Prospects and challenges of water management in India: A scientific approach

Abstract

India has been a water efficient country in the entire geological age. But in the last few decades unprecedented incidents have taken place due to lack of water in many parts of the country. Due to changes in socio-economic processes and population growth, demand for water in India is increasing in the last few decades. Groundwater resources are being highly exploited, due to which water level is declining and quality of ground water has gone down. Due to the accumulation of silt, the capacity of the reservoirs is decreasing rapidly. Due to pollution from industrial wastes and municipal waste, fresh water supply is being interrupted. Due to the growing population due to lack of water, the production of essential food items is being hampered to maintain ecosystem safety, health and social security. There are many challenges in developing sustainable, equitable and efficient management of India's water resources. Firstly, due to the unavailability of adequate scientific data to determine the demand, nature and quality of water in different areas, there is hindrance to developing sustainable water management strategies. Technology challenges are another topic. There is not enough progress in the technological and economically viable, environmentally and ecologically competent and water technology that develops socially acceptable solutions in water management. The existing institutions in the water sector are technically oriented, regional and centralized, whose main purpose is to supply demand. They adopt different perspectives to solve social problems and lack the capabilities of solving regional water problems and controlling pollution. Due to lack of institutional capabilities and poor organizational co-ordination, institutions fail to meet the conflicting needs of different stakeholders. In this research paper, water problems, challenges, emerging issues and management have been analyzed in India.