Water-proofing India

Such a strategy would need to be founded on the realisation that since we cannot legislate to change the pattern of rainfall, we would need to change the pattern of water conservation and utilisation. A holistic, pan-Indian water plan 8212; ranging from building dams and check dams to shoring up data bases 8212; has so far eluded the country. The Centre has been extremely diffident about putting such a plan in place because water is a state subject. Yet, ironically, the Centre could learn a great deal from the enlightened water policies that some states have been forced to adopt in the face of parched fields and angry citizens. Tamil Nadu, for instance, was one of the first to make budgetary provision for rainwater harvesting infrastructure.

There also needs to be a change of mindset in the way we view water. The belief that it is a unlimited resource must make way for the awareness that it is sadly finite. End user charges are far too low in India. They do not convey the scarcity value of the resource. We need to water-proof India, so let8217;s count the ways8230;