Water Resources
Three-fourths of the earth’s surface is covered with water, but only a small proportion of it accounts for
freshwater that can be put to use.
Freshwater is mainly obtained from surface runoff and groundwater that is continually being renewed
and recharged through the hydrological cycle. All water moves within the hydrological cycle, ensuring
that water is a renewable resource.
Water Scarcity and the Need for Water Conservation and Management:
The availability of water resources varies over space and time, mainly due to the variations in seasonal
and annual precipitation, but water scarcity in most cases is caused by over-exploitation, excessive use,
and unequal access to water among different social groups.
In the hydrological cycle, freshwater can be obtained directly from precipitation, surface run off and
groundwater.
Many of our cities are such examples. Thus, water scarcity may be an outcome of a large and growing
population and consequent greater demands for water, and unequal access to it. A large population
requires more water, not only for domestic use but also to produce more food. Hence, to facilitate
higher food-grain production, water resources are being over-exploited to expand irrigated areas for
dry-season agriculture. Irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water. Now it is needed to
revolutionise agriculture through developing drought-resistant crops and dry farming techniques.
Post-independent India witnessed intensive industrialisation and urbanisation, creating vast
opportunities for us. Today, large industrial houses are as commonplace as the industrial units of many
MNCs (Multinational Corporations). The ever-increasing number of industries has made matters
worse by exerting pressure on existing freshwater resources. Industries, apart from being heavy users of
water, also require power to run them. Much of this energy comes from hydroelectric power.
Moreover, multiplying urban centres with large and dense populations and urban lifestyles has not only
added to water and energy requirements but has further aggravated the problem.
Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal) is being implemented in 8220 water-stressed Gram Panchayats of 229 administrative blocks/
talukas in 80 districts of seven states, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar
Pradesh. The selected States account for about 37 per cent of the total number of water— stressed (over-exploited, critical, and
semi-critical) blocks in India. One of the key aspects of Atal Jal is to bring in behavioural changes in the community, from the
prevailing attitude of consumption to conservation and smart water management.
Source: Annual Report, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India 2022–23.
If water is sufficiently available to meet the needs of the people, but the area still suffers from water
scarcity. This scarcity may be due to the bad quality of the water. Lately, there has been a growing
concern that even if there is ample water to meet the needs of the people, much of it may be polluted by
domestic and industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides, and fertilisers used in agriculture, thus making
it hazardous for human use. The Government of India has accorded the highest priority to improve the
quality of life and enhance the ease of living of people, especially those living in rural areas, by
announcing the Jal Jeevan Mission ( JJM). The Goal of JJM is to enable every rural household to get an
assured supply of potable piped water at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day regularly on a
long-term basis by ensuring functionality of the tap water connections.
(Source: Economic Survey 2020–21, p.357)
Multi-Purpose River Projects and Integrated Water Resources Management:
Archaeological and historical records show that from ancient times, we have been constructing
sophisticated hydraulic structures like dams built of stone rubble, reservoirs or lakes, embankments,
and canals for irrigation. Not surprisingly, we have continued this tradition in modern India by building
dams in most of our river basins.
Hydraulic Structures in Ancient India
● In the first century B.C., Sringaverapura near Allahabad had a sophisticated water-harvesting
system channelling the flood water of the river Ganga.
● During the time of Chandragupta Maurya, dams, lakes, and irrigation systems were extensively
built.
● Evidence of sophisticated irrigation works has also been found in Kalinga (Odisha),
Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh), Bennur (Karnataka), Kolhapur (Maharashtra), etc.
● In the 11th Century, Bhopal Lake, one of the largest artificial lakes of its time, was built.
● In the 14th Century, the tank in Hauz Khas, Delhi, was constructed by Iltutmish for supplying
water to the Siri Fort area.
Dams were traditionally built to impound rivers and rainwater that could be used later to irrigate
agricultural fields. Today, dams are built not just for irrigation but for electricity generation, water
supply for domestic and industrial uses, flood control, recreation, inland navigation, and fish
breeding. Hence, dams are now referred to as multi-purpose projects where the many uses of the
impounded water are integrated.
For example, in the Sutluj-Beas river basin, the Bhakra–Nangal project water is being used both for
hydel power production and irrigation. Similarly, the Hirakud project in the Mahanadi basin
integrates conservation of water with flood control.
Multi-purpose projects, launched after Independence with their integrated water resources
management approach, were thought of as the vehicle that would lead the nation to development and
progress, overcoming the handicap of its colonial past. Jawaharlal Nehru proudly proclaimed the dams
as the ‘temples of modern India’; the reason being that they would integrate development of
agriculture and the village economy with rapid industrialisation and growth of the urban economy.
A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, direct, or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake, or
impoundment. “Dam” refers to the reservoir rather than the structure. Most dams have a section called a spillway or weir over
which or through which it is intended that water will flow either intermittently or continuously. Dams are classified according
to structure, intended purpose, or height. Based on structure and the materials used, dams are classified as timber dams,
embankment dams, or masonry dams, with several subtypes. According to height, dams can be categorised as large dams and
major dams or as low dams, medium height dams, and high dams.
In recent years, multi-purpose projects and large dams have come under great scrutiny and opposition
for a variety of reasons. Regulating and damming of rivers affect their natural flow, causing poor
sediment flow and excessive sedimentation at the bottom of the reservoir, resulting in rockier stream
beds and poorer habitats for the rivers’ aquatic life. Dams also fragment rivers, making it difficult for
aquatic fauna to migrate, especially for spawning. The reservoirs that are created on the floodplains
also submerge the existing vegetation and soil, leading to their decomposition over a period of time.
Sardar Sarovar Dam has been built over the Narmada River in Gujarat. This is one of the largest water resource projects of
India covering four states—Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. The Sardar Sarovar project would meet the
requirement of water in drought-prone and desert areas. Sardar Sarovar Project will provide irrigation facilities to 18.45 lakh
hectares of land, covering 3112 villages in 15 districts of Gujarat. It will also irrigate 2,46,000 hectares of land in the strategic
desert districts of Barmer and Jalore in Rajasthan and 37,500 hectares in the tribal hilly tract of Maharashtra through lift. About
75 per cent of the command area in Gujarat is drought-prone, while the entire command area in Rajasthan is drought-prone.
An assured water supply will soon make this area drought-proof.
Ironically, the dams that were constructed to control floods have triggered floods due to sedimentation
in the reservoir. Moreover, the big dams have mostly been unsuccessful in controlling floods at the time
of excessive rainfall. These floods have not only devastated life and property but also caused extensive
soil erosion. Sedimentation also meant that the flood plains were deprived of silt, a natural fertiliser,
further adding to the problem of land degradation.
It was also observed that the multipurpose projects induced earthquakes, caused water-borne diseases
and pests, and pollution resulting from excessive use of water.
Irrigation has also changed the cropping pattern of many regions, with farmers shifting to
water-intensive and commercial crops. This has great ecological consequences, like salinisation of the
soil. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana has been started, which ensures access to some means of
protective irrigation for all agricultural farms in the country, thus bringing much-desired rural
prosperity.
Some of the broad objectives of this programme are to enhance the physical access of water on the farm
and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation (har khet ko pani), improve on-farm water use
efficiency to reduce wastage and increase availability both in duration and extent, irrigation and other
water saving technologies (per drop more crop) and introduce sustainable water conservation practices,
etc.
Do you know that the Krishna-Godavari dispute is due to the objections raised by the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
governments? It is regarding the diversion of more water at Koyna by the Maharashtra government for a multipurpose project.
This would reduce downstream flow in their states with adverse consequences for agriculture and industry.
Rainwater Harvesting:
Many thought that, given the disadvantages and rising resistance against the multipurpose projects, the
water harvesting system was a viable alternative, both socioeconomically and environmentally.
In ancient India, along with the sophisticated hydraulic structures, there existed an extraordinary
tradition of a water-harvesting system. People had in-depth knowledge of rainfall regimes and soil
types and developed wide-ranging techniques to harvest rainwater, groundwater, river water, and
flood water in keeping with the local ecological conditions and their water needs.
In hill and mountainous regions, people built diversion channels like the ‘guls’ or ‘kuls’ of the Western
Himalayas for agriculture.
‘Rooftop rainwater harvesting’ was commonly practised to store drinking water, particularly in
Rajasthan. In the flood plains of Bengal, people developed inundation channels to irrigate their fields.
In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural fields were converted into rain-fed storage structures that
allowed the water to stand and moisten the soil like the ‘khadins’ in Jaisalmer and ‘Johads’ in other
parts of Rajasthan.
In the semi-arid and arid regions of Rajasthan, particularly in Bikaner, Phalod, and Barmer, almost all
the houses traditionally had underground tanks or tankas for storing drinking water.
The tanks could be as large as a big room; one household in Phalodi had a tank that was 6.1 metres
deep, 4.27 metres lo,n g and 2.44 metres wide.
The tankas were part of the well-developed rooftop rainwater harvesting system and were built
inside the main house or the courtyard. They were connected to the sloping roofs of the houses
through a pipe. Rain falling on the rooftops would travel down the pipe and be stored in these
underground ‘tankas’. The first spell of rain was usually not collected, as this would clean the roofs and
the pipes. The rainwater from the subsequent showers was then collected.
The rainwater can be stored in the tankas till the next rainfall, making it an extremely reliable source of
drinking water when all other sources are dried up, particularly in the summer. Rainwater, or palar
pani, as commonly referred to in these parts, is considered the purest form of natural water.
Many houses constructed underground rooms adjoining the ‘tanka’ to beat the summer heat, as it would
keep the room cool.
Today, in western Rajasthan, sadly, the practice of rooftop rainwater harvesting is on the decline as
plenty of water is available due to the perennial Indira Gandhi Canal, though some houses still maintain
the tankas since they do not like the taste of tap water.
Fortunately, in many parts of rural and urban India, rooftop rainwater harvesting is being successfully
adapted to store and conserve water.
In Gendathur, a remote backward village in Mysuru, Karnataka, villagers have installed, in their
household’s rooftop, rainwater harvesting system to meet their water needs. Nearly 200 households
have installed this system, and the village has earned the rare distinction of being rich in rainwater.
Gendathur receives an annual precipitation of 1,000 mm, and with 80 per cent of collection efficiency
and of about 10 fillings, every house can collect and use about 50,000 litres of water annually. From
the 200 houses, the net amount of rainwater harvested annually amounts to 1,00,000 litres.
Rooftop harvesting was common across the towns and villages of the Thar. Rainwater that falls on the sloping roofs of houses is
taken through a pipe into an underground tanka (circular holes in the ground). Built in the main house or in the courtyard.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the most common practice in Shillong, Meghalaya. It is interesting because Cherapunjee and
Mawsynram, situated at a distance of 55 k. from Shillong, receive the highest rainfall in the world, yet the state capital, Shillong,
faces an acute shortage of water. Nearly every household in the city has a rooftop rainwater harvesting structure. Nearly 15-25
per cent of the total water requirement of the household comes from rooftop water harvesting.
