Rain gain

It is something of a cliche to state that the monsoon plays a central role in the social and economic life of this country. Therefore when the India Meteorological Department forecasts 8212; as it has just done 8212; that the monsoon this year will be slightly below par, old anxieties emerge. The problem may not even be a failure of rains at a national level. Data over the last few seasons indicate significant shifts in the pattern of the monsoon, with some areas left bone-dry and other areas getting unusually inundated even in a year when the monsoon, overall, can be considered normal.

How then does a country with a growth rate of 7-8 per cent, a country testing the promise of modernity, insulate itself against the all-too-familiar fear of failed rains? If India has to emerge unscathed from the vagaries of the monsoon, it would need to think both innovatively and big. It would need wise policy making, enlightened water use, and technological and engineering interventions. Most of the rain that falls on Indian soil is allowed to go waste precisely because the country has one of the lowest capacities to store water in the world. While the United States and Australia can store 5,000 cubic metres per capita and can shrug off the spectre of drought, and even China has some 1,000 cubic metres per capita, India with its 200 cubic metres per capita storage capacity is woefully dependent on a good monsoon. What is more, even this inadequate infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. This means that there is no escape from large projects like dams, reservoirs and inter-basin water transfers and the social costs they entail in terms of displacement would demand fair and efficacious rehabilitation.

There is another delicate issue which needs to be broached. Water is a state subject, and the sharing of river waters has been the cause of endless friction between upper and lower riparian states. We need to debate the social and economic consequences of such sparring and evolve a more pan-national approach so as to utilise this precious resource in the most optimal manner. Our water resources must unite, not divide, the country.