In troubled waters

The Prime Minister's observation that the government cannot continue to subsidise the economic and commercial use of water merits serious consideration. Equally relevant were his comments at the National Groundwater Congress last week that free power to farmers encouraged over-exploitation of groundwater for irrigation purposes. What it implies, prima facie, is that both water and power should be subjected to economic pricing. But such well-intended pronouncements serve little purpose without the political will to put them into action. In fact, the national water policy, adopted in 2002, had also stipulated that the price of water should reflect its scarcity value and promote its judicious use. But, none of the states, under whose jurisdiction this subject falls, paid heed to that. There is, therefore, every reason to believe that the Prime Minister's latest observations would remain merely on paper.

That would be unfortunate, as groundwater has seen rapid depletion due to indiscriminate exploitation for irrigation as well as for other purposes such as the manufacture of cold drinks and bottled water. According to estimates made by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), the 1995-2004 decade witnessed a significant decline of more than 20 cm per year in the pre-monsoon groundwater levels in as many as 362 districts of 23 states and Union territories. Of the 5,723 blocks studied by the Board, over 1,000 were found to suffer from an excessive tapping of groundwater. Besides, groundwater in a large number of blocks in coastal states such as Gujarat, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, and interior states such as Rajasthan was found to turn saline. This apart, a qualitative degradation of groundwater due to pollution and other causes was observed in most parts of the country.

The net result of all this is that groundwater is either receding to inaccessible depths, leading to failure of wells, or becoming unfit for human use due to quality deterioration in many tracts. What needs to be recalled is that a sizeable number of cases of farmers' suicides in recent years were attributed to crop failure due to the drying up of the wells. What is more worrying is that the situation is worsening by the day. After all, what cannot be disregarded is that groundwater meets nearly 80 to 90 per cent of the country's drinking water requirement and over 70 per cent of the irrigation needs. At stake also is the future of a whopping 20 million dug wells and tubewells and the massive investment that has gone into their construction, apart from the economic benefits that accrue from them.

There seems to be a sound case for the Centre to pressure the states to put in place legislation for regulating the use of groundwater on the lines of the model Bill drafted by the Union water resources ministry. Besides the compulsory registration and licensing of groundwater extraction ventures, including dug wells, the Bill provides for sealing wells in over-exploited tracts till the time the groundwater aquifer gets adequately recharged. Such measures, coupled with economic pricing of water and extensive drive for rainwater harvesting, can go a long way in ensuring sustainable, as also gainful, use of precious groundwater.