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Irrigation Projects & Water Crisis

Bullet Points

Total geographical area of the country: 328.7miilion hectare Gross cropped area: 193.7 million hectare Net So n area: 1!".3 million hectare Net irrigated area: #".9 million hectare $%round !"&' Net irrigated area (y ells ) tu(e ells: *9&

Net irrigated areas through canals+ tan,s ) other sources: !1& -rrigated land account for nearly **& of production Nearly 8" million hectare is rainfed. contri(utes only !*& of total production /ore than !"" million poor li0e in rainfed region

Excessive exploitation of ground water, large-scale pollution of rivers and lack of attention to conservation have led to a grave water scarcity situation. India needs to urgently adopt an integrated water management policy ccording to the 2001 Census, only 68.2 per cent of households in the country had access to safe drinking water. Experts say, as of now, 50 per cent of the illages ha e no source of protected drinking water. !n a list of 122 countries rated on the "uality of pota#le drinking water, !ndia ranked a lowly 120. $nd although !ndia has four per cent of the world%s water, studies show that the a erage a aila#ility has #een shrinking steadily. !t is esti&ated that #y 2020, !ndia will #eco&e an e en &ore water'stressed nation. (he )orld *ank%s State of India Environment reports the per capita drinking water a aila#ility in the country has fallen #y a#out 15'20 per cent o er the past two decades. !t esti&ates that in the next 25 years, the de&and for drinking water in !ndia will dou#le fro& 25 #illion cu#ic &etres currently to 52 #illion cu#ic &etres + without &uch change in a aila#ility. ,-./01')$(E- 1E23E(!.0 $round 40 per cent of !ndia%s irrigation needs and 80 per cent of its do&estic water supplies co&e fro& ground water. $ large part of agriculture is dependent on non'renewa#le ground water. (he water ta#le in &any 5tates has #een falling at an alar&ing rate. 6or decades, predo&inantly agricultural 5tates such as 2un7a#, 8aryana, /ttar 2radesh and -a7asthan encouraged far&ers to dig #oreholes 9popularly known as tu#e wells: to get free water for agricultural use. 2ower for pu&ping out this water was supplied irtually free or at hea ily su#sidised rates. (his naturally led to o er' exploitation of groundwater and widespread en iron&ental da&age. Elsewhere in !ndia, too, &any far&ers resorted to groundwater exploitation for agricultural purposes, thanks to free a aila#ility of power #ut the a#o e four 5tates are the worst affected. (o add to the pro#le&, &any far&ers switched to water'gu;;ling crops such as paddy fro& wheat and used water indiscri&inately. 0ot surprisingly, the rate of ground water depletion has raced far past the rate of replenish&ent in &any 5tates.

0ow co&es the &ost shocking finding. 0$5$ scientists in the /5, using satellites to track ground water loss in !ndia%s north'western grain #asket, ha e found that there has #een an a erage << cu#ic k& a year drop in the water ta#le in this region, &uch higher that the !ndian go ern&ent esti&ates. (he satellite study has re ealed a loss of 10= cu#ic k& of groundwater in 2un7a#, 8aryana and -a7asthan o er the six'year period #etween $ugust 2002 and .cto#er 2008, twice the capacity of !ndia%s largest surface water reser oir + the /pper )ainganga in >adhya 2radesh. (his rate of groundwater depletion suggests that the region &ay, within the next few years, experience a se ere shortage of pota#le water, reduced agricultural producti ity, and extended socio'econo&ic stress, the /5'#ased research tea& has warned. $l&ost 40 per cent of surface water resources ha e serious pollution pro#le&s and a significant proportion of ground water resources ha e #een conta&inated #y che&ical su#stances and pollutants. . er the years, there has #een a distinct lack of attention to water legislation, water conser ation, efficiency in water use, water recycling and infrastructure. 6ortunately, !ndia gets fairly good rainfall at a#out ?6 inches per annu&. *ut al&ost 50 per cent of it falls within a span of 15 days and =0 per cent of the rain'water run'off occurs in 7ust four &onths. .nly a#out 15 per cent of the annual rain water is used for irrigation. !f this water is properly stored and used for sustained surface irrigation, it could help sol e the country%s future agriculture pro#le&s and also reduce excessi e pressure on ground water. $ccording to reports, the 2lanning Co&&ission has prepared a draft report for an integrated water &anage&ent policy ai&ed at easing scarcity for irrigation, industrial, &unicipal and drinking purposes. !t suggests setting up a regulator to allocate and price water for far&ers, i&pro e data collection, and &andate the recharge of water through check'da&s, ponds, etc.

Preparing for a thirsty future

1rime /inister+ 2r. /anmohan Singh+ has said that the challenge of managing our ater resources in a rational and sustaina(le manner ill re3uire action on many fronts and coordination across different sectors of the economy. 2eli0ering inaugural address at the 4*th %sian 5egional 6onference of the -nternational 6ommission on -rrigation and 2rainage on impro0ement in efficiency of irrigation pro7ects through technology up8gradation and (etter operation ) maintenance9+ he said that in -ndia+ e ha0e tried to address these comple: inter8relationships through the formulation of a National ;ater /ission+ hich is one of the eight national missions that are part of our National %ction 1lan on 6limate 6hange launched recently (y the Go0ernment of -ndia. The 1rime /inister said that the main o(7ecti0e of our 4National ;ater /ission9 is integrated ater resource management (y conser0ing ater+ minimi<ing astage and ensuring its more e3uita(le distri(ution (oth across and ithin 0arious states of our union. Some of the ,ey action areas of the 4National ;ater /ission9 are: 1lacing of a comprehensi0e ater data (ase in the pu(lic domain and assessment of the impact of climate change on ater resources.

1romotion of citi<en and State actions for ater conser0ation+ augmentation and preser0ation. =ocused attention to o0er8e:ploited areas. -ncreasing ater use efficiency (y at least 2"&. and+ 1romotion of (asin le0el integrated ater resource management.

There has to (e a greater synergy (et een our agricultural policies and our ater policies ith a 0ie to securing food supply+ especially to the poor and 0ulnera(le sections of the population+ through more efficient and sustaina(le use of scarce ater resources. The 1rime /inister said that the target of dou(ling the annual rate of gro th of agriculture in -ndia to !& during the >le0enth 1lan 1eriod of 2""782"12 is a top priority for our go0ernment. To achie0e this+ e are sharply increasing pu(lic in0estment in agriculture. The most important area for in0estment in agriculture relates to the pro0ision of ater and its most efficient use. -n fact+ e hope to (e a(le to add a(out 1# million hectares to the irrigated area during the >le0enth =i0e ?ear 1lan. @e said that an assessment of the irrigation system in -ndia indicates that efficiencies of surface ater systems can (e impro0ed from the present le0el of 3* to !"& to a(out #"& and that of ground ater systems from the e:isting #*& to a(out 7*&. Atili<ation of created irrigation potential is another crucial issue. -n -ndia only a(out 8!& of the created irrigation potential has (een utili<ed thus far. >fficient use of crop ater can increase the gross irrigated area+ either (y increasing the irrigated cropped area or the intensity of irrigation. >ighty ma7or and medium irrigation pro7ects and 37!" minor irrigation schemes ha0e (een reported as completed ith assistance under %ccelerated -rrigation Benefits 1rogramme $%-B1' during the period from 1st %pril 2""! to 31st /arch 2""9. -rrigation (eing a State su(7ect+ irrigation pro7ects are concei0ed+ planned and implemented (y the respecti0e State Go0ernments as per their o n priority. Schemes (eing implemented (y /inistry of ;ater 5esources %ccelerated -rrigation Benefits 1rogramme $%-B1'+ 6ommand %rea 2e0elopment ) ;ater /anagement $6%2);/' and 5epair+ 5eno0ation and 5estoration $555' of ;ater Bodies. 1rogramme

Due emphasis has been laid on irrigation development during XI Plan. The overall outlay for irrigation, command area development and flood control in the State and Central Plan during XI Plan is Rs. ,! ,!"" crore against the X Plan outlay of Rs.#$,%&! crore
Cf the 1! pro7ects declared as national pro7ects (y the Anion Go0ernment+ only 3 pro7ects are ongoing pro7ects under %ccelerated -rrigation Benefits 1rogramme

and other 11 pro7ects are in different stages of planning (y the respecti0e State Go0ernments. 6ost of the irrigation pro7ects generally increases due to price escalation hich is a normal phenomenon (eyond the control of the pro7ect authorities. =or the purpose of a0oiding time o0errun and there(y minimi<ing cost o0errun+ the /inistry of ;ater 5esources has constituted a @igh 1o ered Steering 6ommittee 6entral ;ater 6ommission $6;6' under /inistry of ;ater 5esources is monitoring storage position of 81 important reser0oirs spread all o0er the country+ of hich as many as 3# reser0oirs are ha0ing significant hydro8po er (enefits ith installed capacities of more than #" /; each. ;ater a0aila(ility in many of the reser0oirs is relati0ely lesser during the year 2""981" due to deficient rainfall in the country as a hole.

Go0ernment of -ndia supplements the efforts of the States (y pro0iding financial and technical assistance under the centrally sponsored National 5ural 2rin,ing ;ater 1rogramme $N52;1'. Dast year Go0ernment also started EFalmaniG programme (y pro0iding 1""& assistance to States for pro0iding safe and clean drin,ing ater in rural schools for children (y installing standalone ater purification systems in rural schools. By the year 2"2"+ says a recent ;orld Ban, report+ most ma7or -ndian cities run dry. ill

Se0ere ater shortage had already led to a gro ing num(er of conflicts across the country+ ith 9" per cent of -ndiaHs territory ser0ed (y inter8state ri0ers. -ndiaHs supply of ater too is rapidly d indling primarily due to mismanagement of ater resources+ although o0er8pumping and pollution are also significant contri(utors. /um(aiHs Brihanmum(ai /unicipal 6orporation $B/6' deli0ers some 9" litres of ater per day to the cityHs residents. That is far short of the 13* litres of ater the ;orld @ealth Crgani<ation $;@C' says they re3uire for their (asic needs. So in /um(ai+ there is gro ing anger o0er the ater shortages.

-n the central -ndian city of Bhopal+ people ho li0e in some of the slums pump drin,ing ater from ground ater contaminated (y industrial pollution. 6hildren ho li0e in the slum play (y the filthy and ru((ish8stre n ri0er that runs past. @ead out into rural -ndia+ and three83uarters of the population does not ha0e access to safe drin,ing ater. 27& angan adis do not ha0e any drin,ing ater facility.

%ccording to a 2""7 Anited Nations report+ half of the orldHs hospital (eds $a(out 2" million in toto' are occupied (y patients suffering from ater(orne diseases. -n -ndia+ such diseases cause more than 1.* times the deaths caused (y %-2S+ and dou(le the deaths caused (y road accidents. %s the population continues to gro the pro(lem is getting orse.

-ndiaHs ater needs are set to dou(le o0er the ne:t t o decades+ according to consultants /cIinsey. 1roduction of rice+ heat and sugar is set to push up demand from -ndian agriculture+ the consultancy arns. A 2006 United Nations report focuses on issues of governance as the core of the water crisis, saying "there is enough water for everyone" and "water insufficiency is often due to mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of investment in both human capacity and physical infrastructure !o the ne"t time you leave that tap running unnecessarily, do remember that there will be a day when you would soon run out of this option to use water so frivolously and the day is not a distant leap year away#
According to the UN$%&' report on water, there will be constant competition over water, between urban dwellers, farmers and industrialists# &ven the (orld )ank report shows alarming results# *hese reports show that in +,,-, the available underground water was appro"imately 600 cubic kilometres per annum and the demand was also almost e.ual to the availability# )ut by 20/0 the level of ground water will be below +00 cubic kilometres per annum mark and the demand will rise to +200 cubic kilometres per annum# 'urther, in the same year, the level of surface water was appro"imately 000 cubic kilometres per annum which would fall to /0 cubic kilometres per annum by 20/0

*his crisis is not 1ust the disturbance in the demand and supply curve but is also about mismanagement of water resources# $ndia2s water crisis is a man3made problem#

)ater.org, an 0,. with which 8ollywood actor >att 1a&on is closely attached, gi es so&e terrifying water
facts 9glo#ally:@ <.545 &illion people die each year fro& water'related diseases ?<A of water'related deaths are due to diarrhoea. 8?A of water'related deaths are in children ages 0 ' 1?. =8A of water'related deaths occur in the de eloping world. 88? &illion people, lack access to safe water supplies, approxi&ately one in eight people. (he water and sanitation crisis clai&s &ore li es through disease than any war clai&s through guns. $t any gi en ti&e, half of the worldBs hospital #eds are occupied #y patients suffering fro& a water'related disease. 3ess than 1A of the worldBs fresh water 9or a#out 0.004A of all water on earth: is readily accessi#le for direct hu&an use. More water facts $n $&erican taking a fi e'&inute shower uses &ore water than the typical person li ing in a de eloping country slu& uses in a whole day.

$#out a third of people without access to an i&pro ed water source li e on less than C1 a day. >ore than two thirds of people without an i&pro ed water source li e on less than C2 a day. 2oor people li ing in the slu&s often pay 5'10 ti&es &ore per litre of water than wealthy people li ing in the sa&e city. )ithout food a person can li e for weeks, #ut without water you can expect to li e only a few days. (he daily re"uire&ent for sanitation, #athing, and cooking needs, as well as for assuring sur i al, is a#out 1<.2 gallons per person. . er 50 percent of all water pro7ects fail and less than fi e percent of pro7ects are isited, and far less than one percent ha e any longer'ter& &onitoring. .nly 62A of the worldBs population has access to i&pro ed sanitation ' defined as a sanitation facility that ensures hygienic separation of hu&an excreta fro& hu&an contact. E ery 15 seconds, a child dies fro& a water'related disease. >illions of wo&en and children spend se eral hours a day collecting water fro& distant, often polluted sources. Image: 2eople crowd around a water'tanker in $h&eda#ad. How grave is the crisis?

!n !ndia, the groundwater ta#le in so&e regions is dropping dra&atically. $ tea& of researchers led #y >atthew
-odell of the 8ydrological 5ciences *ranch of 0$5$ recently &easured 7ust how se ere the situation is for the states of -a7asthan, 2un7a# and 8aryana 9including 1elhi:. (he results were pu#lished in $ugust 200=, in the online edition of the science &aga;ine 0ature. $ccording to these results, the water ta#le in these regions is dropping #y 14.4 D ?.5 cu#ic kilo&etres annually. 1uring the $ugust 2002'.cto#er 2008 study period, the groundwater loss was 10= cu#ic kilo&etres. (his corresponds to twice the olu&e of !ndiaBs largest surface water reser oir. ndian water scenario was a &atter of gra e concern, as 85 per cent of water was used for agriculture, 10 per cent for industry and fi e per cent for do&estic use, according to a paper presented at a national sy&posiu& in Coi&#atore, (a&il 0adu. *eing a de eloping nation with a large population on the negati e side of the po erty line, econo&ic water scarcity 9li&ited access to fresh water #ecause of lower afforda#ility: assu&ed e"ual, if not, greater i&portance as that of physical water scarcity, it said. Euoting a )orld *ank study, it said of the 24 $sian cities with population of o er 10 lakh 91 &illion:, Chennai and 1elhi were ranked as the worst perfor&ing &etropolitan cities in ter&s of water a aila#ility per day, while >u&#ai was ranked as second worst perfor&er, and Folkata the fourth worst. 5e ere water shortage had already led to a growing nu&#er of conflicts across the country, with =0 per cent of !ndiaBs territory ser ed #y inter'state ri ers. (he row #etween Farnataka and (a&il 0adu o er ri er Cau ery waters, #etween >aharashtra and Farnataka o er ri er ,oda ari, and #etween >adhya 2radesh and ,u7arat o er the 0ar&ada waters are so&e of the confilcts, the paper said. (he conflicts are #eing #itterly fought at all le els, i&posing ery high econo&ic en iron&ental costs. (he si&ple act of washing hands with soap and water can reduce diarrhoeal cases #y o er ?0 per cent, since water'related disease was the second #iggest killer of children worldwide, after acute respiratory infections like tu#erculosis, it said.

-ainwater har esting und artificial recharge sche&es are playing a &a7or role in this endea our. .ther i&portant points are capacity #uilding, an awareness ca&paign on rainwater har esting and conser ation of water resources and regulation of groundwater de elop&ent in selected areas of the country. $long with the central go ern&ent, the state go ern&ents are also acti ely in ol ed in the fight against the dropping water ta#le. (hey are offering sti&uli to grow crops that re"uire less water

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