1

WATER RESOURCES IN INDIA: NEED OF JUDICIOUS UTILIZATION

Dr. Manish Dev
*

Rahiman paani rakhiye, bin paani sab soon.
paani gaye naa ubarai, moti manush choon.
The above couplet of poet Rahim emphasizes the importance of water for human kind. Water
is the most precious resources that have been provided by nature. The water is available in
two forms -the Ground water and the Surface water. The availability and exploitability of
ground water is limited while the surface water is available in abundance. However, the quality
of surface water is so poor that is not safe for the consumption by human and the animal.
Although, the ground water has also many impurities but the same is safer than surface water.
97.5% of the water on the Earth is salt water, and only 2.5% is fresh water of which 68.7% is in
the form of Glaciers, 30.1% is in the form of Ground water and the remaining 0.8% is
Permafrost. Out of the available surface water 67.4% is in lakes, 12.2% is in the form of soil
moisture, 9.5 % is in atmosphere 8.5% is under wetlands, 1.6% is flowing through rivers and
the remaining0.8% is in plants and animals (Shiklomenov and Rodda, 2003).Thus, only a
fraction of total water is available for consumption .Freshwater has a global volume of 35.2
million cubic kilometers.
Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply of clean, fresh water is steadily
decreasing because of rise in the population, a wave of industrialization and increasing
urbanization. Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world and as the
world population continues to rise, so too does the water demand. Awareness of the global
importance of preserving water for ecosystem services has only recently emerged as, during
the 20th century, more than half the worlds wetlands have been lost along with their valuable
environmental services. Biodiversity-rich freshwater ecosystems are currently declining faster
than marine or land ecosystems. (Hoekstra, A.Y. 2006).
*General Manager, Trident Flight Handlers, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Terminal C-I, New Delhi

2

The framework for allocating water resources to water users (where such a framework exists)
is known as water rights. Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface
water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the
oceans, evaporation, evapotranspiration and sub-surface seepage It is estimated that 69% of
worldwide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable.
An assessment of water management in agriculture was conducted in 2007 by the
International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka to see if the world had sufficient water
to provide food for its growing population. (Molden, D.2007). It assessed the current availability
of water for agriculture on a global scale and mapped out locations suffering from water
scarcity. It found that a fifth of the world's people, more than 1.2 billion, live in areas of physical
water scarcity, where there is not enough water to meet all demands. A further 1.6 billion
people live in areas experiencing economic water scarcity, where the lack of investment in
water or insufficient human capacity makes it impossible for authorities to satisfy the demand
for water. (Charters, C and Verma, S., 2010), It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water is
used for industrial purposes It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water is used for household
purposes. (WBCDS, 2009)
So far as the availability of water in India is concerned the situation is deteriorating steadily, as
some parts of the country are facing the water shortage .Serious conflicts have arisen between
famers and the other users of water ,The latest one was in the state of Maharashtra where
three innocent farmers were died in indiscriminate police firing ,These farmer were protesting
at Mavai ,near Pune, against the diversion of water from Pavna dam to the Pimpri Chinchwad
municipal corporation. River water disputes between Karnataka and Tamilnadu, Mahrashtra
and Andhra Pradesh, Panjab and Haryana are of the same nature. In fact, the protests over
power and steel plants could get louder if they are bound up with inter-State disputes over
water use, as is probable in Karnataka. The setting up of steel and cement plants in the
Krishna basin area in northern Karnataka could impact water availability to downstream
farmers in Andhra Pradesh, a concern expressed by the State's Irrigation officials. When the
Global Investors' Meet was staged in Karnataka in 2010, there was little or no emphasis on
water conservation, though the envisaged projects would draw large quantities of water from
the Alamatti dam. The problem lies in the mismatch in demand and supply of the water.
3

In view of the above general observation the present paper entitled WATER RESOURCES IN
INDIA: NEED OF JUDICIOUS UTILIZATION analyses the nature of water uses and the strategy
for the conservation, protection and development of water resources sustainably. The paper is
divided into four sections namely-I.AVAILABILITY OF WATER RESOURCES IN INDIA, II.GROUND
WATER DEVELOPMENT: UTILITY TO SCARCITY, III.POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR THE
CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES and IV.CONCLUDING
OBSERVATIONS.
SECTION I
AVAILABILITY OF WATER RESOURCES IN INDIA
The water resource potential of India has been assessed from time to time by different
agencies. (Table-1) .It may be seen that since 1954, the estimates have stabilized and are
within the proximity of the currently accepted estimate of 1869 billion cubic meters (bcm) which
includes replenishable groundwater which gets charged on annual basis.
TABLE 1 -Estimates of Water Resources in India




Source: GOI (2008): Eleventh Five year Plan: 2007-12, Planning Commission, Vol. II, p44
Within the limitations of physiographic conditions, socio-political environment, legal and
constitutional constraints, and the technology available at hand, the utilizable water resources
of the country have been assessed at 1123 bcm, of which 690 bcm is from surface water and
433 bcm from groundwater sources (CWC, 1993). As per the latest assessment, the annual
replenishable ground water resource of country has been estimated as 433 billion cubic meter
(bcm), out of which 399 bcm is considered to be available for development for various uses.
The irrigation sector remains the major consumer of ground water, accounting for 92% of its
annual withdrawal. The development of ground water in the country is highly uneven and
AGENCY ESTIMATE DEVIATION

In bcm From 1869 bcm
First Irrigation Commission (190203) 1443 23%
Dr A.N. Khosla (1949) 1673 10%
Central Water and Power Commission (195466) 1881 +0.6%
National Commission on Agriculture 1850 1%
Central Water Commission (1988) 1880 +0.6%
Central Water Commission (1993) 1869
4

shows considerable variations from place to place. Though the overall stage of ground water
development is about 58%, the average stage of ground water development in North Western
Plain States ( Panjab, Haryana and Western U.P.) is much higher (98%) as compared to the
Eastern Plain States (Eastern U.P. ,Bihar, Jharkhand, W. Bengal ) (43%) and Central Plain
States (Rajasthan, M.P. Chhattisgarh) (42%).
Harnessing of 690 bcm of utilizable surface water is possible only if matching storages are
built. Trans-basin transfer of water, if taken up to the full extent as proposed under the National
Perspective Plan, would further increase the utilizable quantity by approximately 220 bcm. The
irrigation potential of the country has been estimated to be 139.9 MH without inter-basin
sharing of water and 175 MH with inter basin sharing.
While the total water resource availability in the country remains constant, the per capita
availability of water has steadily declined from 6000 cubic meters in 1947 to 1829 cubic meters
in 2001.The per capita availability of water might further be deteriorated to 1600 cubic meters
in 2017 if adequate steps have not been taken to conserve and protect steadily declining water
resources. (Chauhan 2003).The twin indicators of water scarcity are per capita availability and
storage. A per capita availability of less than 1700 cubic meters is considered as a water-
stressed condition while if per capita availability falls below 1000 m
3
, it is termed as a water
scarcity condition. While on an average India may be nearing the water-stressed condition, on
an individual river basin-wise situation, nine out of Indias 20 river basins with 200 million
populations are already facing a water-scarcity condition. Even after constructing 4525 large
and small dams, the per capita storage in the country is 213 m
3
as against 6103 m
3
in Russia,
4733 m
3
in Australia, 1964 m
3
in the United States (US), and 1111 m
3
of China. It may touch
400 m
3
in India only after the completion of all the ongoing and proposed dams. (GOI, 2008):
SECTION II
GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT: UTILITY TO SCARCITY
Rainfall is the major source of ground water recharge in India, which is supplemented by other
sources such as recharge from canals, irrigated fields and surface water bodies. A major part
of the ground water withdrawal takes place from the upper unconfined aquifers, which are also
the active recharge zones and holds the replenishable ground water resource. The
replenishable ground water resource in the active recharge zone in the country has been
5

assessed by Central Ground Water Board jointly with the concerned State Government
authorities. The assessment was carried out with Block/ Mandal /Taluka/Watershed as the unit
and as per norms recommended by the Ground Water Estimation Committee (GEC)-1997. As
per the latest assessment, the annual replenishable ground water resource in this zone has
been estimated as 432 billion cubic meter (bcm), out of which 399 bcm is considered to be
available for development for various uses after keeping 34 bcm for natural discharge during
non-monsoon period for maintaining flows in springs, rivers and streams (Central Ground
Water Board, 2006).
Ground Water Estimation Committee has developed certain norms upon which the stage of
ground water development has been assessed. (Table-2). As per the assessment, out of the
total of 5723 assessment units in the country, 14.7 per cent assessment units (i.e.839
development Blocks) have found excessive exploitation of water. These units have been
categorized as Over-exploited. Ground water development was found to be to the extent of
90 to 100 percent of the utilizable resources in 226 assessment units ( 3.9 %), which have
been categorized as Critical. 550 assessment units with stage of ground water development
in the range of 70 to 100 % and long-term decline of water levels either during pre- or post-
monsoon period have been categorized as Semi-Critical and 4078 assessment units with the
stage of ground water development below 70% have been categorized as Safe. 30
assessment units had been excluded from the assessment due to the salinity of ground water
in the aquifers in the replenishable zone.
TABLE: 2 Assessment of Units (Blocks) on the level of Ground water Development in India
Sl.
No
GEC Norms No. of Unit Percentage to total Category
1
Ground water development is more than
100% of the utilizable resources
839 14.66 Over Exploited
2
Ground water development to the extent of
90 to 100% of the utilizable resources 226 3.9 Critical
3
Ground water development to the extent of
70 to 100% of the utilizable resources and
long term decline of water levels either
during pre-or post-mansoon period.
550 9.61 Semi Critical
4
Ground water development below 70% of
the utilizable resources
4078 71.26 Safe
5
Unit excluded from the assessment due to
salinity of ground water.
30 0.52 Salinity
Total 5723 100.00
Source: Ground water Estimation Committee
6

The rapid urbanization and agricultural development has led to over-exploitation of
groundwater in certain parts of the country. In 15% of the blocks the annual extraction of
groundwater exceeds annual recharge and in 4% of the blocks it is more than 90% of
recharge. As the groundwater recedes wells have to be deepened and more energy has to be
used to pump water. Thus in rural and industrial areas, there is a positive correlation between
the level groundwater development and the consumption of energy.
SURFACE WATER
So far as the availability of surface water is concerned, the utilizable surface water resources
In India are about 690 bcm (GOI, 2008) Harnessing of 690 bcm of utilizable surface water is
possible only if matching storages are built. Trans-basin transfer of water, if taken up to the full
extent as proposed under the National Perspective Plan, would further increase the utilizable
quantity by approximately 220 bcm. The irrigation potential of the country has been estimated
to be 139.9 MH without inter-basin sharing of water and 175 MH with inter basin sharing.

SECTION III
POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR THE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF WATER
RESOURCES
Management of ground water resources and sharing of fresh surface water in Indian context is
an extremely complex proposition as it deals with the interactions between the human society
and the physical environment on the one hand while the politics of vote bank through water
resources on the other. The highly uneven distribution of ground water availability and its
utilization indicates that no single management strategy can be adopted for the country as a
whole. So is the case with the sharing of river and reservoir water. Simultaneously, each
situation demands a solution which takes into account the geomorphic set-up, climatic,
hydrologic and hydro geological settings, water availability, water utilization pattern for various
sectors and the socio-economic set-up of the region.
Any strategy for scientific management of ground water resources involves a combination of
A) Supply side measures aimed at (i) increasing extraction of ground water depending on its
availability and (ii) Conserving rain water to the maximum extent through the principle of:
7

khet kaa paani khet mein,
haar kaa paani haar mein ,
gaon kaa paani gaon mein
B) Demand side measures aimed at controlling, protecting and conserving available
resources. Various options falling under these categories are described in detail in the
following sections.
A) SUPPLY SIDE MEASURES
These measures are aimed at increasing the ground water availability, taking the
environmental, social and economic factors into consideration. These are also known as
structural measures, which involves scientific development and augmentation of ground water
resource. These may be classified into the following
Development of additional ground water resources through suitable means
Augmentation of the ground water resources through artificial recharge
Rainwater harvesting
For an effective supply-side management, it is imperative to have full knowledge of the
hydrologic and hydro geological controls that govern the yields of aquifers and behavior of
ground water levels under abstraction stress. Interaction of surface and ground water and
changes in flow and recharge rates are also important considerations in this regard.
Supply side management of water resources rests with the following twin pillars:
preventing over-exploitation of water. As has been said earlier, ground water
development in India is extremely erratic. In some parts of country it reached at dangerous
level. All the regulatory provisions have failed so far. The following measures should be
adopted:
i. Every person who extracts groundwater should take all precautions to prevent waste of
water.
ii. Effective schemes and measures should be formulated and implemented to conserve
groundwater by effective measures for replenishing and recharging the same.
8

iii. Any use of groundwater, surface water or land and forest resources or activity in relation
to these resources, which is likely to have significant negative impacts on local sources
of groundwater must be subjected to an environmental and social impact assessment.
iv. The protection, conservation, management and regulation of groundwater should be
undertaken in such a way that it is integrated with the protection, conservation,
management and regulation of surface water.

v. The appropriate authority should endeavour to ensure that conjunctive use of surface
and groundwater sources is undertaken for all uses of groundwater.

vi. The state at all levels is the public trustee of groundwater. The appropriate authority
must ensure that water is protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and
controlled in a sustainable and equitable manner, for the benefit of all persons and the
environment, and in accordance with their respective constitutional mandate

vii. Although, the water is essential the survival of the human and animal kingdom and all-
round development of the country, the same should not be utilized in injudicious
manner. Use of water for commercial purposes, be it agriculture or industry, it should be
priced in such a manner that actual economic and social costs are realized from the
user. Practice of supplying the water at highly subsidized rates resulted into the
wastage of water and caused much harm to the community in the form of water scarcity.

AUGMENTING UTILIZABLE WATER: Another area of concern is augmenting utilizable water
.Usable water availability can be increased by tapping water that otherwise would have run-off
to the sea. Water storage above ground through dams and diversion through weirs are the
conventional means. However, water can also be stored underground by enhancing
percolation through artificial recharge. Rain water harvesting in many small ponds through
construction of bunds can also add to water availability it will help in checking the continuous
decline in groundwater levels. Artificial recharge of groundwater can be done through
construction of check dams Local storage is cost effective. There is significant potential for
increasing the overall utilizable water through rainwater harvesting, construction of check
dams, watershed management, and restoration of traditional water bodies as well as creation
9

of new ones. In areas where groundwater is under severe stress, artificial recharging would
need to be undertaken Inter-linking of rivers was another brilliant idea that could be utilized for
equitable distribution of water in vast country like India where large differentials exists in the
availability and consumption of water. A large part of geographical area is submerged every
year causing loss of lives and property, while some parts of the country faces severe drought
that too result in hardship of the people. The problem of abundance and shortage has a deep
rooted solution in inter-linking of rivers.
.
B) DEMAND SIDE MEASURES
Apart from scientific development of available resources, proper ground water resources
management requires to focus attention on the judicious utilization of the resources for
ensuring their long-term sustainability. Ownership of ground water, need-based allocation
pricing of resources, involvement of stake holders in various aspects of planning, execution
and monitoring of projects and effective implementation of regulatory measures wherever
necessary are the important considerations with regard to demand side ground water
management. Delivering the valedictory address at the concluding day of the 93rd annual
conference of the Indian Economic Association (IEA) on the Panjab University campus on29th
Dec.2010, Dr. Ahluwalia said if the situation of growing water scarcity continued at present
pace, the government might think of taking steps to introduce statutory regulation of water,
citing example of Maharashtra where Water Regulation Authority has been set up to ensure
judicious use of water According to Him The water crisis is even more serious than the energy
problem,

The issues of sustainable use of groundwater and the question of ownership of the
groundwater has been addressed by an expert group on Groundwater Management and
Ownership under the chairmanship of Kirit S. Parikh, member planning commission. The
group has noted that the experiences at national and international levels have shown that a
command and control mechanism has not yielded good results in protecting the groundwater
resources from over exploitation. The group recommended that: (GOI: 2007)

10

(i) The ownership of the groundwater below the land will continue to remain with the owner of
the land as per the Easement Act 1882 as long as the exploitation of groundwater is not
causing depletion in the ground water levels so the similar rights of the adjoining
landowners and public at large are not encroached upon.
(ii) Centres intervention would be required when the groundwater level falls below the
replenishable level. In such events, the affected area will be declared as an area under
threat and any exploitation will be regulated.
(iii) The Central Ground Water Authority, under the provisions of Environment Act 1986, is
empowered to make such declarations and it would be the responsibility of the State
Government to ensure that the exploitation in the area is regulated.
(iv) The regulation/reduction/ restriction on the groundwater usage can be made effective by
the State Government only with the co-operation of user groups and community
participation involving PRIs.
(v) The user groups will be responsible for regulating the ground water usage among various
sectors that is irrigation, drinking, and industrial.
(vi) Effective monitoring mechanism should be developed with active collaboration of the
State/Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

SECTION IV
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
Water, is the most invaluable gift of the nature to mankind for his survival and development
.However injudicious consumption of water made this commodity scarce not only in India but in
whole of the world. Since, the availability of fresh water is limited so it is of paramount
importance that water resources are managed efficiently. The Twelfth Plan approach paper
lays special emphasis on water management, yet there is no evidence of serious forethought
on how the conflicts that emerged out of sharing of water resources can be sorted out. Just as
a Bill on giving farmers a better deal in land acquisition awaits Parliament approval, an
institutional framework must be created for water distribution that addresses the interests of all
stakeholders - farmers, the urban population and industry. The model Bill on groundwater - the
Groundwater (Protection, Conservation, Management and Regulation) Bill, 2011 - gives us
some leads. It accords top priority to livelihood needs, generally estimated at 70-150 liters per
capita per day, and spells out the need to use water for livestock, fishing, irrigation, and power
11

generation, industrial and recreational uses. Agriculture and industry can improve their water
efficiency. Irrigation accounts for over three-fourths of all water used; there is scope to reduce
water usage in crops such as rice and sugarcane, in particular by using better varieties. With
appropriate water tariffs, industries will be persuaded to adopt water recycling and
conservation practices. Likewise, municipal bodies can reassess water pricing for residential
consumers to reduce wastage, while, however, ensuring that every person's needs are met.
Conflicts over land and water may become disturbingly common if we do not develop the
institutional framework and long-term policies to ensure their equitable distribution.
REFERENCES:
1. Central Water Commission, (1993) Water and Related Statistics, New Delhi: Statistical
Directorate, Central Water Commission.
2. Charters,C and Verma,S.(2010),Out of Water from Abundance to scarcity and how to Solve
The world water problems FT Press (USA)
3. Chauhan Shyam Sunder Singh (2003): Water resources Management, YOJNA,
Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ,GOI, New Delhi, June
4. GOI (2007) Report of Expert group on Ground Water Management and Ownership Management
planning commission, new Delhi
5. GOI (2008): Eleventh Five year Plan:2007-12,Planning Commission,VolII,p44
6. GOI(2008):Eleventh Five year Plan:2007-12,Planning Commission, Vol. II, p51
7. Hoekstra, A.Y. (2006) The Global Dimension of Water Governance: Nine Reasons for
Global Arrangements in Order to Cope with Local Problems. Value of Water Research
Report Series No. 20 UNESCO-
8. Molden, D (2007) (Ed). Water for food, Water for life: A Comprehensive Assessment of
Water Management in Agriculture. Earthscan/IWMI, 2007
9. Shiklomenov and Rodda, (ed) (2003). World water resources at the beginning of the 21st
century / scientific leader and editor, I.A. Shiklomanov, John C. Rodda, Cambridge
[England] New York : Cambridge University Press, 2003. xiv, 435 p. : ill., maps ; 28 cm.
10. WBCDS (2009) "WBCSD Water Facts & Trends".
http://www.wbcsd.org/includes/getTarget.asp?type=d&id=MTYyNTA