The World Bank has suggested fundamental reforms in the water management system. Reforms are required in the collection of water, its allocation between different sectors, the modes of its delivery to users and overall management.
Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in India, yet it continues to be used inefficiently on a daily basis in all sectors.
The cost of not undertaking the reforms will be staggering, warns a series of six reports on water resources management in India by the World Bank in collaboration with the ministries of water resources, rural development and urban development.
These reports were released here yesterday by water resources minister C P Thakur in the presence of the World Bank representatives.
The reports say that the estimated cost of not addressing the water management problems was around $15.9 billion in 1994-95. This was equivalent to 5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
"Given India's many other social and economic needs and the current concerns over sustainability of fiscal structure, this 5 per cent GDP cost is a high price to pay for a sector performing weakly," says one of the reports. It has identified four areas for reforms.
l There should be a shift from supply-driven to demand-oriented approaches in water management. l Sector responsibilities should be divided between government and the non-government stakeholders as appropriate
l Decision making should be decentralised and should include non-government stakeholders in sector activities
l Achieving
financial viability of service delivery.
The report says that the role of the government should change from one of provider and financier of services to one of facilitator and enabler.
It has called upon improving the policy, legislative and regulatory framework concerning water management.
This should involve amendments to the River Board's Act and the Inter-State River Disputes Act to enable the Centre to play a stronger catalysing role in the creation of river basin organisations.
It recommends fixation of meaningful water prices for irrigation, urban and rural water supply, reflecting the costs of service provision, and charged volumetrically. The subsidies involved should be explicit and well-targeted.
