Mismanagement of water

Urban India a victim of planning and administration gaps

The recent water crisis in a large part of the national capital is another pointer to mismanagement that plagues water supply systems in most Indian cities. The hardships caused to the people by such glitches can be averted with advance planning and better coordination among different agencies. Most Indian cities are perpetually water starved. According to official reckoning, 22 of the country’s 32 major cities are beset with acute water shortage. Apart from megacities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, many fast-growing small and medium cities such as Jamshedpur, Kanpur, Asansol, Dhanbad, Meerut, Faridabad, Visakhapatnam, Madurai and Hyderabad also figure in this list. A study sponsored by the World Bank has ranked Chennai and Delhi at the top of the 27 most vulnerable Asian cities in terms of low per-day water availability. Mumbai and Kolkata follow close. The demand-supply gap in most of these cities ranges from 30 per cent to as much as 70 per cent. The effective deficit may, actually, be far higher given the huge distribution losses. For instance, in Delhi, these losses are pegged at 40 per cent.

Sadly, traditional sources of water, such as rivers and ponds, have turned fully or partly dysfunctional due to neglect. While rivers in the vicinity of cities are degrading due to silting and unchecked inflow of untreated waste, other water bodies have either disappeared or have been devoured by ever-expanding human habitations. In any case, their water has, by and large, become unfit for household use. Delhi’s conventional water lifeline, the Yamuna, is now a virtual drain. Unfortunately, groundwater, which meets over 45 per cent of the total water demand of most cities, is also turning scarce. Its extraction exceeds annual recharge by a wide margin. As a result, the water table has receded to depths which, in many cases, are difficult to access. Most dug-wells in the urban centres have gone dry. The quality of underground water, too, has been vitiated by the leaching of toxic pollutants from landfill sites.

Rainwater harvesting and recycling of used water are among the leading options to alleviate water scarcity in cities. Besides, new sources of water need to be explored. Unfortunately, such aspects are not being accorded the priority they merit. Rainwater conservation is a case in point. Much of the rainwater is allowed to run off, flooding streets and roads in the process. Many cities, notably Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru, have made it compulsory for the large building complexes, including residential, commercial and official establishments, to have rainwater harvesting systems in place. However, compliance with this mandate is dismally poor. Neither private builders nor civic authorities appear serious about implementing this. The growing concretisation of open spaces has left hardly any scope for water to seep down. This apart, it is vital also to strictly regulate groundwater use by restricting its withdrawal and putting a price on it. Unless such issues are suitably addressed, the water woes of urban India are unlikely to abate.