the MORD needs to be strengthened. The effort has to strengthen the local Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) and community stakeholders in a decentralized, demanddriven, locally specific strategy. The approach of the government has shifted from drinking-water availability on a per capita basis to water being made available at the household level for basic needs. The objective is to ensure drinking-water security to all villages on a sustainable basis. A new approach should place major emphasis on adopting appropriate technology, reviving traditional systems, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater,

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conservation, rainwater harvesting, and recharging of drinking water sources (MORD, 2009–2012). The program of sanitation is still disconnected from the drinking-water schemes, and new management practices need to remove these handicaps. From an institutional and policy perspective, governance and management of rural water supply and sanitation should be channeled to PRIs under the 73rd amendment and Village Water Supply and Sanitation Committee formed under the gram panchayat as well NGOs and community organizations. This will also allow these institutions to have a sense of ownership in the schemes, which is lacking at present because these local bodies or stakeholders are not involved in the planning and decision-making process. These efforts will allow them to set rules for being financially sustainable to maintain these assets and maintain them apart from funds from the state and center. The government has set up the National Rural Drinking Water Mission Plan under the Eleventh Plan and also added coordinating mechanisms like the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). However, as the framework for implementing rural water security under the National Rural Drinking Water Mission Plan explains: Safeguarding the availability and quality of rural drinking water in India without appropriate mechanism to give rural drinking water effective priority over other uses and protect ground water sources from excessive abstraction, will be increasingly difficult and costs of providing safe drinking water will continue to escalate further. Adoption of effective legislation and mechanism to regulate groundwater use thus ensuring a basic supply of drinking water to the rural people is a key associated need for the country. These issues require a multi-sectoral and broader resources management perspective. (MORD, 2008: 4) Although the 73rd amendment grants responsibility of water schemes in the villages to the PRIs, their powers are loosely defined and not supported by adequate funds and training. They are reluctant to take responsibility for these schemes since they have not been involved in the planning and design of the projects. States have to encourage the PRIs to manage these systems and involve the community in the operation and maintenance. The government of India’s economic policies are intended to increase economic growth, improve market efficiency and competitiveness, and integrate the economy with global markets. The changes required to achieve these objectives will have implications for urban centers where much of the population and industrial growth is expected to occur. The demands on the urban water supply and sanitation sector serving both domestic and industrial needs will be tremendous. India has started to recognize the importance of sanitation to social and economic productivity, reduced

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health care costs, and the prevention of disability and illness. There is no doubt that the challenges in both rural and urban sanitation are huge, and complex efforts are being made to resolve them and make a change in this sector.

Legislative policy changes for abatement of pollution Given the nature of pollution control laws in India, the cost of compliance seems higher than the cost of defiance. Low penalties and long prosecution procedures make it impossible for an industry to use this strategy. The government of India does not have a pollution tax as such, and the water cess levied is too nominal to enforce compliance. A “polluter pays principle” should be adopted fully in the management of polluted water through pollution taxes, penalties, and price structures. Regulatory and policy shifts are also needed in pollution management with better coordination and integration of goals. Necessary institutional challenges and legislation need to be made to preserve existing water bodies by preventing encroachment and deterioration of water quality. Industrial and domestic standards need to be enhanced. Designated sites for waste disposal and citing of facilities for hazardous waste should be created to limit the pollution before it can be taken care of and support should also be provided for the development of pollution abatement technologies and treatment technologies by setting up zero-discharge industrial estates. More than two-thirds of our sewage comes from the municipal sector, and shifts in thinking are essential to curb this pollution. A public–private sector partnership could also be one solution for better management and treatment of sewage and effluents, and the center and state governments are diversifying into private-sector participation in sewage infrastructure.

Floods management policy Both floods and droughts strike different parts of the country with regularity and are a major source of water insecurity. We are still struggling to cope with these disasters: Over 40 million hectares1 (12 per cent of land) is prone to floods and river erosion; of the 7,516 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68 per cent of the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought and hilly areas are at risk from landslides and avalanches ... .

1

Current estimates are around 49.15 mhas made by the National Flood Commission.

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Heightened vulnerabilities to disaster risks can be related to expanding population, urbanization and industrialization, development within highrisk zones, environmental degradation, and climate change. In most disasters, the socially and economically weaker sections are most vulnerable and affected. Other vulnerable groups include elderly persons, women, children—especially women rendered destitute and children orphaned on account of disasters and the differently abled persons exposed to higher risks. Mitigation and preparedness are other key components of a disaster management plan. Once the disaster strikes, the post-disaster plan includes response mechanisms, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. There should be a master plan for flood control and management for each flood-prone basin. Adequate flood-cushion should be provided in waterstorage projects, wherever feasible, to facilitate better flood management. In highly flood-prone areas, flood control should be given overriding consideration in reservoir regulation policy even at the cost of sacrificing some irrigation or power benefits (MOWR, 2002). While physical flood protection works like embankments and dikes will continue to be necessary, increased emphasis should be laid on nonstructural measures such as flood forecasting and warning, flood-plain zoning, and flood proofing for the minimization of losses and reduction of the recurring expenditure on flood relief. Information sharing among states and across borders, along with early warning systems, may allow pre-flood evacuations to mitigate the force of the disaster. There should be strict regulation of settlements and economic activity in the flood-plain zones, along with flood proofing to minimize the loss of life and property on account of floods. The floodforecasting activities should be modernized. Apart from the structural and nonstructural measures, catchment-area treatment and restoration of natural drainage health may also be necessary as flood management strategy. A model bill on flood-plain zoning has been prepared by the Ministry of Water Resources, although states have reported problems in implementing the bill into enactment due to constraints in evacuating people who already occupy flood plains. However, states need to prepare zone-specific strategies along with norms for the kinds of buildings that can be constructed in these areas. Basinwide flood-management models, inundations forecast models, and digital elevation models will be undertaken jointly by CWC and the National Remote Sensing Center.

Drought-prone area development policy Droughts are a regular occurrence in many parts of India. The term “drought” implies a dry period with varying degrees of deficiency in precipitation, duration, and periodicity. As conditions below normal precipitation

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persists and shortages worsen permanent crops, irrigation in general and urban supplies in particular are affected. The drought, in economic terms, is site- and event specific. Regional, provincial, and central agencies have major responsibilities in drought management. Droughts have devastated many areas and populations, like large areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan that suffered large spells of droughts during 1984–1987. Gujarat experienced severe drought in 1991–1992 and again in 1999–2000 along with Rajasthan, creating an emergency need to supply communities with water. Though food was sufficient, water was in short supply for even basic necessities. Reservoir supplies in Saurashtra were withdrawn from irrigation to provide domestic water to populations and serve the cattle. Groundwater in hard rocks was drawn dry. Enormous expenditures were made on trucking water by road and rail, installing pumps and pipelines on reservoirs, and on sinking and deepening wells. Water rationing was extreme. In future, there is certainly to be prolonged droughts in an extensive area like India. Such events will cause widespread and devastating famines until their impact is reduced by the development of irrigation and other actions. When future droughts occur, the impacts of growing water shortages will be exacerbated. This in turn will increase the threat of food shortages in these border-sensitive states. Drought-management plans must be made for specific area, events, and entities. The components of drought management are common, particularly at local levels. Two basic characteristics include a mechanism for frequent, periodic review and upgrading, and a structure that integrates plans into normal management. The droughtmanagement planning should include ongoing monitoring of conditions and dissemination of useful information about drought-management measures to the public. Public support and preparedness is a prerequisite for the enforcement of drought management. Elements of shortages and drought management should be incorporated into normal basin planning and project planning. Drought-prone areas should be made less vulnerable to droughtassociated problems through soil-moisture conservation measures, waterharvesting practices, minimization of evaporation losses, and development of the groundwater potential, including the recharging and transfer of surface water from surplus areas where feasible and appropriate. In some parts of arid and semiarid Rajasthan and Gujarat, measures such as rainwater harvesting and digging percolation tanks for well recharging have been successful. Pastures, forestry, or other modes of development which are relatively less water demanding should be encouraged. In planning water resource development projects, the needs of drought-prone areas should be given priority, especially for the arid and semiarid regions of northwest India. Plans for response to droughts and other unscheduled shortages must be devised well in advance to provide effective control measures. It is essential that public and water users join hands in this national endeavor.

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Applying the precautionary principle One of the most important principles of international environmental law needs to be implemented in practice and spirit, and that is the “precautionary principle.” This principle advocates a cautious approach, including anticipatory, preventive, or mitigatory action, toward any activity that could possibly harm human beings or the environment, even if the possibility has not been fully established scientifically. The onus of proving that there will be no such harm rests therefore on the proposer of the activity (Alagh Committee, MOWR, 2013: 32). Other areas that need action would include changes in water cess law, establishment of a water audit for industry, the interconnection between city-planning water and sewerage, reduction in intra city equity in water supply, and user charges based on equity. Merely labeling these principles is not sufficient to warrant changing attitudes or implementation in society and sectors. They must be strongly advocated. Similarly, other principles of equity, social justice, ecology, and participation should be strongly articulated for desired results. With these principles firmly in mind, state governments should set most regulations and standards with an overall guideline from the center.

Institutional reform This need for good water governance has been recognized more and more emphatically in government pronouncements. Despite the government’s stated commitment to efficient, equitable, and sustainable use of water, the desire for a discernible change in the practices and policies on the ground level is less evident. The emphasis of water institutions that shape the patterns of water use is steeped in a supply-side philosophy favoring massive investments to augment water supply. These policies are inappropriate for solving water problems. Conflicts between water users are increasing, pollution is growing unabated, and groundwater levels are falling. Despite these concerns, there is a lack of efficiency and prudence in managing water. Investments in water efficiency, recycling, and conservation can increasingly yield more usable water than can conventional water projects. However, their potential is severely undermined by pricing policies and water laws that encourage inefficiency and waste. Institutional reform is seen as a complex process and politically difficult to tackle. Removal of institutional barriers is crucial in order to expand water-conserving methods. Issues of weak governance manifest themselves in rules of access, water use, and enforcement. Moreover, there are policies that induce and even encourage the exploitation of water. Institutions in India lack accountability, transparency, and participation,

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which should be integrated into the goals of water resource development and management as key elements of institutional governance.

Decentralization of governance Institutional development at the local level should be a priority through decentralized management of water resources. The panchayats, gram sabhas, and urban local bodies should be recognized as institutions of governance. These institutions will need to coordinate with the multiple stakeholders to forge partnerships for capacity building and assessment of the technological options and management system in a specific area. Decentralization in the management of resources such as water is imperative for good governance. This can be achieved either through joint management of water resources with the state (PIMs, WUAs) or through devolution of power by the state to panchayats formed under the 73rd and 74th Amendment Act in the governance of local water bodies. It can also arise directly from community groups and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with no involvement of the state (Tarun Bharat Sangh in Rajasthan), where the participation of stakeholders and community empowerment leads to efficient governance of water resources (Asthana, 2005). It is essential to democratize institutional bodies by involving various stakeholders and environmental and scientific experts in water quality management to provide better coordination, efficiency, and voluntary compliance with regulatory agencies.

Increase in monitoring stations There is an urgent need to increase the number of monitoring stations as recommended by the National Water Quality Audit of 2009. Both surface water and groundwater should be regularly monitored for quality. The current stations’ scope is limited to conventional compounds like BOD, fecal coliform, oil, grease, and total suspended solids. The monitoring needs to be expanded to ammonia, chlorine, and iron, which have hazardous health impacts. Monitoring stations need to be expanded and their criteria increased. Monitoring should be on a continuous basis to prepare for restoration of polluted water bodies. In the case of groundwater, there is also a need to strengthen monitoring and surveillance to check abuse and pollution from various actions. The roles of these agencies also need to be well defined. The Uniform Protocol on Water Quality (2005) requires groundwater analyses to be done for 25 parameters twice a year, but the effective execution of this notification is still lacking in implementation and enforcement policy. For managing

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groundwater challenges, there is also a need to examine the sectoral policies that have an important bearing on the development and management of groundwater, as is the case with land use, agricultural development, industrial licensing, solid waste disposal, and tourism.

Groundwater protection and governance India is the largest groundwater user in the world, using more than a quarter of the global total estimated at around 230 km3 /per year. Therefore, a special mention needs to be made here of the protection and governance of groundwater resources, since 65 percent of irrigated water and 85 percent of drinking water depend on groundwater. The endless reliance of these two sectors on groundwater has led to a continuous decline of groundwater levels in India despite efforts to replenish these sources. Through the construction of millions of private wells, there has been a phenomenal growth in the exploitation of groundwater in the last five decades (World Bank, 2010: 6). The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reports that 55 percent of the wells in India have registered a declining trend of groundwater level at the rate of 1 meter per year in most locations throughout the country. To arrest the fall in the groundwater table, both the center and the states need to take urgent measures. A regular scientific assessment of groundwater tables should be done with special consideration for the quality of the water available and the economic viability of its extraction. Recharge projects should be developed and implemented for improving both the quality and availability of groundwater resources. Programs like artificial recharge through rainwater harvesting and community-based groundwater management programs should be encouraged. The roles and responsibilities of the central and state groundwater institutions need to be adequately defined. Many of CGWA’s rules for regulation, development, and management of the resource are still pending approval, and many states have reservations about it. The institutional and administrative environment also represents a major constraint in groundwater management, with understaffing and lack of funds making them unable to perform efficiently. Capacity building, training, and involvement of NGOs will ensure public participation and a sense of ownership in resolving exploitation of the resource. Groundwater monitoring should be performed under a single-nodal agency to coordinate an integrated effort to control pollution. Existing policy instruments should be strengthened for proper surveillance to avoid large-scale abstractions. Overexploitation of groundwater should be avoided, especially near the coast, to prevent ingress of seawater into sweet water aquifers. Issues that need to be addressed include the provision of free or subsidized power in the agriculture sector; mandatory bylaws for rainwater harvesting in urban areas, which states have

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started to pay attention to; restricted mining of groundwater; rationalized tariffs for industry; revival of traditional community watersheds; and the recharge of aquifers to prevent groundwater depletion. Without adequate attention to these issues, the goals of water security will not be easily accomplished.

Creation of an agency for conjunctive use The unsustainable use of groundwater resources compels us to recognize its conjunctive use with water from canals, ponds, tanks, and other surface water sources. The inception of conjunctive use should be envisaged right from the project-planning stage and also form part of the project-implementation stage. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources needs a good understanding of the hydrogeology so that groundwater management can address critical considerations such as integration with surface water; water quality, pollution, environment, and health; and a broad array of resource allocation, economic, and social concerns. The process has significant socioeconomic challenges that need to be overcome through institutional reform, for example, the creation of an agency that recognizes the integration needed for conjunctive use rather than one that perpetuates separation based on historic sectoral boundaries. This would also include a long-term campaign to educate farmers through water-user associations on the benefits of conjunctive use of both canal water and groundwater, crop diversification, and land micromanagement according to prevailing hydrogeologic conditions (World Bank, 2010) because involvement of users is essential for water-management in India.

Mechanisms for good water governance The enforcement of water law and policy plays an important role in the access, control, and quality of water and as such can help to mitigate India’s water-security problems. The goals of water law and policy are to provide a legal basis for water allocation and distribution. A credible, transparent, and accountable framework can contribute to water security by creating equitable management systems based on principles of equality and justice. However, its success entirely depends on appropriately drafted laws that set standards, procedural mechanisms, and penalties to ensure implementation on the ground. Water law and policy can succeed in creating an effective form of water governance in two ways: first, by defining legal obligations of the states toward society, individuals, and communities, and each of these toward the other, and second, by monitoring and assessing compliance and implementation based on sound science.

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Turton et al. (2007) speak about water governance as a “trialogue model,” which assumes that the success of governance depends on the balance between government, science, and society. Government requires an effective interface between society and science, in which science is placed at the service of society and scientific knowledge is appropriately diffused; between government and society, in which the new ideas of civil society are elicited and the needs of society are met within a legitimate political process; and between government and science, in which it is determined to what extent scientific knowledge forms the basis for decision making as well as the extent to which government facilitates and enables the scientific process (Figure 10.1). This trialogue may be visualized as follows: Good water governance must involve the ability to design public policies based on organized and systematic gathering and dissemination of knowledge relevant to the decision-making process; laws and institutional frameworks; effective and equitable water management; and the inclusion and engagement of disparate voices in decision-making processes. Its success relies on the implementation of integrated, sustainable management of water resources for the alleviation of poverty at the national level. Water managers and users alike acknowledge the need for transparent, accountable, and participatory governance to build consensus on priority needs and respond to the dynamics of a changing future. Water governance thus creates a political, social, economic, and administrative system to regulate the development and management of water resources and makes provisions for water service delivery at different levels of society.

Government

INTERFACE

Science

Society

Figure 10.1  Water management—trialogue

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Water use, efficiency, and performance reform One of the key areas needing intervention and reform in sectoral use of water relate to its inefficient use, evaluation, and performance. In urban areas a lot of water, from 17 percent to 44 percent of the total flow in the distribution system, is lost due to leakage in the mains, communication and service pipes, and leaking valves in urban cities and towns. Irrigation is currently the largest water user in the different water sectors. About 80 percent of water is used for irrigation, and agriculture constitutes a major source of subsistence and livelihood in the rural areas. The World Bank Report sums up the situation as follows: While agriculture’s share in India’s economy has progressively declined to less than 15% due to the high growth rates of the industrial and services sectors, the sector’s importance in India’s economic and social fabric goes well beyond this indicator. First, nearly three-quarters of India’s families depend on rural incomes. Second, the majority of India’s poor (some 770 million people or about 70 per cent) are found in rural areas. And third, India’s food security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as increasing its production of fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands of a growing population with rising incomes. To do so, a productive, competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural sector will need to emerge at an accelerated pace.... The country has some 195 m ha under cultivation of which some 63 per cent are rain fed (roughly 125 mha) while 37 per cent are irrigated (70 mha). In addition, forests cover some 65 mha of India’s land. (World Bank, 2012: NA) Irrigation is a powerful tool for expanding crop yields, but it can be extremely dangerous if mismanaged. The challenges that India faces in relation to water security (discussed in Chapter 3 in detail) refer to the challenge of providing food security and reduction in rural poverty, increased productivity to meet the demand for more food as the population increases, and improvements with regard to drainage, salinity, and waterlogging. In the present business-as-usual scenario, governments continue to invest in large irrigation projects despite their poor performance, and donors continue to pump money into them; poor performance is not evaluated against the designs of the projects; the size of command areas are overestimated to justify massive-lift irrigation projects; fee collection is minimal; the supply paradigm dominates; and regional politicians benefit from less and less canal irrigation in India (Shah, 2011: 81). Current incentives to exploit less groundwater or reduce subsidies have not made any inroads in the reform structure design.

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Performance evaluation One of the first steps in the process of change should be an evaluation of the irrigation agencies and the performance of the projects in operation. Irrigation agencies need to overhaul themselves and create financial sustainability through better monitoring, operation, and maintenance of these facilities. The current emphasis lies in the creation and expansion of water resource infrastructure, but greater priority must be given to the performance of these existing projects (Shah, 2011). Therefore, allocation of funds in the water resources sector should be reprioritized to ensure that ongoing projects have what they need to improve their performance. World Bank and government reports, as well as general observation, reveal that irrigation systems have low levels of efficiency, productivity, sustainability due to the decline in maintenance of infrastructure and the quality of construction. Unproductive staff, wastage of resources, and lack of control over expenditure in the irrigation sector pose new challenges.

Irrigation efficiency About half of the water used in irrigation is lost to seepage and evaporation (MOEF, 2009: 105). One of the first steps is to improve efficiencies and minimize losses of the existing structures due to deteriorated networks, overuse of water, poor system discharge, and lack of supply continuity. With limited water resources and competitions between the industrial and urban sectors, it will be necessary to adopt measures that ensure efficiency, conservation, in the management of water resources. Demand management and appropriate technologies are necessary if water use is to increase and inefficiency to decrease. Investments in research, technology development, and integrated land and water management are essential to increase the efficiency of water use, because the existing efficiencies are extremely low. Micro-irrigation systems like drip and sprinklers, which save about 40–50 percent of water, need to be adopted with an integrated plant and soil nutrient system for conservation of water. More technological interventions will be needed to increase food production with available water and land. The main engine of growth will be raised productivity per unit of land, but this will require increased yields and diversification of crops in proportion to water use based on agroclimatic conditions. Serious water stress requires improvements in crop diversification and yields. For example, pulses and oilseeds, which are less water intensive, could be planted in arid states. There is considerable scope in stepping up water efficiency to minimize agricultural water requirements and maximize productivity by sowing such water-efficient crops. Water

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charges are very low and electricity is subsidized, both of which lead to wastage. Increasing the agricultural power tariff is necessary for groundwater conservation.

Efficiency and reuse in industrial water management As Chapter 4 demonstrates, industrial growth is on the rise and will require a lot more water in 2025 and 2050 than it currently does. Water management in industrial use should emphasize on suitable treatment and recycling to allow efficient use and reuse of water for cooling and nondrinking purposes. The focus should be on cost-effective strategies, and tariff should be prescribed in a way that every industry is compelled to look into technological interventions to reduce usage of freshwater as well as the water-per-unit production of wastewater. Policy measures for the industrial sector should take advantage of the innovative technologies and ability to design and implement water-reuse technology and recycling that the private sector is capable of providing. This will reduce pollution in load as well as the cost of its treatment. Industries have also started to focus on desalination plants in using sea water to reduce freshwater usage and constrain groundwater pumping. Encouragement should also be given to green industrialization, and industrial zones should not be established in arid areas.

Wastewater treatment for efficient use No discussion on water security can be complete without addressing the need for adequate infrastructure and technology for wastewater treatment. There is a lack of infrastructure investment in India. States and municipalities have not made municipal wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal a priority compared to water supply. Therefore, the gap between generation and treatment is large. Upfront investment is necessary to bring the current infrastructure to the required level for sewage treatment. India’s municipalities have a wastewater treatment capacity of 30 percent of wastewater generation in urban areas. There is an urgent need to improve sewage capacity. Moreover, the operation and maintenance of these plants is very poor (CPCB, 2008). Because municipalities lack financial resources and skilled capacity, these plants are underutilized. If India were to develop 100 percent treatment capacity to the secondary level (CPCB, 2008), the cities will have a tremendous potential of recycling water within and thereby reducing bulk freshwater supply. While freshwater is essential for human consumption, industrial and agricultural units can use treated water. Treated

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water can also be used for irrigation and for recharging groundwater. Industries should be encouraged to reuse treated municipal water. Revenue obtained from sale of treated wastewater could be used to supplement sewage treatment costs. There are some success stories where industrial plants are reducing consumption of freshwater by using wastewater technologies for cooling processes and industrial use. Efforts should also be made to ensure zero liquid discharge in surface waters and recycle wastewater.

Collective action for efficient control of small- and medium-scale polluters Another approach that may be more viable in water-quality implementation is collective action for small-scale industries. Collective action relates to incentives for polluters, for affected parties, and for the government to act in complementarity. At present, most small-scale industries are violators of pollution control laws and are a major source of water pollution. The threat of closure due to noncompliance has led to inefficient and less costeffective technologies and has also led to closure of many small-scale industries. An empirical analysis of Sonepat Industrial Area in Haryana, India, revealed the inability of these industries to carry out water pollution abatement for various reasons. Most were unable to meet Haryana pollution control standards, except for those that had complete effluent treatment plants. The survey of these units exhibits a clear opportunity for collective action through Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) as an effective instrument for controlling water pollution in industrial states where the government could play a catalytic role in removing bottlenecks instead of a coercive role in enforcing standards (Murty et al., 1999). A case study of the Nandeshwari Industrial Estate in Vadodara demonstrated how collective action can prove beneficial to vested common interests due to the existence of economies of scale: nonseparable costs through collective action, mutual expectations that deflect the prisoner’s dilemma scenario, and the institutional framework that ensures each industry an equal chance to participate in collective water pollution abatement and sustainability (Misra, 1999). This could lead to a complementary relationship in which the state, the market, and the local institutions take collective action to preserve water quality. The main objective of the CETP is to reduce treatment cost to be borne by individual units, especially small-scale industries. A centrally sponsored scheme is in place to set up effluent treatment plants in all states of the country. The government of India has begun to invest in the CETPs, but the efficiency of these plants is questionable. Most CETPs fail to meet effluent discharge standards even when in operation. Governments need to pay attention to operation and maintenance costs as creation of CETPs alone will not solve the water quality problem. Attention also needs to be

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paid to sewage treatment and stormwater runoff coming from urban areas, as in most cases CPCBs and SPCBs concentrate on industrial effluents. Although SPCBs are keeping a constant vigil over polluting industries and CETPs to ensure their effective performance and maintenance, long-term success can only be achieved if there are long-term plans for technological intervention, sewage treatment, municipal solid-waste management, infrastructural development, and the upgrading of existing infrastructure and hazardous and biomedical waste management (Annual Report MOEF, (2011–2012: 133)).

Role of market mechanisms and private-sector participation Private-sector participation is a term that needs to be used with great caution in water management due to the inability of a large percentage of the populations to pay for their basic needs. Privatization has therefore created a huge resistance among civil society and stakeholders. However, private-sector participation can also be very beneficial in water resource management. If a private-sector role in planning, development, and management of water resource projects needs to be considered, there should also be a full cost-benefit analysis of not only the economic but also the social and environmental costs. Private-sector participation may help in introducing innovative ideas, generating financial resources, introducing corporate management, and improving service efficiency, but the process needs to be accountable, transparent, and participatory. In many cases, external funding agencies or corporations do not follow this procedure, thus misleading the populace on the issue. Several instances in other parts of the world also demonstrate that privatization has not worked. So these decisions should be context specific and made in consultation with the affected populace. The competitive nature of the market makes it difficult for a marginal industry to install a treatment plant. A recent study conducted in India reflects a stringent need to augment the existing portfolio of policy instruments to include economic or market-based instruments, which are not only more effective, but achieve a given level of compliance with a lower cost to society and higher efficiency gain. An analysis of selected firms from all over the country showed that a taxes-and-standards approach provided significant incentives for industrial pollution control in India (Murthy, 1997). In contrast to the command-and-control measures, this approach benefits not only those affected by pollution and the government, but also the industries themselves. Some problems may arise due to the economies of scale, but there is always scope for improvement with an integrated approach of both

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command-and-control and market-based solutions for pollution control, which may best serve the needs of securing water quality. Non-profit organizations have also taken initiatives that include developing sanitation as a business model and developing entrepreneurial capacity and technological options for urban India. Other pilot projects are being undertaken to test technology and business models with stakeholder participations. Efforts are being made to test different designs in sanitation by public, private, and nonprofit organizations, but the challenge lies in the engagement and motivation of the ULBs. The past focus on centralized sewerage systems and simple on-site sanitation is not an acceptable default option, nor is it technically feasible or financially viable given growth patterns. Ground breaking new technology, management, and operational models are required to solve the sanitation challenge at scale. Recent attention from the donor community, the private sector, and others brings focus to using innovation to solve the sanitation challenge. (WHO/UNICEF, 2010) Adequate emphasis also needs to be given to the physical and financial sustainability of existing facilities. Demand management through price is an issue that needs attention, but there is a challenge of balancing the basic needs of the poor by providing subsidies and yet being able to recover the cost of operation and maintenance. Differential pricing can be seen as a step toward balancing these needs. ULBs are generally stripped of financial resources, and these plans intend to strengthen their technical, financial, and human capacity. There is, therefore, a need to ensure that the amount charged for various uses of water should be fixed in such a way that they cover at least the operation and maintenance costs of providing the service initially and a part of the subsequent capital costs. These rates should be linked directly to the quality of service provided, and subsidies on water rates to the disadvantaged and poorer sections of the society should be well targeted and transparent.

Rights and justice reforms Water is a fundamental right, but the constitution has not yet recognized it as such. For example, judicial decisions recognize water as a fundamental right, but the minimum core obligation of the state, flowing from the right to water of every person has not yet been defined and specified in India by the legislature or by the courts. The state is yet to specify and recognize that a certain quantity of water (LPCD) is a most basic human need and should

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be an inviolable part of the fundamental right to water. This could ensure that a certain quantity of water to every person in the country is nonnegotiable and mandatory legal requirement. (Upadhyay, 2011: 58) This, Upadhyaya argues, will bring the focus back to water for every person and will set the right legal route for securing it. An optimal use of water resources necessitates construction of storage facilities and the consequent displacement, resettlement, and rehabilitation of population. Water resource development projects like dams have accounted for a lot of displacement of people that still await rehabilitation. Although a skeletal national resettlement policy exists for people who are affected by a project, states are yet to evolve strong, detailed resettlement and rehabilitation policies for the sector, taking into account the local conditions. Careful planning is necessary to ensure that the construction and rehabilitation activities proceed simultaneously and smoothly. There are several families and communities still awaiting resettlement and rehabilitation from projects as long as two decades old. Indian society is fragmented by caste and class that marginalizes sections of society leading to questions of equity and access for traditionally marginalized communities like the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Many low-caste populations are still victims to this cultural fragmentation and therefore are still unable to draw water from the upper-caste wells in the villages. There are several news stories that reporters write about even today in a globalizing and modernizing India where Dalit women have been manhandled or beaten for having drawn water from a well in an upper-caste area. Class differences have also led to inequity in water supply and distribution where the rich get more LPCD than the poor in the jhuggis and slums. The struggle for access to water is also struggle for power and in many of these cases becomes a means of control, raising questions of fundamental rights like the right to equality guaranteed under the constitution. These need to be addressed as these groups are sometimes deprived of the ability to collect water from the common watersupply facilities located in the main village. Women’s participation is also critical, as it is mostly women in village households that manage the water demands. For the success of the rural water schemes, these norms have to be incorporated into management practices along with appropriate legislation and the willingness to pay for the service.

Geo-engineering, technological, and indigenous solutions Of the 4,000 bcm precipitation that occurs over the country, India’s estimated utilizable water resources are 1,123 bcm (690 bcm in surface

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water and 432.94 bcm in groundwater2) of the total runoff of 1,869 bcm (see Chapter 2 for details). The rest of the water is either absorbed as soil moisture or goes back to the atmosphere by immediate evaporation. The harnessing of river flows through storage projects has remained a matter of contention depending on the nature of the project from big dams to medium or minor storage or storage in lakes, ponds, and tanks. With only 225 bcm being harnessed through surface storage capacities, around 60 percent of the surface runoff is lost to the sea every year. Given the competing demands, water resource planning needs to make water resources available to the country within the category of utilizable resources to the maximum extent possible. On the one hand, we have geo-engineering solutions like the Interlinking of Rivers from the north to the south, and, on the other hand, we have traditional rainwater harvesting systems to provide solutions to water. Geoengineering solutions like the interlinking can seemingly provide water from surplus to drought areas in India, but these huge projects cannot be undertaken without being cognizant of the consequences—social, ecological, and financial. A better option would be to try this first at a smaller scale of interlinking before taking up this project. Efforts are underway to create the Ken–Betwa interlink and if that proves successful other links can be created to meet water shortages in other parts of the country. Technological and engineering solutions like big dams have come under considerable criticism by the world since the 1990s. Pooling indigenous and traditional knowledge as well as incorporating it, the modern technological and scientific efforts would help conserve water and bring about sustainable economic growth. Both local knowledge and scientific knowledge should be utilized to incorporate water conservation strategies in our lifestyles. The fusion of technologies can improve and make current practices sustainable. The costs and benefits as well as feasibility and research should be the key criteria in planning our projects that could range from desalination plants, inter-basin transfers, rainwater harvestings, or pond and tankwater storages.

Water, culture, and behavioral change An important behavioral shift is necessary from a cultural perspective on water that raises questions of access, allocation, and social justice. The statement to the Ministerial Conference, 3rd World Water Forum, March 22, 2003 in the session “Water and Cultural Diversity,” remarked on the importance of culture in relation to water. “Due to its fundamental role in

1,086 bcm when surface water is 690 bcm, and groundwater is calculated as total usable water—396 usable bcm.

2

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society’s life, water has a strong cultural dimension. Without understanding and considering the cultural aspects of our water problems, no sustainable solution can be found.” While culture has had a positive role to play in India, especially in the case of valuing indigenous knowledge, revering the rivers, valuing nature, and establishing sustainable practices, it has also had a negative effect on certain marginalized sections of our society, especially the poor and the weak. Culture constitutes a distinct system of knowledge and behavior in India. Indian society has been stratified since its inception and access to water stratified by caste, class, and gender. This stratification plays an important role in the way water is allocated and managed between these sections of society. Culture, for example, has an important role to play in the case of women who travel long distances every day in many parts of India to get water for their household, affecting their well-being and health. In a patriarchal society that dominates India, women have all the burden of household work in the family and she is obligated to bring water to the family. In many cases, girls are asked to drop school, as they have to stand in line to fetch water for the household. On another note from a cultural and behavioral perspective, water in India evoked a sentiment symbolizing it as an object of worship. The rivers were hailed as deities and water consigned as holy offering in various Hindu rituals, from the birth of a child to death. Water and rivers were worshiped so much that its use was within the confines of preserving and conserving water. But this old sentiment and fervor is dying, and these very religious and social practices have become other sources of river pollution. Carcasses of cattle and other animals disposed in rivers add to the pollution load. In keeping with ancient rituals, the dead are still cremated on riverbanks. Increased wood prices have resulted in partially burnt bodies often being flung into rivers. The tradition of throwing unburnt bodies of holy men, infants, and those who succumb to contagious diseases into rivers further pollutes Indian rivers and makes these unhealthy. Awareness, education, and consciousness are essential to bring about these cultural shifts to keep rivers free of pollution, and equitable access to all becomes a priority.

The need for a water resource information and inventory One of the major challenges in water resource planning has been the availability and sharing of water data. States are generally reluctant to share water data and information with other basin states in the fear that if they declare a water surplus, it may be diverted by inter-basin transfers to other states. On the contrary, however, a well-developed information

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system for water-related data at the national and the state level can create a win-win situation for all. A standardized national information system should be established with a network of data banks and databases, integrating and strengthening the existing central and state agencies and improving the quality of data and its processing capabilities. Advances in information technology must be introduced to create a modern information system promoting free exchange of data among various agencies. Special efforts should be made to develop and continuously upgrade technological capability to collect, process, and disseminate reliable data in the desired time frame. To allow for future planning, the system should also include comprehensive and reliable projections of future demands of water for diverse purposes. The government of India has created a Water Resource Information System of India (WRIS). The project “Generation of Database and Implementation of Web Enabled Water Resources Information System in the Country” short named as India-WRIS Web GIS is a joint venture of the Central Water Commission (CWC), Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Department of Space, Govt. of India, as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on December 3, 2008, between the two departments for a period of four years—January 2009 to December 2012. India-WRIS Web GIS aims as a ‘Single Window’ solution for comprehensive, authoritative and consistent data & information of India’s water resources along with allied natural resources in a standardized national GIS framework (WGS-84 datum and LCC projection) tools to search, access, visualize, understand and analyze the data for assessment, monitoring, planning, development and finally Integrated Water Resources Management. (WRIS, 2013) Data can also be downloaded from the website. Any public user can download nonclassified hydrological observation data that include gauge, discharge, and silt and water quality parameters as recorded by the Central Water Commission (CWC) hydrometeorological stations for the period 1965– 2012. Earlier, this data were only available to state governments; however, the government would keep as “classified” data on rivers India shares with neighbors, although this information will also be shared under certain conditions. NGOs working in the sector, however, want more. Nonprofit organizations in the water sector feel that data exchanged with neighbors and all information on transboundary projects should also be put in the public domain. They have also demanded that the methodology for collecting this data should be shared to ascertain its accuracy and transparency. Among the responses received by the government on the draft of the policy was a demand for public access to information on projects requiring forest land,

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which can cause significant impact on local populations; information where land is made available to any private developer or commercial interests; and projects relating to irrigation, drinking water, flood control, and hydropower (Parsai, 2013). The government believes that putting data in the public domain will empower stakeholders and prompt them in the right directions.

Water zoning One of the alternatives for maintaining the water balance is water zoning. Water zones for different sectoral activities should be based on water availability. For example, industries should not be located and zoned in semiarid or arid regions. Economic development and activities, including agricultural, industrial, and urban development, should be planned with due regard to the configuration of water availability. All economic activities should be planned on water zones. A review of the management alternatives presented in this chapter may make the agenda for addressing water challenges in India overwhelming. The Indian waterscape and the systems that need to be managed are too complex and dynamic to accurately predict outcomes of changed management practices and interventions. However, the visible symptoms and recognizable impacts of the old system on the water sphere make it imperative to make the effort to change. One cannot deny that there has been a shift toward water management policy and India has begun to acknowledge that topdown, command-and-control approaches and technological solutions alone cannot solve the complex issues that we have discussed. Areas that need to be incorporated into the new management design include changes in the nature of governance, integration of sectors and issues, decentralized and flexible approaches, community participation and collaborative decisionmaking, information sharing, the vital role of nature and its ecosystems, and a renewed focus on managing the source of a problem and not its effect. The role of science and scientific information within the policy and management framework is much debated, considering the fact that science itself is not value-free and scientists themselves make competing claims. Yet one cannot deny the importance of science and the epistemic community to policy making in water resource management. The emphasis in the past has always been on physical and natural sciences, but social science also play an important role in explaining human interactions and the cultural context in which water management occurs. Barriers between these disciplines need to be broken because of the knowledge each can provide to policy makers. This knowledge, when combined with the local knowledge of the stakeholders and community groups along with a clear understanding of the issues of equity and social justice, can provide the context in which policy makers

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can manage the resource. From the different policy choices, policy makers must attempt to choose the best option. Good communication between different actors is central to solving the problems and managing the risks of water pollution, and the challenges of land and water use and environmental flows (Gooch and Stalnacke, 2010: 7). Some efforts are being made in this direction, but a lot more needs to be done because sustainable management of water resources cannot be realized unless management regimes undergo radical changes.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Water security: Hope and despair The framework for water security (Chapter 1, Figure 1.1) emphasizes reliability availability, and accessibility of water in sufficient quantity and quality to meet basic needs, create possible livelihoods, and provide local ecosystem services. The freshwater resource remains constant, but material, institutional, and cultural drivers tend to reduce that availability due to changes in the water bodies caused by their activities. Biogeochemical processes and aquatic biotas in the water bodies regulate freshwater quantity and quality in ways that are insufficiently acknowledged by both the water user and the resource community. Alterations in flow, addition of organic matter, thermal regimes, and sediment flow interact with water bodies to reduce the biological diversity and ecological integrity of freshwater systems and thereby degrade the properties and ecological services most valued by humans (Arthington et al., 2010). The availability, reliability, equity, and seasonality of water not only determine the intensity of conflict and insecurity in the conventional sense but also serve as indicators for human development and environmental sustainability (Upreti, 2007). India is no exception to these interactions, leaving the water bodies in a depressing state. Given the current state of water affairs in India, this chapter discusses the projected future demand and identifies some success stories of hope among despair.

The current water scenario The current water scenario is a complex, dynamic, and dismal one that imposes a huge burden on the resource itself. Water insecurity is on the rise as a result of demographic pressures, socioeconomic stratification, agrarian change, and increasing urbanization. Abstraction of water for different needs and sectors leaves little for the resource itself. Now, due to the freshwater ecosystem’s exhaustion and overexploitation of the resource,

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Industrialization, urbanization, and population growth Irrigation development

Instituional, law, and policy deficits

Water stressors

Climate change

Behavioral change Floods and droughts

Figure 11.1  The water stressors water resource shortages are on the rise. Our short-sighted behavior and lack of understanding of the relationships between the parts and the whole have resulted in the fragmented management of the ecosystem. The impacts of water stressors (Figure 11.1) discussed in detail in Part II of the book demonstrate the state of water in India. From a water security perspective, these are visible symptoms of the material, institutional, and behavioral malaise already being felt in the availability, accessibility, and quality of water, affecting human development, livelihoods, and ecosystem services. A United Nations report ranked India as 120th out of the 122 countries surveyed for water quality and 133rd out of 180 in water availability (UN World Water Development Report, 2003), and the latest Performance Audit Report (2011–2012) shows no major improvements in water quality. The per capita availability of water in India has dropped from 5,277 in 1950 to 1,588 m3 in 2010 and will further reduce to 1,191 m3 in 2050. This estimate suggests the need to increase water availability from 520 bcm in 1997 to more than 1,000 bcm by 2025, but even for meeting the demands in 2025, additional availability of water will be required (Country Vision, 2000).

Projected future demand The scenario discussed below attempts to quantify the gross water demand in India during 2025 and 2050. Table 11.1 was computed in a study done by

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the National Commission of Integrated Water Resource Development using population source from Visaria and Visaria (standard) and United Nations (low variant) for 2050. Visaria and Visaria estimated population under the standard variant at 1,581 million and under the UN1 low-variant estimates stand at 1,346 million.

Table 11.1: Projected water demand for 2025 and 2050 2025 Sectors

1

Irrigation

561

611

628

807

2

Domestic

55

62

90

111

3

Industry

67

67

81

81

4

Energy

31

33

63

70

5

Navigation

10

10

15

15

6

Abatement of Pollution

10

10

20

20

7

Evaporative Losses

50

50

76

76

784

843

973

1,180

Total

Low Demand Scenario (bcm)

2050

S. No.

High Demand Scenario (bcm)

Low Demand Scenario (bcm)

High Demand Scenario (bcm)

Source: National Commission on Integrated Water Resource Development (1999)

The key drivers discussed in Part II of the book will continue to put pressure on water resources for food, livelihood, life, health, and ecological security, as demonstrated in the water demand scenarios of 2025 and 2050.

Water for food As India’s economy grows and population increases, the demand for food will also increase. It is estimated that by the middle of this century, India will need to feed an additional 500 million people. As a growing economy, India is beginning to see a shift in food-consumption patterns. As a result, there are changing land-use patterns, cropping, and water use due to the demographic shift and economic growth. India’s food grain production increased from 50.8 million tons (mt) in 1950–1951 to 257.4 mt in 2011– 2012 (Planning Commission, 2013). Projections are that the food grain demand will increase slowly from 178 mt in 2000 (base scenario) to 230 Population is expected to reach around 1,581 (1,620 million revised in World Population Prospects 2012) (medium variant) in 2050.

1

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and 240 mt in 2025 and 2050, respectively, while the total grain demand (food and feed) for 2025 and 2050 has been estimated to grow from 201 mt in 2000 to 291 mt and 377 mt, respectively. The Business as Usual Scenario (BAU) Report2 (Amarasinghe et al. 2007) estimates that India will remain sufficient enough to meet most of the country’s food needs by 2050, as total grain production will be up by two percent than the estimated demand. The country will, however, need to import maize and pulses. The maize import will be mainly for livestock feeding due to shift in dietary habits as a result of economic growth and its accruing benefits to the population. While Amarasinghe et al. (2007) estimate exports of rice and wheat, other estimates believe that India will still be importing wheat as wheat consumption in the country has grown by twenty-seven percent in the past ten years. This consumption is expected to increase due to dietary preferences from rice to wheat in the future while per capita cereal consumption is expected to decrease. To meet domestic demand, India will have to increase wheat imports from a meager 300 thousand metric tons (TMT) in 2010 to 12.5 MMT in 2050 (Weigand, 2011). While India seems self-sufficient in meeting total grain production by 2050, the challenge lies in balancing regional water needs to meet the growing demands. Due to the spatial mismatches, areas having more people and much of the food grain production have less water resources (Amarasinghe et al., 2005). The increase in irrigated area under land for more production also requires water. Irrigation in India has resulted through minor, medium, and large irrigation projects that continue to supply stored water to agricultural areas. The Central Water Commission monitors eighty-five important reservoirs in the country. India’s total live storage capacity is 155.046 bcm, which is 61 percent of the live storage capacity estimated at 253.388 bcm created in the country. As of May 1, 2014, live storage available in India was 51.13 bcm, which is 33 percent of total live storage. This storage is considered 126 percent of storage of corresponding period last year and 142 percent of storage average of the last ten years (CWC, 2014; Mohan, 2014). Challenges to these storage include siltation, sedimentation and from an Indian perspective landslides, uncontrolled felling of trees, the immature geology of the Himalayas, soil erosion, and pressures of grazing. While the role of storage is important for agriculture and to mitigate water scarcity,

The BAU scenario has been based on the current changing trends observed in the last few decades in India. These trends form the assumptions of the key food and water demand drivers. The trends include: (i) demographic change, (ii) income growth, (iii) urbanization, (iv) consumption patterns, (v) national food self-sufficiency, (vi) crop area growth, (vii) crop yield growth, (viii) irrigation efficiency. For details, see Amarasinghe, U. A.; Shah, T.; Turral, H.; Anand, B. K. 2007. India’s water future to 2025–2050: Business-as-usual scenario and deviations. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute. 47p. (IWMI Research Report 123).

2

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the efficiency of the storage reservoirs has been very limited. A recent report (2014) shows South Indian reservoirs with depleting reserves. Most reservoirs show sixteen percent of total capacity much below a ten-year average at the corresponding period of twenty-one percent (CWC, 2014). Estimated irrigated area is supposed to increase from 76 to 117 mha during 2000–2050 and share of groundwater irrigation coverage to increase from 43 to 70 mha over the same duration (Amarasimghe et al., 2007: 23). The National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development (NCIWRD) (MOWR, 1999) shows an increase in the demand for irrigation water to 807 bcm under a high-growth scenario (Table 11.1), justifying the need for the National Water Grid called the interlinking rivers project for food security and building of storage projects to have enough water to meet irrigation needs. The BAU projections for estimated irrigation use remain strikingly similar for the year 2025 but deviate significantly in the 2050 scenario. The BAU estimates a decreasing irrigation demand between 2025 and 2050; the NCIWRD projects an additional demand of about 200 bcm by 2050. The differences are based on recent trends observed by the BAU report that would grow by 2050. For example, First, BAU projects decreasing food demand and increasing feed grain demand as a result of these trends while NICWRD projects significant growth in food grain consumption. BAU projects a diversified diet while NCIWRD assumes a grain-dominating diet. Second, NCIWRD assumes self-sufficiency of grain as a result of increased area under irrigation estimated at 104 mha while BAU projects increase of only 79 mha of grain irrigated area due to changing trends. Third, BAU assumes rapid expansion of groundwater irrigation in the ratio of 60:40 whereas NCIWRD still assumes more dependency on surface water to the ratio of 55:45. The BAU also assumes that the rise in irrigation efficiencies and more micro technologies will lead to decreased water demand (Amarasinghe et al., 2007: 13). While groundwater may be an efficient source for irrigated area and increasing crop yield and production, overexploitation of the resource and inefficient management can lead to water scarcity and major water crisis. Increasing groundwater usage can also have detrimental effects on river basin, and competing water sectoral demands could exacerbate the crisis. Several river basins, the report estimates, will be physically water scarce by 2050 and will not have enough water to meet future needs. The degree of development of 10 river basins, home to 75 percent of the total population, will be well over 60 percent by 2050. Under these circumstances while the NCIWRD offers the National Interlinking River project as a major solution to India’s problems, the BAU report looks at (a) increasing crop productivity for every unit of water used at present, (b) increasing potential groundwater supply through artificial recharge methods, (c) concentrating on economic activities where the value of water is very high, or (d) getting water transfers from the water-rich basins (Amarasinghe et al., 2007: 13–14). These are challenging solutions

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and both studies acknowledge that these are estimates subject to changing trends for better or worse. Beyond this the effect of climate change on water and food production has also not been analyzed in these studies. In spite of the difference in water demand for irrigation in both reports, there is a consensus that managing efficiency and storage capacity in irrigation is crucial to increase crop productivity and yield. Compared to the advancement in irrigation methods in other parts of the world, the change in India has been very slow. Surface irrigation is practiced in more than 99 percent of irrigated area in the country, but new technologies are not still in use. Sprinkler irrigation is confined to about 0.6–0.7 mha and drip irrigation to about 0.25 mha only. Attention to drainage is also necessary in irrigation systems to increase productivity and production. The assumption is also that irrigation efficiency will increase from 35–40 percent to 50 percent in 2025 and to 60 percent in 2050. The need to store water, whether in underground aquifers, small reservoirs, water harvesting structures, or diggis an intermediate water structure that store water deliveries for a farm in their turn of water supply, and then pump out to irrigate crops through sprinkler micro-irrigation systems is important for a country where precipitation is fairly constant but its distribution in time and space has considerable variance.

Water for life Safe water is essential for drinking, washing, cleaning, cooking, and bovine and horticultural needs in our daily lives. Availability of safe, sufficient, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use is a fundamental human right. The United Nations General Assembly, on July 28, 2010, declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as human rights tied directly to the right to life and human dignity. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon stated that “[s]afe drinking water and adequate sanitation are crucial for poverty reduction, crucial for sustainable development, and crucial for achieving any and every one of the Millennium Development Goals,” referring to the global targets to slash poverty, illiteracy, disease, and other social ills by 2015, collectively known as the MDGs. The Human Development Report of 2006, subtitled “Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty, and the Global Water Crisis,” acknowledges that clean water and sanitation are among the most important needs for human development. Access to water and sanitation extends opportunities, enhances dignity, and helps create a virtuous cycle of improving health and wealth. The MDGs, to which India is a party, envisage removing poverty, inequality, hunger, and illness. The world has pledged to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. In the International Decade for Action, Water for Life,

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2005–2015, it is pledged to meet the MDG target for drinking water and sanitation availability. Achieving the MDG drinking water and sanitation target poses two major challenges: the rapid pace of urbanization, which requires a major effort even to keep up the current coverage levels, and a huge backlog of rural people deprived of with basic sanitation and safe drinking water, which calls for an intensive mobilization of resources to reduce the vast coverage gap between urban and rural populations. The domestic requirements for water under the low-demand and highdemand scenarios will be from 90 bcm to 111 bcm in 2050. Although the domestic requirement for water is not very large compared to other competing user’s requirements, the challenge is one of availability, quality, cost of development, and efficiency of management (NCIWRD, 1999). According to the UNICEF Report on Water and Sanitation in India, based on 2011 census, 70.6 per cent of urban households use tap water for drinking, of which 2.0 per cent is treated and 8.6 per cent remains untreated. 20.8 per cent use water from hand pump/ tube well, 6.2 per cent use water from well, of which 1.7 per cent are covered and 4.5 per cent un-covered. 71.2 per cent of urban households have source of water within the premises while 20.7 per cent households have to fetch water from a source located 100 meters from the premises and 8.1 per cent household collect water from a source located beyond 100 meters. The Progress on Water and Sanitation Report 2012 records that of the 2 billion people that gained access to drinking water sources since 1990 nearly half live in India (422 million) and China (578 million) alone. It is reported that 95 percent of urban households have access to an improved source of water (NFHS-111, 2005–2006), but access to an improved source of water is not a reflection on availability of safe drinking water. Yet in India, 97 million people were still without access to an improved drinking water source in 2010. It is also reported that about 78 percent of India’s urban population has access to safe drinking water (CPCB, 2009), but 42 percent of the urban population does not have access to improved sanitation facilities, which means that close to half of the urban population lacks sanitation facilities, of which 14 percent still defecate in the open. In the rural areas, the practice of open defecation is even more severe, with 66 percent of the population defecating in the open. Four out of ten people who have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990 live in India and China, with 251 million gaining access to improved sanitation facilities. About 814 million people are still without improved sanitation, and about 626 million still practice open defecation, which is largely a rural practice. The poorest of the poor have hardly benefitted from any sanitation improvements (UNICEF/WHO,

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2012). Approximately 74 percent of the rural population does not use any water disinfection method. Most slums are concentrated around nallahs, and 48 percent of them are affected by waterlogging during the monsoons, which eludes safe drinking water, sanitation, and a clean environment to these populations (Some Characteristics of Urban Slums, NSS 65th round report, 2010). Table 11.2 illustrates the percentage use of sanitation facilities in India by urban, rural, and national categories. The table demonstrate that progress in urban sanitation has been better and that the problem lies in rural sanitation. The proportion of the Indian population that gained access to sanitation facilities from 1995 to 2010 is 17 percent. India may not be on target to achieve MDG 7, of halving the population without improved sanitation by 2015, and India’s own goal of Total Sanitation for all by 2012 under the Total Sanitation Program is far from being realized. While access to improved drinking water sources in India has increased over the past decade, the tremendous adverse impact of unsafe water on human health continues. Unsafe water leads to waterborne diseases, whereas improved water sanitation can improve household health and reduce child mortality (as most disease agents originate from feces, animal or human, and reach the water or food chain through intermediate agents). Bad management practices have reduced the availability and access of water to a cross-section of the population. Leaking pipes, distribution challenges, and the proximity of sewerage and drinking water pipes create conditions where people are forced to look for alternative sources of water. As demand for water in the domestic sector grows, water availability will become more of a challenge.

Water for industry As India moves toward becoming an economic powerhouse, industrial demand for water will also be on the rise. India is the tenth most industrialized country in the world, with about 88 industrial clusters scattered across the country (CPCB, 2009). Industries make a great contribution to the GDP of the country. Water is an integral component in industrial infrastructure and hence its importance in sustaining the GDP cannot be undermined. Although India’s current industrial demand for water is insignificant in comparison to agriculture, there will be a significant rise in demand in future scenarios. Water for industrial purposes is generally of a nonconsumptive nature and can be recycled and reused in toilet, cooling, and other activities that will also allow reduction in the fresh bulk of water supply needed at present. Industrial efficiency in India is comparatively low than other countries in the world. Industries in many areas do not comply with environmental standards. Groundwater exploitation contributes to the fastest growing

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8,73,785

10,53,898

12,24,614

1990

2000

2010

Source: UNICEF/WHO, 2012

Population

Year

30

28

26

Urban Population (%)

58

55

51

42–14% open defecation

45–22% open defecation

49–28% open defecation

Urban Urban Improvement Unimprovement (%) (%)

23

14

7

Rural Improvement (%)

Table 11.2: Use of sanitation facilities: Percentage of population

77–67% open defecation

86–79% open defecation

93–91% open defecation

Rural Unimprovement (%)

34

25

18

National Improvement (%)

66

75

82

National Unimprovement (%)

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industrial sector in India, called bottle water, at the expense of unsustainable strategies (Bhushan, 2006). The industrial water demand in 2050 will be around 81 bcm, and strategies and incentives have to be created to compel the industries to look into technological interventions that will reduce pollution load and reduce use of wastewater per unit. Water requirements will increase with the demand for clean energy, and hydropower potential needs to be exploited. Inland navigation is another area that can provide benefits in the form of cheap transportation wherever such movement is possible. With current utilizable water resources estimated at 1,086 bcm, 690.31 bcm is utilizable surface water and 396 bcm is utilizable groundwater. Total replenishable groundwater resource is 432.94 bcm. Analysis of Table 11.1 shows that the situation may not seem too alarming until we reach the highdemand scenario of 2050, when India would need 1,180 bcm of utilizable water resources. Such a situation will place India under water stress. However, one cannot overlook the geographic variability and seasonality of river flows in different regions, which could lead to localized water-stress areas, a situation already being experienced in certain regions of the country. The 2050 high-demand scenario of supply and demand is mismatched. The projected per capita per year use of water in 2050 will be about 725–750 m3, against 650 m3 per capita at present (MOWR, 1999: iii). India will have 68 cities with populations of more than a million by 2030 (India Urbanization Economic Model Census, 2001). Although most industrial water use is nonconsumptive, issues of water quality and untreated wastewater further reduce the availability of freshwater in the larger balance of water use.

Water for ecology Water is the lifeline of ecology and essential for survival of all living plants, animals, and human beings. The earth is a massive and enormous ecosystem or community of organisms interacting with each other and the environment. Water maintains ecosystems, fosters plant growth, and provides a permanent habitat for many species, including some 8,500 species of fish, and a breeding ground or temporary home for others, such as 4,200 species of amphibians and reptiles. The ecosystems offer environmental security dependent on water (McCartney et al., 1999) and provide fish and plants for food and medicines. Arthington (2010) demonstrates the link between flow regimes and ecosystem changes. He argues that flow is essential for physical habitat, which determines the biotic composition in the water body, and changes in flow leads to changes in composition and diversity of aquatic communities. They can also lead to loss of biodiversity and native species. Alteration in river flows also affects invasion of exotic and introduced species. Man has learnt to use the hydrological cycle by storing water for drinking, growing

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food, running industries, generating energy, and surviving the dangers of floods and droughts. Unfortunately, the need for water to maintain ecosystems and the services they can provide remain marginalized in the debates around water resource development and management. The political economy of water leaves little room for conservation of biodiversity and ecology. In view of the increasing demand for water in different sectors, there is a reduced amount of water available for the resource itself. Water should be used to support ecosystems for its own health rather than withdrawn directly to support people, if we as a society would like to benefit from the freshwater ecosystem services that water provides. This might initially appear wasteful since it is not put to human consumption or service delivery, but an in-depth study of ecosystems such as wetlands shows that wetlands can lock up water that cannot be used directly by man. Water cycle is expanded in this manner and provides greater benefits to people than does the direct use of water for agriculture, industry, or domestic needs. This recognition of the concept of ecosystem services is essential in Indian water management strategies. There are two major benefits to this approach. First, allowing streamflows of rivers and water for other ecosystems allows for maintenance and resilience of the resource itself, and its purity and quality. For example, the environmental flow regime of the river is essential to maintain certain ecological requirements of the river itself, which are necessary for the health of the river, its water quality, and aquatic diversity. Second, the development of ecosystem services with essential environmental flows can help economic growth and enhance poverty alleviation. There is no doubt that ecologists still struggle to predict and quantify biotic responses to altered flow regimes due to the complexity of physical processes and interactions between the components of the ecosystems. EF should not only encompass the amounts of water needed, but also when and how this water should be flowing in the river. All components of the hydrological regime have certain ecological significance. High flows of different frequency are important for channel maintenance, bird breeding, wetland flooding and maintenance of riparian vegetation. Moderate flows may be critical for cycling of organic matter from river banks and for fish migration, while low flows of different magnitudes are important for algae control, water quality maintenance and the use of the river by local people. (Knights, 2002) India is tenth in terms of plant variety, seventh in mammalian species, ninth in birds, fifth in reptiles, and eleventh in endemic species of higher vertebrates. It is first in fishes and there are about 5,794 fish species in India (MOEF, 2009: 17–22; MOWR, 1999). It constitutes 87 percent of global biodiversity. Its ecosystems have been affected through water resource

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development projects due to adverse environmental impacts: drying up of the rivers and water pollution. River systems in India have seen a reduced flow in the past few decades. Rivers have been used for multiple purposes such as abstractions for irrigation, hydropower, urban and rural needs, and industrial uses, leaving them with hardly any environmental flows for the river itself. All this has affected river organisms and biodiversity. Species compositions have changed; fish resources have declined due to increased silt load and macrophytic growth (Jhingran, 1991). Due to the construction of embankments, there has been a loss of fish-breeding habitats in the floodplain water bodies (Mukherjee, 2005). With the exception of the Ganges–Brahmaputra, nine river basins in India—Cauvery, Ganges– Brahmaputra, Godavari, Indus, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Pennar, and Tapi have been categorized as “strongly affected” by flow fragmentation and regulation (Nilsson et al., 2005). Interbasin water transfers may represent a significant mechanism for the spread of exotic species. Although there have been national efforts to control pollution and clean rivers by wastewater and effluent treatments, stretches of rivers are still categorized as highly polluted (see Chapter 4 for details). There is very little recognition of the importance of water for ecological flows. The policy discourse still fails to encompass the concept of rivers as ecosystems in themselves and rivers as ecosystems whose ecological integrity depends upon their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and interactions with their catchments. Water for ecology ranked fourth in the National Water Policy 2002 in sectoral allocation. The National Water Policy of 2012 revised draft requires that minimum ecological needs be given due consideration. The NCIWRD Report of 1999 acknowledged that it was hard to quantify water for environmental purposes due to lack of quantitative data and information base for making such assessments. However, provisional projection of the environmental needs has been given as 5 bcm, 10 bcm, and 20 bcm for the years 2010, 2025, and 2050. The water required for minimum flows will also need additional storages to be built. The Supreme Court judgment of 1999 directed the government to allocate at least a minimum flow of 10 m3/s in the Yamuna River to maintain its flow and water quality. However, a study done by Soni et al. (2013) on the ecological flows of the river found that while a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Yamuna River basin states for water sharing sets aside a minimum flow of 10 m3/s throughout the year, for ecological purposes (NIH, 2006) it amounts to a minimum freshwater flow in the river of 0.86 MCM/day, while 6.6 MCM/ day was needed just to avoid algal choking. Other factors like sediment transport, biodiversity and fish, dilution flow, recharge flow, dolphins, and so on also need to be taken into account. Their finding is that the river needs close to 50–60 percent of the total flow to be safeguarded as free flow, regardless of the season. The above research demonstrates that states do not consider ecological flows as important in comparison to other abstracted

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flows that are needed to serve the river’s multiple purposes. It is felt that due to “the high hydrological variability, difficult trade-offs between environment and agriculture, expensive waste treatment, disputes for water between States, etc., the practices adopted in other countries for assessment of EF are unlikely to be applicable in India” (Smakhtin and Anputhas, 2006). Similarly, the ecological reserve philosophy adopted in South Africa’s water policy is considered too idealistic in the Indian context. The ecological reserve for the protection of aquatic ecosystems is estimated for the water body first, and then the utilizable resources are estimated by subtracting the EF from the total natural flow. River basins in India are ecologically very sensitive and also a source of livelihoods to a large subsistence population. The current conditions of aquatic ecosystems in river basins are inadequate. If these trends continue, rivers will not be able to provide the ecosystem services for economic growth, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation. Currently, studies have been initiated in several river basins (Cauvery, Krishna, Narmada, Periyar, and Ganges) to study flow regulation and aquatic habitats, and their assessments are being made on the type of proposed development and its impact along with the ecological sensitivity of the river.

Water for livelihood Water constitutes an important driver of livelihood security. Many of the poor and marginalized survive on water-related ecosystem services, depending upon a reliable amount of availability and access to sufficient quantity and quality of water. Access to irrigation expands opportunities facing small landholders in many ways. It enables a small farmer to diversify his cropping pattern by mixing food and cash crops and increase production using double cropping of the same area. These changes in cropping patterns are labor-intensive, so they create year-round demand for labor and provide livelihoods to the landless. Irrigation also provides wages to poor people, increases their purchasing power, and enhances their entitlement to food and nutrition. The poor are able to use their holdings more efficiently because of the increased amount of water from irrigation (Shah, 1998). Not just agriculture, but inland fisheries also constitute an important livelihood source and support for many marginalized communities. Water security is absolutely essential to maintain the natural resource base in water. In many cases around India, water pollution has been cited for most of the fish kills and the decline in catches, which affects small livelihoods. Water, as part of ecosystem services, has been considered an important way to alleviate poverty because of its uses in fish catch and livestock rearing, in addition to agriculture and other small-scale commercial enterprise; but poor water quality threatens livelihoods. A Rural Water Livelihood Index emphasizes four key aspects: (1) access to basic water services, (2) crop and

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livestock water security, (3) clean and healthy water environment, and (4) secure and equitable water entitlement (Sullivan et al., 2008). Water also provides other livelihoods; for example, employment through operation and maintenance works, irrigation construction works, construction of watercourses, land leveling, canal seepages repair, and access roads. Linked to agriculture and irrigation, employment is also available in crop husbandry, weeding, and field preparation before water is fed to the fields. As more rain-fed areas are irrigated, additional employment opportunities will keep arising. Unless quality water is made available in sufficient quantity, the livelihoods of these poor and marginalized populations will be threatened in the future.

Water and the scenarios of hope The prevailing picture of water may seem gloomy with the current use and enormous rise of future demand. Will this mean a water-secure future eludes India? The challenges are huge but there is also hope to be found in several success stories, locally contextual to the agroclimatic regions of India (Figure 11.2). These incremental steps of success stories from different corners of India with different hydrological variability and at different scales emerge from the pool of policy resources discussed in Chapter 10. How these spark hope is the context of the next section. The stories are diverse, ranging from adopting philosophical values to the intervention of the markets and individual efforts of foot soldiers (Figure 11.3).

Reviving Indian philosophy and eco-cultural values Communities in India use Indian culture ascribed in scriptures, musical folklore, and inscriptions to emphasize the importance of nature. Firstly, the earth is called the mother earth. Many gods and deities in Indian religion have animals as their rides. People revere trees, forests, and rivers. All religions in India value nature. Many religious and folk traditions of religious and folk beliefs stress respect for nature. The Hindu theology believes in God and Prakriti (nature) as one (Mahabharata). The Supreme Being in the scriptures always gets incarnated in the form of various species. Worship of trees, animals, and rivers is an essential part of Indian philosophy and culture. For example, trees are believed to be givers of wisdom and life. Civilizations of the Ganga Valley developed a water cosmology—a belief in the waters as the origin and sustaining principle of life. The river is not only central in India’s life and culture but also a karmic allegory. Indian philosophy has focused on a symbiotic relationship with

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Despair

329

HOPE

Reduced availability and reliable access

Renewing our ecological philosophy

Water bodies contamination

Local water resource development and its success stories

Floods and droughts

Technological innovations for alternatives

Reduction of water for nature

Legislative Enforcement/Institutions

Wetland loss

Increasing investment

Livelihoods threatened

Growing environmental consciousness

Water-borne diseases and human development

Participation for change

Figure 11.2  Hope and despair

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1

2

3

4

5

6

DRIVERS—MATERIAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL

VISIBLE SYMPTOMS

INDIRECT BUT RECOGNIZABLE IMPACTS

IMPLIED AND LONG-TERM IMPACTS STRATEGIES—INSTITUTIONAL, TECHNOLOGICAL, CULTURAL, AND PHILOSOPHICAL TOWARD WATER SECURITY

Figure 11.3  From water insecurity to security man and nature. However, this relationship has been losing value amidst the material drivers and India’s move toward a globalizing economy. This relationship needs to be encouraged to revive these eco-cultural values that still exist in our sentiments, but we chose to ignore them in the face of development processes. Communities in different parts of India revere and protect nature practicing different ways and worship nature in all its manifestations. For example, the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan is known for their compassion for wildlife: To them “Nature conservation is their religion” (MOEF, 2009: 10). A success story of the relationship of man and nature was revived in the desert state of Rajasthan, where traditionally folklores sing the essence of the importance of natural resources for the common man. For example, panihari songs focus on water resources; kunjan songs describe the bonding with migratory species. A village in Rajasthan is designated as the Kunjan village because it is a well-known destination for birds and also called the “Important Bird Area of India.” A team of researchers conducted an experiment to bring back the Green munia known as Amandava formosa, a bird species that was earlier readily found, but the population of this species decreased due to illegal trade and habitat alterations and the species was enlisted as globally threatened species. Here is the story: They used sentiments and attachment of the local communities with musical notes describing the beauty and importance of nature and its

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components in protecting one of its species Green munia known as Amandava formosa and during the research researchers took help of one of the old popular melodious songs from the Indian Film— Teesri Kasam (1966), “Chalat musafir mof liyo re pinjare wali munia … … ”. The song is based on the indigenous folk music taken from the streets of the populous state of India, Uttar Pradesh. The investigators used this song for the local inhabitants in southern Rajasthan to raise the question of the sighting of this little beauty by the audiences in the nearby locality. The need for protecting habitats and the associated species were highlighted by sensitizing the audience through reviving the age-old attachment of the community and its relevance in musical traditional folklore for common masses. This resulted in the local movement of the people to revive the ageold conservation practices. Playing and popularizing the song provoked curiosity among locals in existing society to see the glimpse of this bird. This step encouraged the efforts and the local inhabitants joined hands for protecting the species and the habitats. The youth communities also revived the age-old connection of their association with the surrounding organisms. (Mehra, 2013) This story allows us to understand that although we live in a mechanized world, but we as humans still have emotions that can be revived through ritualistic practices, storytelling, and respect for culture to protect our environment. India has over 19,000 Sacred Groves (MOEF, 2010: 10) which are worshipped as a religious practice These Sacred Groves, a small patch of ecosystem used for rituals, can be viewed as a symbiotic relationship with nature and man. In the eastern part of India, in the Khasi and Jaintia hills, the Khasi tribes worship nature. They worship the trees, groves, forests, and rivers as deities and believe Gods reside there. Because of this reverence and sanctity, the hills and forests have been saved from the axe of man. Two of such well-known sacred forests are found in Meghalaya. Although the initiative of communities for conserving biodiversity due to their religious beliefs is getting degraded or converted to plantations, certain rural and tribal communities continue to safeguard their biological resource base even at the cost of their livelihoods and sustenance. These small and relatively insignificant stories of tribes and communities have preserved the resources through the essence of Indian philosophy and culture because they believe in the relationship of man and nature. Just like how these microscale stories speak about the protection of these resources, we also need to ascribe similar philosophical and cultural values to water. Although Indians worship the rivers and there are several hymns sung in their praise, yet they forget the value of rivers and exploit them to the point of making them unusable.

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The expanding role of media, environmental awareness, and public consciousness Consciousness is also growing about the environment in our society, in conjunction with the above-discussed ecological philosophy. What this generation faces today is entirely different from what our ancestors faced. Our contemporary problems are a result of our lifestyles, consumption patterns, and ways of approaching and thinking about the environment. Population and modernization have changed our earlier integrative understanding of nature and human interactions to opposing poles that led to advances and achievements, but in the process also created harmful byproducts. As a result, there is a shift toward an environmentally conscious community of those that are affected by these changes. Although we are really far behind in achieving ecological consciousness, small efforts toward that kind of awareness need to be acknowledged and promoted. For example, the role of the media in surveying and informing the public about these problems has increased in the past few decades. Earlier, hardly any television channel, radio program, or magazine would focus on the problems of water pollution or conservation of groundwater or the integrated relationship of an ecosystem and its services. Now we do see an increase in the number of articles in magazines like the Times, Frontline, and India Today in response to the interest of readers in the problems of the environment. India’s major and most popular environmental magazine Down to Earth deserves to be acknowledged and appreciated for the work it does in serving the cause of environmental protection, although its readership is limited to an educated audience. Started in 1992, it has been covering a broad variety of environmental issues. Addressing environmental issues in a developing country like India is not a matter of conservation alone but also of livelihood and social justice. Radio talks in rural areas and more recently in urban cities like Delhi on FM radio are regularly broadcasting programs on environmental issues and pollution. Doordarshan, the national television channel of India, also broadcasts such educative programs as Terra Quiz and Bhoomi (programs on the environment). Documentaries on the Earth and programs sponsored by the Ministry of Environment like the Terraview series on Doordarshan, which cover programs on energy, climate, water, and natural resource management, have been broadcast weekly. In the series Earth Matter, Doordarshan presents information on the sources, consequences, and impact of environmental problems and considers possible solutions to change behavior. Celebrity actor Aamir Khan’s program Satyamev Jayate on Star Plus channel carried a full episode on water—every drop counts in India in 2012. Local channels and newspapers give more coverage to local issues on problems of the environment. In 1986, environmental education,

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including curricula for children, became an integral component of the National Educational Policy for the first time after independence. This has led to a proliferation of several eco clubs in schools, and children who are the future generation are imparted awareness on issues of air, water, resources, and the environment. The Ministry of Environment and Forests also supports the campaign of nonprofit organizations to spread awareness on topics chosen by the ministry, for example, water conservation or pesticide reduction. In many cases, awareness arises with one’s own victimization in the processes of change. These micro-efforts evidence an increase in environmental consciousness in India, but we still have a long way to go. Although India is a very vast and diverse country, the ongoing efforts toward increasing environmental consciousness need to be acknowledged as a ray of hope in a modernizing India.

The foot soldiers in water As mentioned in the above section, being a victim of natural or social scarcity of a resource sometimes compels individuals and communities to find alternatives to meet their household and farming needs. These solutions and the changes they innovate demonstrate that “a better life for disadvantaged rural people may be sought through a different sort of change; through quiet personal revolutions in the perceptions, values and choices of professionals concerned with research, technology and action for rural development” (Chambers, 1984). These kinds of changes require patience, perseverance, and painstaking efforts resolutely pursued in a consistent direction. Most mainstream policy makers marginalize local adaptation strategies to the troubled environments and bring in experts to tell the local people how to fix the problems rather than getting the experts or staff to be facilitators or those who can act as “Catalyst, Convenor and Colleague” (Chambers et al., 1989). There is a need for localized efforts and local leadership. A successful example of this system has been that of Rajendra Singh, the waterman who, inspired by the Gandhian model of rural development, went to live in the village of Mangu Meena and Nathi Bhalai in Gopalpura in the arid state of Rajasthan. He advised them in 1985 to build talaabs (dikes) so that the water does not run off but is held back to percolate into the ground. With Nathi Bhalai, whom he calls his guru (Singh, NA), by his side, he dug his first dike and from here began the revolution of reviving earthen dams to capture rainwater. Rajasthan receives only 16 inches of rainfall in the monsoon period, leaving it parched and dry for the rest of the year. With the successful restoration of the first johad in Gopalpura, the villagers started to take up bigger jobs, from restoring a crumbling irrigation dam to building more johads across other villages. TBS (Tarun Bharat Sangh), an organization

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of Singh, helped with technical advice while villagers contributed the labor. In the Aravalli hills, most johads are built along “contours of the mountain slopes to arrest and store rainwater. During a heavy monsoon downpour in 1988, the people’s johads stood firm while the government-built dam at Jaitpura, costing more than 100,000 rupees, got washed away” (Sheena, 1997). In the words of Singh, from 1985 to 2007, At least 1,068 villages have altogether more than 8,600 small and big johads, built with the active and increasing local participation in an area of 6,500 square km. have been covered in Alwar district. This has resulted in the shallow aquifer recharge in ground water bringing up the water table from about 100–120 meters depth to 3–13 meters at present. The area under single cropping increased from 11 per cent to 70 per cent out of which area under double cropping increased from 3 per cent to 50 per cent bringing prosperity to the farmers. The forest cover, which used to be around 7 per cent increased to 40 per cent through agro-forestry and social forestry, providing sufficient fuel wood and sequestering carbon from atmosphere. The 1,068 villages formed an Arvari Sansad (Arvari Parliament) to frame rules of water use and restricting areas from growing more water consuming crops including paddy. (Singh, 2009) This has led to greater prosperity for the villagers. Nimbi, another village near Jaipur that reeled every year under drought, today has enough water even in the face of the severest droughts. These villages have been able to develop an economy that allows them to supply fruits and vegetables to Delhi. The work of TBS has not only captured water through johads but also led to the perennial flow of a river called Arvari in 1995 after 8 decades, with the help of 95 johads and dams, such as the Babajiwala Johad and Sankhra ka Bandh, built by villagers upstream. Local people who migrated to cities stayed back, and most importantly, women were freed of walking several miles for collecting drinking water and could gainfully engage themselves in alternative livelihoods. Other rivers revived by this process include Ruparel, Jahjawali, and numerous other small rivulets. This peoplecentered model has changed the lives of villagers with no water scarcity. These water warriors working with Singh challenge the government, which still seems to work on centralized networks of canals and pipelines for supplying water to villages that lacked local water supply. Anna Hazare, another Gandhian, began a community effort to construct a watershed when, in 1975, the village Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra suffered from drought, poverty, and illicit liquor trade. The village tank could not hold water as its embankment leaked. Villagers got together to repair it. Today there is no shortage of water there, and the village is considered a sustainable model of development. Another village, Bahiwadi in Ahmednagar district, has also become tanker-

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free, and villagers are able to harvest kharif and rabi crops on the strength of the increased water table. Others village watersheds were also chosen for water harvesting and management. Every drop of rain was trapped by a drainage system, trenches, and check dams, which allowed farmers to regenerate plants, develop locally suited farming systems, and participate in a cooperative system of irrigation. This system enables even the poorest farmer to access irrigation using water-ration cards that give every farmer access to water and allows a second turn only when all farmers have received water for the first round. The availability of drinking water and water for household needs reduced the drudgery of women and improved their status due to their engagement with other informal livelihoods. The decisions for these projects are taken in the village assembly lying in the local control of the village people. This has led to better maintenance and increased human development. Since 1975, participation of about 325 village families in tree plantation checked grazing, helped in constructing check dams, and resulted in the rise of groundwater levels. The government of Maharashtra requested the leader Anna to replicate this in other parts of the state.

Community and nonprofit efforts The Saurashtra region of Gujarat has a very rocky topography and severe water scarcity. Year after year, rural and urban areas reel under water shortages. The government has yet to come up with a lasting solution to mitigate the chronic water shortages in Kutch and Saurashtra region despite spending enormous amounts on big dams like the Sardar Sarovar. The government machinery responds with quick fix temporary solutions by sending tankers and providing water through them. With no lasting solution in sight, people’s initiatives and community-based organizations have created structures for rainwater harvesting, for example, in Gandhigram, a coastal village in Kutch district working since several years. The villagers formed a development group called Gram Vikas Mandal and with the help of a loan from a bank built a check dam on a nearby seasonal river that flowed past the village. Apart from the dam, the villagers also undertook a micro-watershed project that led to irrigation of over 400 ha of land and a sufficient amount of drinking water. Similar initiatives were undertaken in two other villages, Khopala and Jhunka, in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. In Kathiawar, two NGOs—Swadhyay Pariwar and VRTI, Bhavnagar—have been recharging wells by draining water by a natural drainage channel to a pit that is a few feet away from the well to be recharged. A pipe connects the pit to the well below the ground, thus allowing water to flow in. This process recharged several wells in the neighboring fields. Another noteworthy example is that of participation of students during 1995–1998 at Bhavnagar University under the guidance of the then Vice-

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Chancellor Professor Vidyut Joshi, when this coastal city faced a severe drinking-water crisis. He initiated the digging of a percolation tank in the university premises with the help of 650 students and other employees, and during the following monsoon, all the bore wells in the university got recharged with water. NGOs like the Saurashtra Gandhiji Damodar Trust in Gadhadha village in Bhavnagar and the Sadguru Water and Development Foundation in Mahudi village in the Dahod district of Gujarat have worked with the local populations toward construction of percolation tanks, reservoirs, and check dams to recharge rivers and water tables, thus enabling villager’s access to water throughout the year. In many such cases, NGOs have acted as facilitators, and villagers have drawn on indigenous knowledge and improved the area, which is now drought-proof with improved agriculture and quality of life.

Government schemes There are government schemes also that intend to promote rainwater harvesting, but such cases are rare and are looked upon with skepticism. The most talked about is the scheme at Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, where 1,000 check dams were constructed in five years. Several other success stories like Sukhomajri, Pallithodu village in Kerala, and Sabdoo village in the Gaya district of Bihar have mobilized several other villages to revive traditional water systems for conservation of water. Paani Panchayats were considered unique because of its involvement of individuals of the community, where people shared water equitably on a per capita basis under a nontransferable agreement. However, Paani Panchayats in Orissa, under a scheme of the World Bank, have also come under criticism for usurping its power by powerful landlords and contractors controlling what was once a public resource. “It’s privatisation of water through the back door with the use of a term that gives a democratic veneer to what is a truly arbitrary process, and one that is consciously depriving small farmers of access to water” (Hindu, 2002). These stories in rural India speaking of local resource management are not without constraints. On the one hand, a fear exists that the power of the community can be usurped by a small group of elites and a lot of the schemes sometimes supported by the government are made without prioritization of the poor or the challenges of the caste and class structures of the villages. On the other hand, it has led to improved productivity, rural market economy, drinking water, and in general better quality of life for all, and specifically women. These stories are localized, and mainstream policy makers tend to neglect these folk technologies and people’s adaptation strategies to highrisk and low-productivity environments. Governments are still responding

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to the demand by augmenting large projects, but states need to celebrate these successes and encourage community stakeholders, local control, and functional knowledge of the natural resource base (Jodha, 2001).

Techno-economic options: “Sarvajal” (water for all) and Tata Swatch Although India has achieved its MDG of clean water, sanitation issues have made water undrinkable, leading to spread of waterborne diseases and loss of life. Many companies and certain social entrepreneurs, with the help of charity, have brought in low-cost filtration plants as well as machines to sell water. The example of Sarvajal, which means “water for all,” is a case in point. In the absence of a state water supply, the private sector tries to fill the gap of supplying water. Sarvajal brand under Piramal Water Pvt Ltd. has introduced water solutions in India for rural villages and even for the urban poor. In small villages, solar-powered ATMs dispense safe water, using prepaid cards/smart cards that send data to a central server vis-á-vis SMS which helps Sarvajal dispense clean water. In bigger villages it employs local people to man the filtration plants and sell water. It now sells water to more than 70,000 people in rural India. It keeps the price of water low and sells 10 liters of water for 4 pence (6 cents), and it costs $2,500 to install a plant. The company claims to recover these costs in three years. Other examples are Water Health International, launched with Acumen Funds and Nandi Foundation. Many of these have used government subsidies, but Sarvajal has stayed away from government subsidies while still keeping the price of water low. Even in urban areas like Ahmedabad, these ATMs have been piloted, and it will be launching its first filtration plant in Delhi soon. The ATM concept launched by Sarvajal in 2008 is a sustainable model for providing safe water on a pay-per-use basis. The fee is nominal, and the company uses a reverse-osmosis technology, purifying water centrally. This center then supplies water to the decentralized, solar-powered ATMs. Most programs of delivering water generally become defunct due to operation, maintenance, and ownership challenges. Sarvajal believes that a project can sustain itself where ownership is in the hands of the community, and therefore it recruits and trains local entrepreneurs and follows a franchise model to run the water-service centers. The company also has real-time monitoring equipment on the ATMs that provides up-to-the-minute information on water quality and how much water is being sold as well as where and when. At a household level, Tata Group, India’s giant corporation, unveiled a low-cost water purifier called Tata Swach—a Hindi name for clean— designed for poor rural households that have no electricity or running

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water, using ash from rice milling to filter out bacteria. The device, which costs less than 1,000 rupees (21 dollars approx.), uses tiny silver particles to kill harmful germs that can potentially lead to waterborne diseases like diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid. Other cheap purification units are also being introduced in the market. One of them has a 9.5-liters (2.5 gallon) capacity and can filter 3,000 liters, sufficient for a family of five people for 200 days; then the cartridge has to be replaced at a cost of 299 rupees (6 dollars approximately). The cost is calculated at 10 paise per liter. Hindustan Unilever has also introduced a 2,000-rupee (42 dollars approx.) unit with a 9-liter capacity, filtering 1,500 liters of water. One liter costs 35 paise, including the cartridge. These low-cost technological alternatives are the first steps toward clean, affordable water in comparison to the highpriced treated water sold by foreign corporations beyond the reach of many marginalized and poor communities. Programs like Sarvajal are not without obstacles and challenges. In rural areas, lack of infrastructure like roads, electricity, and money transfer systems are key problems, but in urban areas like Delhi, Sarvajal had to deal with the water barons who have been monopolizing the sale of water through tankers in urban slums and areas as well as bottled-water companies that threaten to block Sarvajal’s entry into cities. The success of these lowcost programs depends on the municipal government’s involvement in promoting these efforts. If the governments around the country tap into these innovations on the ground, new partnerships can emerge with potentially much larger impact. Similar technological alternatives are being researched and introduced in irrigation and industry. Crop diversification and better irrigation techniques for more crops per drop are being promoted. Drip irrigation is being encouraged to conserve water due to its efficient operation, reduced labor costs, and reduction in fertilizers. This technology is now becoming popular in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Technoeconomic options are being evaluated for water supply and productivity to close the water gap in India by 2030 (Planning Commission, 2011).

Shifting corporate responsibility A remarkable shift is also seen in the form of corporate responsibility toward conserving water. In some cases, as in Tamil Nadu, it is a result of strict enforcement of zero discharge laws, but in other cases the change is based on a cost-benefit analysis for long-term sustainability. Water productivity in industries is low and attributed to poor pricing, multiple institutions, and lax laws. While these issues need to be dealt with adequately to curb industrial wastewater, alternative technologies are also being encouraged in the sector and many industries are moving to adopt them. Some of the selected recipients for the Best Water Management Practices National

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Award in 2007–2008 included Hindalco, ACC Ltd., Wipro Limited, Tata Chemicals, Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra, Consumer Healthcare, and Vishakhapatnam Steel. Companies like Wipro, Nestle, and Shree Cement, among others, recycle the sewage they generate. Some companies have even started buying sewage from municipalities and use treatment technology to prepare treated water for nonpotable uses, such as in toilets. These success stories need to be multiplied. Companies have invested in water management techniques that include rainwater harvesting, water consumption monitoring, sewage management and recycling, desalination plants, and optimization of cooling tower operations and water conservation equipment. Some industries, like Bajaj Auto and Hindalco, have also invested in watershed projects and community programs. For example, Hindalco has “set up 36 lift irrigation projects, 27 small check dams and 150 tanks for rainwater harvesting at Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh between 2004–2007 and provided irrigation water for 16,000 Hectares of land, increasing agricultural production by 17,850 mt and benefiting 20,655 farmers” (Godrej S, as cited in Gr8 Water—The India Story, 2009). These practices have led to water savings in billions of liters and in some cases have benefited the community. There is no doubt that these big corporate houses have the capacity to install the necessary equipment, but these practices need to be replicated in small- and mediumscale industries with help and partnerships from the government.

Urban programs and incentives: Nirmal Shahar Puraskar (Clean Cities Award) and Eram’s e-toilets While programs like the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission work to target the very crucial problems of sanitation in urban populations and have allocated funds in this regard, yet they are far below in achieving their targets. National programs like the Rajiv Awas Yojana of 2012 also aim to bring urban slums under formal city management, thereby improving their prospects for urban service provisions and management. The National Urban Sanitation policy (NUSP) also encourages states and cities to draft sanitation plans, and many states and cities are working toward tailoring these plans in the local context. Due to the profound economic and health implications of poor sanitation in urban India, the Ministry of Urban Development launched the National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) in 2008. The NUSP also initiated an award called the Nirmal Shahar Puraskar (Clean Cities Award) for cities achieving 100 percent safe waste disposal and total sanitation, including the reduction or elimination of the practice of open defecation. The goal of such incentives is to encourage cities to invest in infrastructure and work toward attitudinal and behavioral change.

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The NUSP is technology-neutral, which allows cities to choose the most appropriate technology for their needs. In principle, this approach encourages experimentation with technologies and service provision to determine the best local models for improving sanitation quality and expanding access (Elledge and McClatchey, 2013). As of 2012, 29 out of 35 states are engaged in preparing state sanitation plans, and 158 cities are developing city sanitation plans (Dasra, 2012). External donors have also invested in sanitation development in India, especially the World Bank. The private sector has not yet moved into sanitation, but there is an effort to encourage the private sector to improve urban sanitation by using more cost-efficient and suitable technologies. A successful example occurred in the state of Kerala: One example originating in the State of Kerala illustrates that private sector innovation is piloting new solutions. Eram Scientific Solutions (http://www.eramscientific.com) is a private sector firm driving a new technological and business model to deliver sanitation in congested public places in India’s mega-cities. Eram’s eToilet is a pay-per-use model now being deployed in four states, with over 430 units installed. The technological features of the toilet include automatic payment collection, doors, and washing mechanisms; a water tank for onsite water storage; general packet radio service (GPRS)-enabled controls for remote monitoring of the unit through the Web or mobile phones; and a solar panel to generate additional power. The toilet is designed to display advertisements on its outer shell, serving as an additional source of income. Other developments are also unfolding to spur demand and generate new enterprises to provide sanitation services. (Elledge and McClatchey, 2013) A new policy to link urban water planning with investment in sewage lines and treatment plants is a welcome shift.

Toward better national and state laws and institutions Apart from technological solutions, private-sector engagement, and urban incentives in the country, a major factor in managing and conserving water and moving toward a best-practice strategy is a sound legal framework for an effective policy design. Although the constitution does not recognize the right to water as a common pool resource, judicial decisions have compelled states to think in the direction of public trust. The right to safe drinking water has been expressed under various court rulings as part of the fundamental “right to life.” There is a need to recognize this right in the constitution.

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Bureaucratization of local governments, state agencies, and pollution control boards has been a great malady of the institutional agencies dealing with water, including autonomous bodies like the pollution control boards. However, the Right to Information Act has helped many individuals and nongovernmental organizations secure information and data from CPCB and SPCBs to work toward restoring the ecological health of the rivers. Another step forward in institutional change toward ensuring the equitable distribution of water is the establishment of independent water resource regulatory authorities. Three states, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, have set up independent regulatory authorities (IRAs) to oversee issuance and distribution of water entitlements based on river basin agencies. Although this was a step forward, the challenge lay in the lack of adequate mechanisms, transparency, public participation, and corresponding obligations with entitlements. Based on the Maharashtra experience of the conflict between accountability and autonomy, the new system is proposed to amend the prevalent one for better governance. While the implementation of these desirable changes seems distant at present, government’s acknowledgment that regulations and institutions are not working and need change should be seen as a welcome shift. For example, there is an effort to change old groundwater laws based on colonial laws and begin to recognize it as a resource in public trust. This is a huge challenge, however, in getting the states and resource owners to agree to implement the changes. There is also a recognition that the Central Ground Water Board needs to be granted more institutional powers to enable it to perform its role as a groundwater resource manager. This expanded role would include looking at the political economy of the resource, hiring from community institutions, and developing water markets, regulatory systems, and energy management plans (Twelfth Plan, 2013). A new National Water Law framework is also being devised, as a matter of increasing national concern even though water is allocated to the states in the Indian Constitution. Efforts are also being made to set up a single agency called the National Water Commission (NWC) to monitor compliance with conditions of investments and environmental clearances given to irrigation projects. An independent agency like NWC will have credibility with both the center and the states. The creation of the National Green Tribunal is a sharp departure from the provisions under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974. The National Green Tribunal was created by an Act of the Parliament in 2010 to provide relief and compensation to victims of pollution and other environmental damage for restitution of property damaged and restitution of the environment. It is an Act to provide for the establishment of a National Green Tribunal for the effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental

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protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property in matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. (MOEF, 2010) The tribunal also has jurisdiction over cases and violations under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974. Functioning as a fasttrack court, this Act provides an individual the right to claim damages and compensations for all victims of water pollution under India’s constitutional provision in Article 21. There is no doubt that the challenges are huge, whether it relates to regulation of groundwater, abatement of pollution in water bodies, or the creation of a national agency or national water law. But the acknowledgment and recognition in the corridors of power that these laws and institutions are not working and they need a new policy design for success is the first right step toward change in the right direction.

The incremental steps toward transboundary cooperation As the demand for water grows and the states of the region modernize, the stress on water is bound to increase. The acceptance of a common water vision for the region is difficult to realize as the states are bogged in distrust and water property rights. Water in the minds of the politicians is a zero-sum game rather than a win-win situation for all. The region lacks the vision of an integrated river basin development and management. The hydrologies of the rivers are confined to borders and information to classified documents. Efforts, however, continue to be made in the region in the right direction for transboundary cooperation to resolve issues of availability and equitable distribution between upstream and downstream states. The first step in this direction has been the creation of epistemic communities in these states on a bilateral level. For example, there exists India–Nepal Joint Group of Experts that oversees the progress with respect to the DPR (Detailed Project Report) on the Pancheshwar Project. There is a Joint River Commission between India and Bangladesh, India and Bhutan, and the Indus Water Commission between India and Pakistan. Bilateral efforts are made within the states of the region to ensure cooperative management of the rivers in the region. These bilateral efforts and increasing cooperation in a region, beset with historical rivalry and boundary disputes, are incremental steps toward cooperation. In this process, we have seen progress on issues of common harm. For example, India provides the flood data regarding Farakka to Bangladesh for the Ganga from the 15th of June to the 15th of October, and the flood data

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regarding Pandu, Goal Para and Dhubri, Silchar, for the Barak for the use of flood forecasting and warning arrangements during the monsoon period (the May 15th to the October 15th). Data for the Teesta, Manu, Gumu, Jaladhka, and Torsa are also provided. The transmission of this information from India during the monsoon is being supplied free of cost and has enabled the civil and military authorities in Bangladesh to shift the population affected by flood to safer places (MOWR, nd). India and China have also started sharing flood-forecasting information under a memorandum of understanding for rivers like the Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and other transborder rivers. The joint expert-level mechanism also works on seasonal hydrological data, emergency management, and cooperation during the flood season. With regard to India and Pakistan, the Permanent Indus Commission holds periodic meetings and undertakes tours and inspections of ongoing progress of projects in a spirit of cooperation. As a gesture of goodwill, flood data of Chenab, Sutlej, and Tawi are communicated to Pakistan for advance flood warning. A memorandum of understanding exists between India and China over exchange of hydrological data by Beijing to New Delhi on Brahmaputra (Yaluzangbu/Tsangpo in China) during the flood season (May 15–October 15). India and Bhutan share the best bilateral cooperation on river waters. A “Comprehensive Scheme for Establishment of Hydro–meteorological and Flood Forecasting Network on Rivers Common to India and Bhutan” is in operation. The network is funded by India and consists of 35 hydrometeorological stations located in Bhutan and is maintained by the royal government of Bhutan. The Central Water Commission utilizes the data received by these stations in India for formulating flood forecasts (MOWR, 2011). These are significant steps toward transboundary cooperation; however, the Indian official policy still remains one of bilateralism. There is no regional flow of information, transparency, and classification of information regarding water through a common database that can dispel the fear of smaller states. In India, data dissemination is not systematic and organized because water is a classified subject in India. This situation creates suspicion among its neighboring states. More coordinated efforts toward data sharing might improve relations of India with its neighboring countries. Sharing information and knowledge on water resources is an important step in this direction. Better data are critical to agenda setting and policy formulation, as well as infrastructural design and social adaptation (Matthew, 2013). The efforts toward formulating a regional strategy began under SACEP but made limited progress in expanding multilateral efforts. Given the regional environment of mutual suspicion and distrust, one wonders if there could be a role for the west in building bridges in regional cooperation toward meeting the goal of water security since the challenges that face the individual states in the region are challenges that are common to the region.

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Given India’s hegemonic position in the region, multilateralism or thirdparty interventions in a regional waterscape are not only difficult but also impossible. Perceptions of India’s hydro-hegemony domination still remain in the eyes of smaller neighbors. The only contribution that can be seen forthcoming could be the creation of an institution that could fund regional experts and epistemic communities in a neutral space and unbiased environment away from the historical and regional biases that they are officially a part of when they work in the region. Better regional strategies and cooperation in water could be one outcome of such exercises. Amidst such domestic and regional environments, these illustrations demonstrate that the micro-level successes and the shifts may seem minimal and a splash in the ocean of challenges, yet they speak volumes about the natural, human, managerial, techno-economic, and developmental skills of mitigation and showcase examples of changes brought about in the lives of millions of people. Conclusively, this treatise raises the question that if the present stalemate in water continues, will a water-secure future of India be out of bound or can it be salvaged? The answer to this question is not easily forthcoming. We are in a crisis and most reforms generally begin in a crisis. But the effort in this direction should proceed not in a command-and-control design but through a process of trial and error, needing constant evaluation, modification, and experimentation in how we go about managing our waters. The challenges of population, urbanization, industrialization, and modern agricultural methods in India are indeed huge, but still there is room for optimism. As India modernizes and aspires to become a global economic and political force, it needs to demonstrate agility and shift in its water management structures to repurpose and restructure them to the changing needs of society. The goal should be to create new opportunities for solving its water problems, experiment, innovate, and remove obstacles. The challenge, however, lies in bringing together a critical mass of groups with diverse interests from different fields to work together, create enough momentum, and make a difference toward mitigating some of these problems and their ill effects. This process of resolving problems will require trade-offs, whether in the area of power and justice, equity and efficiency, or human and nonhuman values of the environment. Therefore, while cautiously considering India’s social, spatial, hydrological, and economic diversity, we need to address these issues head on, if we are to create a water-secure world, and work to provide a hopeful, though guarded, roadmap to a future in which India’s life-giving and life-sustaining fresh and marine water resources are safe, clean, plentiful, and available to all. The solutions are often within our reach and the thousands of local-level actions being taken in India important and often courageous steps in the right direction. However, these are sporadic and need be adopted and encouraged at a national scale with a national vision. Water is not only the wellspring of life but also the elixir of peace and

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the cornerstone of development. Water needs more care, perseverance, and pragmatism, and while the guiding principle of its use and appropriation must be that of a global commons, there should always be room for cautious adoption of other alternatives necessary in a modernizing society like India. Clean potable water of adequate quality and sufficient quantity for all provides hope for an ongoing healthy human life and productivity, and we as a society have to strive toward this goal for the common benefit of mankind.

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List of Figures

Figure 1.1

Water security framework  14

Figure 1.2 Sources of water insecurity and its impacts  15 Figure 2.1

River basins in India  30

Figure 2.2

Ecosystem services and human well-being  43

Figure 3.1

State-wise distributions of large dams in India  62

Figure 3.2

Links identified in the Himalayan component  73

Figure 3.3

Links identified in the peninsular component  74

Figure 4.1 DO within and against norms of Indian rivers—5 mg/L  107 Figure 4.2 BOD within limits and against norms up to 3 mg/L in permissible limits  109 Figure 4.3 Total coliform within and against limits—500 MPN/100 ml  111 Figure 4.4 Sewage generated and treated in 35 metropolitan cities  113 Figure 4.5 Class I cities and II towns sewage generation and treatment capacity  114 Figure 4.6 Total sewage generation in class I cities and class II towns  114 Figure 4.7 Wastewater discharges into the Ganga from different sources  115

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382

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.8 Uttarakhand wastewater treatment capacity  116 Figure 4.9 Uttar Pradesh wastewater treatment capacity  116 Figure 4.10 Bihar wastewater treatment capacity  117 Figure 4.11 West Bengal wastewater treatment capacity  117 Figure 5.1

Climate change impacts  132

Figure 5.2

Flood zones in India  144

Figure 6.1

Institutional design in water resources  180

Figure 6.2 Monitoring of projects at the center under the NRCP  189 Figure 6.3

Monitoring at the state level under NRCP  190

Figure 9.1

South Asia and India’s transboundary rivers  243

Figure 10.1 Water management—trialogue  302 Figure 11.1 The water stressors 316 Figure 11.2 Hope and despair  329 Figure 11.3 From water insecurity to security  330

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List of Tables

Table 2.1 Table 2.2

River basins of India 31 Water resources of India  35

Table 2.3

Internal surface water resources  36

Table 2.4 Annual replenishable groundwater resource by state  39 Table 2.5 Availability of water resources in low and high demand  41 Table 3.1 Percentage increase/decline in canal irrigation area for India  60 Table 3.2 Large dams in India (completed and under construction)  62 Table 3.3 Dynamic groundwater resources in bcm per year  81  Table 3.4

Displacement of people  87

Table 4.1

Water quality criteria  99

Table 4.2

DO in mg/L: Below and above norms  106

Table 4.3

BOD in mg/L: Below and above norms  108

Table 4.4 Actual TC in MPN/100 ml: Within and against norms  110 Table 4.5 Water supply, wastewater, and treatment capacity in class I cities and class II towns in India  115

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.6

Treatment capacity of Uttarakhand  117

Table 4.7

Treatment capacity of Uttar Pradesh  118

Table 4.8

Treatment capacity of Bihar  118

Table 4.9

Treatment capacity of West Bengal  118

Table 4.10 Pathological effects of toxic metals on human beings  124 Table 4.11

Districts affected with Fluoride  126

Table 4.12

Arsenic contamination in districts of India  127

Table 7.1 World Bank reports on India’s water sector: An overview  198 Table 10.1

States with PIM Legislations  292

Table 11.1

Projected water demand for 2025 and 2050  317

Table 11.2 Use of sanitation facilities: Percentage of population  323

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Index

Afghanistan 149, 235, 241, 269, 272 Agra Canal 58 agricultural production 53, 57, 78, 138, 146, 150, 240 agriculture 51–3, 61, 234, 236, 327 contribution of 51 food security and 147 ground water and 180 intensification of 61 water security and 82 Ahmedabad 101, 107, 109, 111, 113, 337, 367 Amarasinghe, U. A. 49, 90, 318, 319 Amendment 73rd 183 Amendment 74th 214 Anand, B. K. 128, 318 Andhra Pradesh 62, 78, 84, 90, 118, 126, 141, 143, 160, 174–5, 203–4, 219–21, 223, 341 annual rainfall 28, 38, 143 annual replenishable ground water by state 39–40 aquatic resources 284, 286, 349 Arabian Sea 33, 41–2, 73, 137, 219, 221, 251 arid regions 15, 59 climate change and 240 drought 297 semiarid regions 28, 240, 273, 297 water zoning 313 arsenic contamination 127, 270 Article 15, Para 2 (b) Access to Water under right to equality 159 Article (21) 158 Article 51(A) 160 Artificial Recharge 300 Asia 16, 18–20, 23, 243, 347, 350, 373

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Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Water Policy 199, 204, 211 Assam 28–9, 39, 63, 76, 78, 81, 86, 126–7, 140, 148, 292 assessment of canal irrigation in India 59 Asthana, V. 24, 75, 161, 166, 170, 194–5, 200, 203–5, 211–12, 254–5, 261, 269, 271–3 available groundwater resource for irrigation 35 in net terms 81 Bangladesh 32, 34–5, 76–7, 149, 239–42, 253–62, 274, 276, 278–80, 342–3 Barnett 275, 277, 346, 348 Basin approach 289–90 BAU (business as Usual) 318–19 BBMB (Bhakra Beas Management Board) 61 Beas 32, 59, 223–4, 230, 244–6 Bhakra Nangal Dam 64, 166 Bhamoriya, V. 80–2 Bhavani River 206, 229 Bhushan, C. 252, 324 Bhutan 73, 234, 256, 278, 342–3 big versus small country rivalry 278 Bihar 28–9, 37, 39, 46, 62, 78, 86, 102–3, 126–7, 158, 162 Bihar wastewater treatment capacity 117 Bilateralism versus multilateralism 280 biochemical oxygen demand, see BOD biodiversity 121, 133, 145–6, 290, 324–6 blue-water 11–12

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386

INDEX

BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) 98–9, 103–4, 107–9, 111–12, 151, 299 BOD in Indian rivers 108 Bombay 219, 223, 358, 370–1 BOOT 204–5 BOT 204–5 Brahmaputra 31–4, 36, 46–7, 73–4, 138–9, 141 Briscoe, J. 82, 197, 199, 349 British India 52–4, 164, 242, 353, 373 CAG Report 66–7 canals 47, 73, 81–2, 111, 163, 165, 219–20 canal development 52 canal irrigation 52–3, 55–61, 80, 269, 272, 286 canal irrigation water 80 increase/decline in canal irrigation for India 60 Cauvery 31, 33–6, 48, 73–4, 78, 89–90, 100, 120, 142, 206, 229, 231, 326 Cauvery River 75–6 Cauvery river basin dispute 225–7 Census (2011) 96–7, 321 Central Ground Water Authority/ CGWA 174, 176, 208 Central Ground Water Board/CGWB 38, 40–1, 128, 180, 185, 206, 300 Central Pollution Control Board/CPCB 98–9, 112, 123, 180–2, 189 Central Water Commission/CWC 34–5, 37–8, 185, 296, 312 CETPs (Common Effluent Treatment Plants) 101, 104, 306–7 Chaudhary, A. 239 Chaudhary, R. M. 239 Chenab River 32, 223, 244–8, 250, 343 Chennai 41, 95, 107, 113, 124–5, 128–9, 145, 201, 205, 207, 210, 220 Chhattisgarh 39, 126–7, 171 China 18–20, 22, 61, 90, 149, 242, 253 China and GBM 268, 321

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Ganga Brahmaputra link canal and 261–2 memorandum of understanding between India and 343 cities 20, 101, 119, 204–5 Class II 114–15, 119 coastal and deltaic 145 million plus 97 port 41–2 urban 105, 201, 303, 332 wastewater and 112–15 Class II towns 113–15 climate change 15, 17–18, 22–3, 137, 139, 240 effect on hydropower production 148 effects of 131, 152–3 glacial melt 137 ground water availability and 150 heat spell and Rise in temperature 135 human health risks and 148 impact on hydrology and river flows 141–2 impact on India 139 impact on water resources 139–41 impacts in Droughts and Flood Affected Areas 147 under IPCC Scenarios A2 and B2 133 precipitation pattern for 2030s 136 rainfall and 135–7 scenarios 134 transboundary and interstate challenges 152 water Security and 149–52 coastal areas 28, 41–2, 84, 133, 147, 276 Coca-Cola 206–7, 210 Colombo 318, 346–8, 373 conjunctive use 301 controversy over large dams 68 Cook, C. and Bakker, K. 11–13 cooperation 2 environmental 6–7 functional 189 Teesta River 258 transboundary 273–5, 278–80, 342–3 corporations, municipal 122, 183, 201, 204, 213

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INDEX cost recovery 194, 196–7, 201 Cullet, P. 16, 156, 163–5, 177, 351 culture 48, 310–11, 328 Dabelko, G. 1, 6–7, 351–2, 356 dam projects, large 62–3, 71, 89 dams and water resource development 61–71 data, flood 342–3 Delhi 58, 99, 101, 107, 109, 121, 123, 125–6, 201, 211, 224, 239, 337–8 Delhi Water Supply and Sewerage Reform Project 211 Directive Principles of State policy 159 disputes over water resources 217–19 constitutional and institutional provisions in interstate 229–30 dissolved oxygen 98–9, 107 Dixit, A. 134, 264, 266–7, 353, 356, 363 DPR (Detailed Project Report) 265–6, 342 drinking water 44, 65, 67–9, 118, 125, 174–5, 293 access to 201, 321 availability of 150, 335 availability of safe 125, 321 clean 157, 320 contamination 120, 122–3 MDG target for 321 poor quality of 105, 270 requirements 270 rural 294 safe 320–2 drivers of water insecurity 15, 152 droughts 37, 54–6, 136, 139, 143, 147, 296–7 area development management policy 297 hydrological 143 Dynamic Groundwater Resources in BCM 81 east-flowing rivers 31, 33–4, 36, 49 basins of 34–5 East India Company 52, 54–5, 163

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economic liberalization 93, 194, 362 ecosystem degradation 14–15 ecosystems 7, 10–11, 42–3, 106–7, 288–9, 324–6 ecosystem services 14–15, 42–3, 288, 325, 327 enactments in the colonial period 163–4 energy 21–2, 45, 267–8 environmental awareness 332 environmental change 4–7, 9, 17, 23, 285, 357, 363 environmental flows 89, 153, 314, 325, 327 Environmental Protection Act (1986) 173 environmental security 2–5, 7–9, 11, 324 epistemic communities 80, 285, 287, 313, 342, 344 Eram’s e-toilets 340 Ernst 19–20, 90, 95, 353 evapotranspiration 34, 140, 142–3 evolution of water law and policy 161 Falkenmark, F. M. 11 famines 54–7, 64, 282, 297 Farakka 46, 73, 76–7, 156, 255–8, 279, 342 fish 10, 41–2, 47, 106, 108, 123, 257 flood control 63, 72, 74, 170, 180, 254, 261–2 Flood Forecasting Network on Rivers Common to India and Bhutan 343 floods 37, 48, 143–4, 241, 263, 329 flash 135, 138, 145, 236 inland river 145 management policy 295–6 fluoride 44, 84, 120–1, 125–6, 237 food security 11–12, 64, 78, 82, 89, 146, 234 foot soldiers 333 Gandak 46, 263, 266, 279 Gandhi, V. P. 80–2, 85

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388

INDEX

Ganga 31–4, 36, 46–9, 76–7, 101–4, 110, 114–18, 138 dispute over 254–7 pollution in 120–1, 141–2 Ganga Action Plan 98, 102–4, 115, 182 Ganga basin 33–4, 77, 103, 256 Ganges 141, 150, 253–4, 257, 261–2, 327, 351, 362 GAP 98, 102–4 GBM basin 30, 33, 242, 253, 268, 273 Giordano, M. 17, 371, 379–80 Global Environmental Monitoring System/GEMS 98, 187 Godavari 31, 33–6, 46, 48, 72–4, 107, 109, 120, 142, 219–20, 223, 231, 326 governance, decentralized resource 291 decentralization of 299 mechanisms for good water 301 Government of India Act, 1935 166 Green Revolution in India 52, 63, 85 groundwater 22, 88–90, 98, 174, 178, 206–8, 299–301, 335 bill (model) 176–7 regulation of 82, 178 Groundwater demand in India 118 groundwater depletion 82, 90, 208, 301 groundwater development 40, 80–1, 283 groundwater estimates 40 groundwater exploitation 88, 150, 175, 186, 206, 210, 322 urban 128–9 groundwater governance 300 groundwater irrigation in India 80, 170, 319 groundwater legislation 172, 174–7 groundwater management 300–1 groundwater ownership 160, 164 groundwater pollution 83–4, 118–19, 125–7, 186 groundwater recharge 40, 134, 152, 286, 334 groundwater resources 38–41 groundwater rights 160, 272 groundwater salinity 84–5

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Gujarat 28–9, 38–9, 61–2, 65, 67, 81, 83–4, 101, 120, 126, 174–5, 221–2, 297 Gupta, A. C. 97, 120–1, 150, 165, 177, 182, 248 GWDT (Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal) 223 Gyawali 266–7, 356 Haryana 39–40, 58, 63–4, 81, 83–4, 88, 101, 126, 129, 164, 174–5, 224–5, 229, 246, 250 Himalayan component 71–3 Himalayan Rivers 32–3 Himalayas 27–9, 89, 138–9, 146, 318 History of water laws in India 372 Homer Dixon, T. 5–6, 357 human development 3, 23, 43, 49, 320, 329 factors affecting human development 315–16 and national security 269–71 human right to water 157–8, 209, 320 human security 1–5, 7–10, 12, 17, 83, 269–70 Hyderabad 107, 113, 124–5, 129, 219, 369, 377, 379 hydropower generation 72, 79, 148, 262 India coastline of 41–2 growing economic power house 19 key elements of water law in 159–60 prime minister of 245, 255 India and Bangladesh 146, 253–9, 268, 279–80, 342 India and China 18–20, 22, 262, 321, 343 Indian Constitution 183, 214, 219, 341 India and Nepal 262–4, 266–7, 279 India and Pakistan 42, 240, 244, 250–4, 276–7, 342–3 India and South Asia 9, 16, 23, 82, 233, 281 India’s surface water resources 33 India’s water security 19, 49, 83 Indian philosophy and eco culture 328

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INDEX Indira Gandhi Canal 59 Indo-Bangladesh Treaty 76, 255–6, 258 Indus 31, 46, 49, 138–42, 272, 326 industrialization 8, 17, 23, 27, 93–8, 119, 128, 234, 236, 239 industrial pollution 100–1, 119–24, 236–7 industrial use of water 95 industrial water demand in India 346 industrial water management 305 industries 49, 93–7, 119, 122–3, 182, 204–8, 214–15, 322, 324–5 shifting corporate responsibility in 338–9 textile 100–2 Indus water dispute 244–6 Indus Water Treaty 32, 156, 224, 245–50, 365 inland navigation 45, 324 institutional challenges 188–9 institutional reform 299 institutions in water governance 179–84 Integrated Water Resource Management/IWRM 287–9 interlinking rivers project 71–5 challenges and risks in the 75–80, 319 internal surface water resources 36 International Monetary Fund 195 Interstate River Water Disputes Act 229 intrastate water disputes in India 218–29 irrigated areas 55, 57, 60, 82–3, 293, 318–20 irrigation 52, 58, 60, 72, 83, 162–3, 235, 254 in 2050 319–20 efficiency 304 performance evaluation 304 projected future demand 317–20, 327 Irrigation Acts 163–8 irrigation and canal development in British India 52–6 Irrigation Commission 54–5

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389

irrigation drainage, salinity and water logging 85 irrigation since 1950 57–9 irrigation in South Asia 234–5 irrigation water availability and quality 83–4, 373 ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) 312 Iyer, R. R. 16, 49, 82, 121, 177, 227, 230, 241, 257–8, 263, 274, 279 Jharkhand 37, 39, 62, 126, 147 Jhelum 32, 46, 244–7, 249–50 johads 333–4 Joint Rivers Commission/JRC 254–5, 259–60, 262, 360 Kanpur 46, 102, 104, 120, 136 Kanyakumari 31, 33, 35–6 Karnataka 38–9, 62, 74, 78, 84, 88, 90, 118, 140–1, 143, 147–8, 203–4, 219–21, 225–8 Kashmir 28–9, 32, 245–7, 250 Kerala 28–9, 39, 62, 72, 78, 81, 140, 147–8, 165, 171, 174, 204, 206, 225–7, 340 key elements of water law in India 157 Khan, H. 3, 120, 149, 245, 262, 346, 360 Kishenganga Project 248–9 Kolkata 41, 46, 95, 97, 102, 125, 128, 137, 145 Krishna 31, 33–6, 46, 48, 54, 73–4, 78, 89–90, 120, 142, 229, 231, 326–7 Krishna basin Dispute 219–21 Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal 220–1 Kumar 16, 84, 100, 112, 121, 133–4, 139, 146 Lanham 347, 358, 360, 365 large dams 61–3, 64, 70, 166, 352, 372, 378 legislative challenges 185 liberalization 183, 194–5, 200 livelihood security 151–2, 257, 327 local bodies, urban 183, 299

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390

INDEX

local water resource development 329 Lower Ganga Canal 58 Lucknow 46, 107, 109, 111 Madhya Pradesh 28–9, 38–9, 61–2, 65–7, 78, 81, 86, 126, 171, 177, 203–4, 221–3, 336 Mahakali Treaty 264–6, 273 Mahanadi 31, 33–6, 46, 49, 72, 74, 110, 142, 150, 231, 326 Maharashtra 38–9, 61–2, 65–7, 74, 78, 83, 88, 90, 143, 147–8, 203–4, 219–23, 335, 338 Mahi 31, 33–4, 36, 101, 231 major river waterways 46 markets 193, 202–4, 209, 213, 215, 267, 306–7 Matthew, R. A. 4, 7–8, 17, 149, 343 MDGs 320, 322 Memorandum of Understanding/MOU 264, 312, 326 Menon, A. 103, 200, 361, 363 metals, heavy 95, 102, 120–1, 123–4, 237 MINARs 98, 187, 350–1 Moench, M. H. 60, 82–3, 88, 359, 364 Muhuri River 259–60 Mysore 164, 219, 226 Narmada 31, 33–4, 36, 46, 48, 66, 101, 142, 221, 231, 326–7 National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development/NCIWRD 49, 71–2, 317, 319, 321 National Ganga River Basin Authority/ NGRBA 103 National Green Tribunal 188, 341 National Perspective Plan 72–4 National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) 103, 180 National River Linking Project (NRLP) 79 National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) 158, 294 national security 2, 4–5, 17, 42, 131, 233, 244, 269–71, 280 National Urban Sanitation Policy 339

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National Water Framework Law 177–9 National Water Grid 75, 319 National Water Policy, 1987 168–9 National Water Policy, 2002 169–71, 196 National Water Policy, 2012 171–2, 196 Neelum River 248–9 Nepal 76, 234–6, 239, 241, 253–4, 256, 262–7, 269, 278–80 New Delhi 101, 212, 246, 255 NGOs 68, 210, 294, 299–300, 312, 335–6 Northern India Canal and Drainage Act 163–4, 186 Orissa 28–9, 38–9, 47, 62, 74, 78, 118, 126, 135, 141, 147–8, 223, 229, 293 Pahl-Wostl, P. 284–6, 367 Pakistan 32, 54–5, 57, 149–50, 224–5, 234–5, 237–9, 241, 244–54, 272, 276–7, 279, 343 rural 270 Panchayat Raj Institutions/PRIs 183, 214, 293–4 panchayats 156, 160, 171, 176, 183–4, 206, 214, 299 Participatory Irrigation Management 184, 291 peninsular component 73 peninsular rivers 33 Pennar 31, 33–6, 49, 73–4, 78, 120, 142, 231, 326 Performance Audit Report 106–8, 110– 12, 116, 119–20, 190, 316 Planning Commission 89–90, 148, 175–6, 185, 283, 317, 338 Policy and Institutional Drivers 155 Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution 174 polluting industries 95–6, 103, 123, 190, 307 pollution 103–5, 157–8, 238–9 legislative policy changes for abatement of 295 thermal 122

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INDEX pollution taxes 295 population 17–18, 20, 37, 44, 125, 201, 237–8, 317, 322–4 rural 118, 129, 133, 321–2 urban 96–9, 239, 321, 339 population growth 20–1 population of India 18, 44, 250 precautionary principle 153, 176, 298 precipitation 29, 43, 136–7, 142–3, 147, 240, 286, 296, 320 private-sector participation 169, 171–2, 196, 199–200, 203–4, 208, 214, 295, 307 projected water demand 317 public trust doctrine 159, 165, 177 Puducherry 74, 175, 226–7 Punjab 28, 39–40, 62, 64, 81, 83–4, 86, 88, 126, 128, 162, 164, 174–5, 223–5, 244–6 rainfall 27–9, 34, 37, 40, 79, 133–6, 139, 146, 148, 152–3, 286, 333 rainwater harvesting 176, 272, 282–3, 294, 297, 300, 310, 335–6, 339 rainy days 28, 135–7, 139 Rajasthan 28–9, 37–9, 59, 62–3, 65, 72, 74, 81, 83–4, 143, 203–4, 224–5, 297, 330, 333 Ravi–Beas river waters 223–5 RCM (Regional Climate Modeling) 133 reservoirs largest groundwater 40 out-of-city groundwater 128 resettlement 66, 68–9, 87, 177, 262, 284, 309 resource security community 275, 280 rights and justice reforms 308 right to water 178 riparian rights 75, 229, 262–3 river basin management 276 river basins in India 30–1, 35, 327 rivers 45–8, 100–4, 219, 221, 223, 225, 253–5, 258–61 basin approach 289–90 eastern 245

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391

Himalayan rivers 32 most polluted 100–1 peninsular 33 seasonal 31 streamflows of 325–7 transboundary 254, 268, 271 water quality of 106–12 west-flowing 31, 34–6, 72 rural India 201, 336–7 Sabarmati 31, 33–4, 36, 49, 101, 107, 109, 111, 120 Sacred Groves 322 salinity 15, 54, 84–5, 234–5, 257 sanitation 121, 157–8, 188, 270, 308, 339–40 improved 201, 321–2 linking water and 293–4 sanitation facilities 125, 321–3 Sardar Sarovar Dam 65, 223, 357, 376 Sarvajal 337–8 sea levels rise 133, 137, 145–6, 151, 240 security community 234, 275, 277–8, 359 security studies 1, 4, 11, 358, 373 critical 1–2 sewage 84, 102, 104–5, 113, 115, 187, 295, 339 untreated 100, 105, 113–14 Shah, T. 16–17, 54, 60–1, 236, 291–2, 303–4, 318, 327, 346, 371 Sharma 84, 138, 189, 346, 359, 361, 371 Shiva, V. 32, 204, 206, 209–10, 372 Shukla, A.C. 24, 75, 102–3, 161, 271, 347, 372 Singh 54, 56, 81, 85, 94, 129, 170, 230, 236, 293, 333–4 Sir Creek 250–3 slums 97, 124–5, 309 small-scale industries 104, 236–8, 306 sources of water insecurity 15 South Asia 15–16, 18, 41, 132, 134–5, 139, 148–9, 233–4, 281 floods 41 human development and national security in 269–71

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392

INDEX

major source of pollution in 237–40 transboundary challenges and scope for cooperation 273–8 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation/SAARC 241, 274–5 South Asian Cooperative Environmental Program 274, 276 Sri Lanka 276, 318, 346–8 State Pollution Control Boards/SPCBs 103, 173, 180–2, 189, 307, 341 state-wise distributions of large dams in India 62 Subarnarekha 31, 33–4, 36, 46, 142, 231 Supreme Court (India) 66, 176, 221, 225–8, 230, 326 surface and ground water rights 160 surface water resources 34–5, 128, 163 sustainability 12, 85–6, 90, 106, 234, 237, 282, 286 sustainable development 2–3, 10, 157, 177, 192, 271, 274

UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) 10, 43, 49, 201 UNICEF Report on Water and Sanitation in India 321 Union Ministry of Water Resources 180 United Nations 157, 234, 238, 317, 354, 375–7 United States 19, 51, 90, 277 UN World Water Development Report 316 Upadhyaya, H. 66–7, 309, 376 Upper Ganga Canal 54, 58 Upreti, B. R. 217, 239, 244, 263–4, 266, 269, 279, 315, 370, 376 Urban hinterland water transactions 362 urbanization 20–1, 93–101, 103, 127–9, 239 utilizable water resources 27, 35, 97, 324 Uttarakhand 39, 62–3, 67, 102–3, 117, 206 Uttar Pradesh 38–40, 58, 78, 81, 88, 90, 101, 103, 116, 118, 120, 171, 174–5, 339, 341

Tamil Nadu 28, 39–40, 74, 77–8, 81, 84, 90, 100, 141, 174–5, 203–4, 206, 220, 225–8, 338 Tanakpur Barrage 264–5 Tapi 31, 33–4, 36, 46, 142, 231, 326 Tata swatch 337 Teesta River cooperation 257–8, 343 Tehri Dam 67–9, 166 Thatte, C. D. 49, 374 Tibet 22, 32, 244, 268 Total Annual Replenishable Groundwater Resource 39–40 Total Coliform/TC 98–9, 105, 109–12 Total sewage generated 113–14 trade, virtual water 78–9 Tripura, eastern Indian State 259–60 Tulbul Navigation Project 247 Tungabhadra River 151, 369

wastewater 97–8, 105, 112, 152, 183, 202 discharges into Ganga 112, 115 domestic 97, 122, 238 generation in Class-I cities 114–15 generation in India 112–15 management 183, 204 total 112, 114 treatment capacity 115, 125, 305 treatment for efficient use 305 untreated 94, 105 volume of 114–15 water access 86, 125, 273, 286, 291 water: an example of wicked problems 23–4 water availability 9, 11, 13–14, 33–4, 80, 150–1, 313, 316 per capita 37, 44, 234, 316 seasonal 133, 153, 240 waterborne diseases 105, 115, 119, 121, 125, 148–9, 238–9, 270, 337–8 risk of 85, 209

ULBs (urban local bodies) 183, 187, 299, 308 UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) 2, 8, 12

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INDEX Water Cess Act 173 water challenges, global 17–18 water disputes 244–5, 247 intrastate 217–29, 267–8 resolving inter-state 229–30 water for ecology 44, 324 water for food 44, 320 water–food–energy security 21 water governance 179, 270, 274, 301–2 water harvesting 79, 282, 335 water in India 17 water in the Indian Constitution 167–9 water for industry 44, 322 water infrastructure, urban 152 water insecurity 14–15, 131, 295, 330 drivers of water insecurity in South Asia 234–44 water-intensive crops 90–1 water law 155–62, 164, 172, 174, 176, 286, 298 national 171, 177, 342 and policy slippage 184–92 water for life 320 water for livelihood 327 waterlogging 15, 60–1, 71, 85–6, 235, 283, 322 water management 12, 14, 162, 171, 180, 187–8, 194, 213–15, 281, 284–6, 289–91 framework 214, 285 paradigm 285 water pollution 94, 99–101, 102, 121–3, 237 controlling water pollution by collective action 306 definition 98 effect on water quality 119–20 main sources of 104 Water Prevention and Pollution Control Act 186 water pricing 172, 178, 213, 215 water privatization 201, 202–5, 209, 211, 213–15 water quality 83–5, 98, 119–22 climate change and 151–2 criteria 99 law and 172, 186

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393

poor 115, 121, 327, 356 of rivers as they leave the cities 106–12 Water Quality Assessment Authority (WQAA) 180, 190 water quality monitoring 115, 122, 187, 299 water resource availability 41, 151, 153 water resource development projects 70, 86, 219, 309 Water Resource Information System of India/WRIS 59, 224, 312, 380 water resource management 103, 169, 183, 197, 272, 313 integrated 275, 287 water resources 14, 217, 239, 280 agriculture and 81–3 climate change and impact on 138–40 current utilizable 324 estimated surface 35 estimated utilizable 35, 98, 309 improved quality of life of 334–6 marine 41 total 35 usable surface 35 and women 98, 157, 201, 208, 212, 281, 283, 292, 296, 309, 311 water resources of India 29–37 water rights 11, 23, 164, 175, 177, 209, 214, 265, 272, 308–9 water rights, equity, and justice 272 water scarcity 15, 18, 37, 234, 270, 319, 334–5 water scenarios for hope 328 water security 9–13, 119–20, 208–10, 294, 315–45 agriculture and 82 broad and narrow framings of 13–16 climate change and 149–53, 240 definitions 10, 13 framework 14, 378 freshwater ecosystem services and 42–9 for India 16 private-sector participation, 208–16

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394

privatization and 210–12 urban and periurban 124–30 watershed planning 290–1 water sources 165, 205, 211, 321–2 improved drinking 321–2 traditional 105, 269 water storage 44, 167, 171, 247–9 India’s live capacity of 316 volume of 60 water stressors 316 water use, efficiency and performance reform 303 Water User Associations/WUAs 184, 213, 292, 299 water vision for India and South Asia 281–3, 287

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INDEX water zoning 313 WCD (World Commission on Dams) 62–3, 69, 374, 378 West Bengal 28–9, 39, 46, 63, 77, 86, 102–3, 117–18, 126–7, 141, 148, 174, 256, 258, 261 Whitcombe, E. 53, 55–6, 164, 378 Wolf 217, 243, 274, 379–80 World Bank 19, 65, 145, 147, 195, 197, 211–12, 248, 303–4 Wular Lake 247, 249 Yamuna 32, 46, 48, 54, 58, 99, 101, 107, 109, 111, 120, 229, 237, 326

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