By Prof. Dr. P. K. Jena* in Bhubaneswar, April 1, 2016 : India with increasing population and rapid development of various industries and urban areas is experiencing water crisis. Even after 69 years of independence, it has not been possible for the Government to provide drinking water to all throughout the year. The country has more than 17% of the world’s population but has only 2.45% of world landmass and 4% of world’s renewable water resources. Nearly 50% population of India particularly those in the rural areas are deprived of getting fresh water for drinking during most part of the year.

In recent decades, floods and droughts are occurring in different parts of the country more frequently because of improper management of land and water resources. Rapid deforestation and urbanization have helped most of the rainwater to drain out to the ocean. Nearly 20% of the area of India is drought prone and about 40 million hectares of the land is affected by flood. In addition to this, the wastes and effluents of the industries and urban habitation are responsible for drastically polluting the surface as well as ground water bodies.

The per capita water availability in India during the period 1951 – 2001, has declined from 5177 m3 to 1820 m3 per year and it is apprehended that it will further decrease to 1140 m3 by the year 2050 if no immediate action is taken to increase the water resources. At present, India is considered to be a water stressed country.

In India, the agricultural activities consume nearly 70% of fresh water while the industries & commerce and domestic requirements are approximately 20% and 10% respectively. With rapid growth of population, the requirement of water in each sector is rapidly increasing. In the country, the wetlands which include rivers, lakes, tanks, ponds, water logged areas etc., are vanishing and also getting polluted due to various anthropogenic activities including industrialization, urbanization, drainage from agricultural and water system regulations etc. During the last century, due to these activities nearly 50% of the wetlands have vanished. In order to increase the surface and ground water resources, it is essential to develop new wetlands and revive the old ones with rain water harvesting.

As a result of vanishing wetlands, the possibility of getting the required amount of water for various purposes has been decreasing considerably. Further, the disappearance of wetlands and cutting down the large areas of forests have resulted in rain water rushing back into the ocean through the rivers at a very fast rate without getting much opportunity to be retained under the ground. At the same time, with the rapid filling up the river beds and the basins with the soft earth taken away by the rain water from the barren areas, the rivers are getting more sallow and frequently causing floods in the nearby areas.

The wetlands help in increasing the potential of surface water, recharging the ground water, flood control and water storage, wildlife conservation, production of foods including pisciculture and fabrics, reduction of atmospheric pollution and temperature moderation, drainage easement, improvement of waste water quality, reduction of soil erosion etc.

Experts say, water runoff in India can be reduced to a great extent by soil management and afforestation of watersheds and also increase the lean season discharge despite the uneven distribution of precipitation in time and space. In addition to developing the existing wetlands and creating new wetlands particularly in the low lying areas, it is essential to make provision for rain water harvesting in the wetlands with facilities for recharging the ground water.

The rain water harvesting methods in the wetlands depend on local conditions and include practices such as bunding, pitting, micro catchment, flood water and ground water harvesting etc. It may be mentioned here that, prior to the year 1950 in Balangir district of Odisha traditional water harvesting structures such as Bandh (Traditional pond), Munda (Semicircular structure), Kata (A larger Munda), Chahala (Rectangular tank dug within a paddy field without any embankment) and Sagar (A structure measuring around 8 hectors and situated just below hills) were used, and as a result more than 52% of the agricultural land could be irrigated and people used to have enough water to drink. But, the modern irrigation projects undertaken in this region have failed to achieve even this target.

The above traditional systems were developed keeping in view, the topography of the region, rainfall and the extent of water needed locally. The structures were used for harvesting rain water by managing very skillfully and keeping the bio-diversity and ecology of the region in good shape. The management systems were very well framed to benefit the largest possible number of people in the region with minimum cost. It is suggested that, this type of water harvesting in wetlands with input of modern technology should be popularized so that, it will go a long way in solving our water scarcity.

The wetlands development along with rain water harvesting programmes as mentioned above in different states and union territories of India should be implemented using the funds earmarked in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) involving the local people. It is heartening to note that, the Government of India has very substantially increased the share of MGNREGA in the recent budget. If this amount is properly utilized, the wetland development programmes with rain water harvesting can be successful and while providing a lot of employment opportunities can meet the water requirements of the people both in rural and urban areas of the country throughout the year.

*(Former Director General, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, India)