Gist of Kurukshetra :- October 2020

Published: 26th Nov, 2020

Introduction

In the last few years, India is going through hard times where water scarcity and poor sanitation Facilities are bigger challenge than the economic development.
In this issue focus is on factors associated with ensuring water and sanitation coverage to the rural population. The aim is to further agenda of Swachh Bharat Mission as envisaged by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at multiple national and international fora.
The significance of cleaning river Ganga which provides water, food, economic sustenance to 43 % population is immense. To handle the issue of growing urbanization, industrialization and excess use of water government has initiatedNamamiGange Programme implemented by National mission for clean Ganga.
Significance of Swachh Bharat Mission is underlined by UNICEF report which estimated Rs. 50,000 per year saving to every family in ODF village. Through participation of Panchayati Raj Institutions and other local bodies, Swachh Bharat Mission has built more than 10 crore individual household latrines during 2014-2019.

Water Conservation: Initiatives and Future Strategies

Mismanagement of waste water which also contaminates ground water, lacking liquid waste management, poor sanitation conditions and poor hygiene habits have contributed to a major portion of population suffering from water borne diseases.
Unsafe water, sanitation, and hand-washing are responsible for6% of disease burden through diarrheal and other infections.
As per the Indian Constitution, Water and Sanitation are state subjects under List 2 of the Seventh Schedule. The central govt only plays an advisory role in this area. Along with Centre, many states have come up with innovative measures to encourage water conservation and sanitation practices in their respective jurisdictions.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Jal Jeevan Mission: On 15^th Aug 2019, PM Narendra Modi launched JJM with vision - "Every rural household has drinking water supplyin adequate quantity of prescribed quality onregular and long- term basis at affordable service delivery charges leading to improvement in livingstandards of rural communities “. Waste water management, water conservation and rain water harvesting are also the mandatory components of this mission. Community approach through IEC (Information, Education and Communication) is a key component. Since Inception, the percentage of rural household having access to safe drinking water increased from 18% to 28.41%.
Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Ministry of Jal Shakti launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 256 water stressed districts across the country. Under this Abhiyan, more than 75 lakh traditional and other water bodies and tanks were renovated and around one crore conservation and rainwater harvesting structures were created.
Atal BhujalYojana (ABHY): launched in budget 2020 to address issues with ground water which include widespread decline in water tables, reduced availability of water in the wells and contamination of heavy metals and fluoride. ABHY envisages sustainable ground water management mainly through convergence among various on-going schemes through active involvement of local communities and stakeholders.
Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) by NITI Aayog: The CWMI as a yearly exercise to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union territories in efficient management of water resources. CWMI comprises of 9 broad sectors with 28 different key performance indicators covering various aspects of ground water, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance. Index has been quite successful in sensitizing the states about the impending water scarcity in the Nation.
Initiatives by state governments: JalyuktShivar In Maharashtra, MukhyaMantri Jal SwavalambanAbhiyanin Rajasthan,NeeruChettuin Andhra Pradesh, Mission Kakatiyain Telangana, SujalamSufalamin Gujarat, Integrated Water Resource Management and Artificial Recharge Structures Scheme in Karnataka, PaniBachao, Paisa Kamao (PBPK) in

Way forward:

Making Water as Part of Economic Development: Increase the budget allocation to water and sanitation sector, along with agriculture, manufacturing and services sector, it should be a priority sector for investment.
Introduction of Water Markets at Large Scale: Watertrading allows water users to buy and sell water in response to their individual needs. The most successful water markets are found in Murray Darling Basin of Australia where Water trading has become avital business tool and source of additional income for many irrigators.
Pollution Tax as the Remedy to Decrease Pollution in Water Bodies: The pollution tax should be regarded as the part of Extended Prouder Responsibility (EPR). Pollution taxes can lead to significant investment in pollution abatement and technological innovation, thereby lowering the overall cost to society of meeting environmental targets.
New strategies to support Public-Private Partnership in Water Sector: Governments may consider providing risk mitigation to long-term investment projects. In the United States, state revolving funds provide examples of a sustainable infrastructure financing model. The public-private approach to Themes Tideway Tunnel (TTT) can also serve as the example for the operating PPP in high risk and long gestation period water sector projects.