Down the Drain

The South West Monsoon is in its last segment but fears of drought have already faded away. Barring a few pockets, monsoon has covered the traditional rain-deficient areas more than adequately. For the first time in the last five years, 25 large reservoirs are full. It8217;s like a fat bank deposit to be withdrawn slowly till next May-June.

This year, the monsoon hit the subcontinent early, moving up fast up the Peninsula into Maharashtra and Gujarat. Mumbai was flooded yet again and Gujarat was awash with rain prematurely. Then there was a lull for about two weeks in June when monsoon went into its 8220;break8221; phase. There was a time when rainfall deficiency was as much as 20 per cent.

July began with normal, uniform rain throughout the country. August was a surprise. It rained incessantly in Central and North-West India, flooding large parts of it, without a pause, as a result of two successive 8220;lows8221;.

The only regions in the country that remain monsoon-deficient this season are the Northeast and parts of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. Just 4 per cent of the 533 districts in India have had scanty rain this year.

This by itself is good news but not good enough. If all the dams were 100 per cent full, there would still not be enough water for drinking, irrigation and industries. Experts estimate that even when all the large and medium dams under construction are actually ready, they would not hold enough to quench the thirst of a growing country.

While total water resources availability in the country remains constant, the per capita availability of water has been steadily declining see figure. Finding more ways to capture the rainwater and then managing it efficiently is the key to India8217;s water needs.

THE STATE OF INFRASTRUCTURE: Nowhere near world average

We do not have adequate infrastructure to capture the rain. Worse, even if we finish our pending projects, we can never catch up with the rest of the world see figure. The country has been sitting over new projects for too long8212;so long that they have become unaffordable.

It takes a good monsoon to highlight the need for better storage and conservation of rain. Out of a total potential of 1,869 billion cubic metres BCM, only 1,122 BCM can be used8212; 690 BCM from surface water and 432 BCM from groundwater. The rest flows into the sea.

The Union Ministry of Water Resources constituted a standing sub committee for assessment of availability and requirement of water. They have put forward a multi-pronged approach8212;8220;completion of storage dams, interlinking of rivers, recycling of domestic water and of industrial used water, desalination of sea water and artificial recharge of groundwater8221;.

So far, India8217;s policy has only been construction of dams. To pull India out of an alarming water crisis in the years to come, planning has to go beyond that.

PROJECTS: Too late to catch up

According to a commission report titled 8220;The status of ongoing major and medium irrigation projects that spilled over to the 10th Plan8221;, June 2004, less than half the potential of the major projects has been realised in recent decades.

About 388 incomplete major and medium projects, with a liability of Rs 91,000 crores, spilled over from the Ninth Plan.

The report points out that out of 20.2 million hectares envisaged for irrigation by 388 projects, only 6.937 million hectares had actually been reached by the end of the 9th Plan. In short, we are way behind all targets.

CAPACITY CREATED: Half-hearted work

Even when the dams are constructed, the utilisation is much less8212;field channels have not been built, change in water pattern has led to water-intensive crops and there is silting.

Water being a state subject, the Centre has no control over these projects or on budget allocations for completion of these.

There was a proposal that large projects, which would each benefit about one lakh hectares or more, should be fully funded by the Centre. They would be treated as 8216;national8217; projects. The list of potential projects included Sarayu Nehar, Upper Krishna Phase II and the Indira Gandhi Canal.

At present, most are implemented and largely funded by state governments. Supporting Central assistance is routed through the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme AIBP for 8220;last mile projects8221;. AIBP did not work because of lack of in-built monitoring mechanism, recognizes the approach to the XI th Plan paper.

CHANGE IN STRATEGY: Efficiency in use and equitable distribution

Policy-makers have realized that there has to be some thought to its 8220;efficient8221; and 8220;equitable8221; use.

For the first time, these concepts have entered the government planning process. The approach paper talks of Participatory Irrigation Management PIM. These are democratically organised water user associations empowered to set water charges, collect and retain substantial part of it, help maintain field channels, expand irrigated area and distribute water equitably to ensure that tail enders get their just share.

It acknowledges the fact that experience in Gujarat has shown the effectiveness of PIM: 8220;The 11th Plan must expand reliance on PIM on a large scale8221;.

FOCUS ON GROUNDWATER: Another area of concern

The country is relying more and more on ground water8212; it is cheap and easy to over-extract. Not surprising that 80 per cent addition to the supply-side is from groundwater. Groundwater has to be augmented with the help of artificial re-charge.

8220;Continued provision of free power by some states and highly subsidised power by all states is leading to an increase in semi-critical, critical and over exploited areas of groundwater use, which already cover 29 per cent of the blocks in the country,8221; says the approach paper.

THE NEXT GRAND PLAN: Looking beyond dams

The Bharat Nirman programme envisages creation of 10 million hectare additional assured irrigation during the 4-year period 2005-2009. To achieve this, the pace of potential creation will be doubled.

Various national-level bodies have been constituted to bunch together disparate schemes, ministries and missions for water. An omnibus National Rainwater Authority has been set up which had its first meting last week. A National Artificial Recharge of Groundwater Mission has also been constituted.

The National Rural Employee Guarantee has also given priority to restoration of old tanks, building new one, building watershed structures etc.