Water Resources Management—An Indian Perspective

Abstract

Every year, the precipitation in India is about 4000 BCM. The average water availability is 1999 BCM of which 1123 BCM is the total utilizable water resources due to various constraints of topography, distribution, etc. India has a population of 1.31 billion (17.7% of the world’s population) and the annual per capita availability of water at 1,526 m3/person, making India a water-stressed country. The yearly water consumption in India is assessed as 710 BCM of which irrigation accounts for 78%, domestic use at 6%, industrial use at 5%, power development 3% and other activities at 8% including evaporation losses, environment and navigational requirements. Some states have reported that almost 90% of water resources are utilized in irrigation. Water demand by 2050 is expected to increase to 1180 BCM surpassing the utilizable water resources. Water has always been regarded with reverence in India, occupying the highest place among nature five elements. Water conservation has been deep-rooted in the culture of India since ancient times. With the Green Revolution that began in India in 1965, food grain production significantly increased. With the adoption of technology and high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation facilities, Indian agriculture was industrialized. However, as the high-yielding varieties of rice grew more water tolerant, the practice of flood irrigation became rampant, which led to indiscriminate use of water in irrigation. This period also saw many irrigation projects being taken up with various large dams being constructed. With an increase in irrigation coverage, the cropping pattern gradually changed with paddy being increasingly cultivated in irrigated areas. Consequently, water use in agriculture has drastically gone up. The availability of water is almost constant over the last many decades. However, demand for the same has increased consistently, which has pushed the nation into a state of water stress. Thus, keeping in view the future requirements, the focus must shift to water resource management. The water use efficiency in agriculture is abysmally low at about 25% to 35%. Lack of proper farm-level water management results in inefficient water use and non-equitable distribution often rendering the tail-end farmer without water. Fifty-one percentage of the net sown area in India is rainfed without assured irrigation facilities; watershed development activities such as the creation of farm ponds, contour trenches and check dams should be given the prime focus for water management in these regions. Traditional water management practices have been shown to be useful during the past and continue to be a reliable method of water management from the Indian perspective. The traditional water harvesting systems that existed through various Indian states are as important today as they were back then and perhaps even more. This paper highlights the different traditional water management practices in India and government /NGOs /communities’ efforts to revive these practices and other initiatives taken to improve water management.