Gajendra Singh Shekawat concerned about India's water availability

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has expressed his concerns about water scarcity. He said that if water availability continues to decline, with the same pace, cities like Chennai and Bangalore would become like the South African city of Cape Town which almost ran out of water for its population. He also said that a majority of the population would be affected by it.

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'Chennai and Bangalore will become Cape Town' 

"The way water availability has declined with increase in population if this happens at the same pace and per capita, water availability keeps going down, not just Chennai and Bangalore will become Cape Town but the majority of the population will be affected too," the Minister said. 

Rapid urbanisation and poor management have led to cities like Bengaluru and Chennai running out of water. Citing the country's poor management, the Minister said, " On an average, India gets 1,068 mm rain and 4,000 million cubic metres of water per year through precipitation, yet it's a water-scarce country, the Union minister said. Israel, which gets 100 mm rain per year, is water-abundant and exporting the resource."

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'Problem began when we started considering ourselves owners of natural resources'

He also asserted water management is a responsibility and said people here talk about rights more than responsibility. "In India, people talk more about rights and less about responsibilities... The government is certainly responsible, but it's also the responsibility of the people and the industry," he said. The Minister further reminded that resources are not owned by us, "Problem began when we started considering ourselves owners of natural resources," the Minister said.

Emphasising the need to conserve water and recharge aquifers, the minister said India is the most Groundwater dependent country in the world, however, India's total water retention is below 300 million cubic metres. 

Overexploitation of Groundwater has led to the problems of groundwater management in India. The deterioration of groundwater quality by pollution and other means is another major issue. According to the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) report released by the Niti Aayog in 2018, 21 major cities (Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and others) are racing to reach zero groundwater levels by 2020, affecting access for 100 million people. The CWMI report also states that by 2030, the country's water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people. 

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(With agency inputs)