Although, as per the Constitution of India, water is primarily a State subject, it is increasingly an important national concern as the right to water is a part of the fundamental right to life; there is emergence of water crisis; there exist inter-use, intra state and interstate water conflicts; there is equity implication of the distribution, use, and control of water; there exists equity across uses, users, sectors, states, and generations; there are international dimensions of some of our rivers, and there exist emerging concerns about the need of climate resilience in the water sector.
There is no institutional mechanism that facilitates closely coordinated actions between the states and the Centre. Many times, there are varying and sometimes conflicting perspectives, understanding and positions on important water issues between states and the Centre, or across various states. The departments concerning water and capacities also vary across states. There is a need to have constructive discussions between states and the Centre to prevent conflicts, and at least to have time-bound resolution of the conflicts already arising across states and the Centre. Existing government departments at the Centre and in the states include professionals mostly from disciplines of civil engineering, hydrology, and hydrogeology.
There is a need to have multidisciplinary expertise covering all disciplines relevant to water management. Without this support, the water crisis will aggravate. The multidiscipline, inter alia, should include water management, agronomy, anthropology, soil science, hydrometeorology, public health, river ecology, ecological economics, and social mobilization. For example, river rejuvenation is difficult to implement without a comprehensive understanding of river ecosystems dynamics and understanding the interconnections of plants, animals, and micro-organisms including understanding abiotic physical and chemical exchange across different parts of river ecosystems. There is a need to have expertise in ecological economics for maintaining a healthy river ecosystem. Water resource management and governance have three kinds of silos: surface water and groundwater, irrigation and drinking water, water and used water.
Government departments at the Centre and in states work in silos, and deal with one side of binaries. Take the case of West Bengal. There are many departments working in the water sector such as Agency for groundwater management, Agency for drinking water management, department for irrigation water management, etc. There is no department for managing river water, and no department for overseeing used water management. There is no Water Regulatory Authority (WRA) for managing regulation of water resources in West Bengal. The government departments at the Centre and in states deal with one side of these binaries, and work in isolation, without any coordination with other sides.
Interconnections between surface water and ground water have not been taken into account while addressing emerging water problems. For example, over extraction of ground water has meant that many of our large rivers are shrinking and many small rivers have completely dried up. A reduction in flow also adversely impacts the river water quality. The existing National Water Resource Council headed by the Prime Minister should be reviewed to support and facilitate urgent water reforms as per the needs of the states, and the Centre. There is a need for capacity enhancement in the states which should be in line with the paradigm shift in the new Water Policy being prepared by the Central government. The Council should also help to create consensus among states on various issues of water management. Second, a National Water Commission (replacing CGWB and CWC) should be constituted and should be structured to reflect national priorities on water.
For example, it should guide fulfilment of the overarching national goal of Har Ghar Pani; fulfil the goals of the central schemes NAQUIM and ABHY; meet the national goals of Aviral Dhara, Nirmal Dhara and Swachh Kinara to reflect the highest priority in water quality management, improve performance on water use efficiency in all water related activities, ensure development of democratization of data and ensure knowledge management and capacity building to generate knowledge and disseminate them on water among primary stakeholders within and outside the government. Third, there is a need to develop a National Water Framework Law and a Model Groundwater Sustainable Management Bill at the central level.
The National Water Framework Law is needed as the Right to Water is a part of the fundamental right to life. India’s need for a National Water Framework Law will provide an umbrella statement of general principles governing the legislative and executive power by the Centre, states, and local government institutions. It should consider and incorporate major legal announcements by the Supreme Court with reference to water such as the Public Trust Doctrine and the recognition of the right to water. On the Right to Water, the Supreme Court held that water is the basic need for survival of human beings and is a part of Right to Life as indicated in Article 21 of the Constitution. Further, the Indian Easement Act 1882 needs urgent revision as this law continues to be governed by 19th Century British Common Law.
As is well known, the Common Law Doctrine of Groundwater allows landowners the right to take water below their own land, which legally sanctifies unlimited volume of extraction. This adversely impacts water levels in neighbouring wells or tubewells. Resultantly, water levels will fall and there is no legal protection today. This law should be revised. Fourth, for sustainable water resource management, every state should constitute a Water Regulatory Authority (WRA). Currently, only four states (Maharashtra, J&K, Haryana and Punjab) have positioned WRAs while many states enacted legislation on water regulation, but are yet to position WRAs. There is a need to position WRAs in the states for sustainable water regulation and water management. Fifth, there should be a State Water Resources Council (SWRC) headed by the Chief Minister, being the Apex Body in the state, for deciding issues of policy and finance relating to water resources.
The Council should discharge various policy functions such as State Water Policy, Participatory Irrigation Management, structure of River Basin organisations, interstate water allocation and disputes, groundwater management, priority of water for each existing and future projects, efficient and equitable use of water, participation of farmers in the construction of field channels, approval of an integrated state water master plan, issues relating to water pollution in rivers and other water bodies, protection of consumer interest, management of surplus water and interlinking of rivers, conservation of water and development of water bodies, privatization of operation and maintenance of water resources and regulation of floods. To assist the SWRC, there should also be a State Water Resources Committee headed by the Chief Secretary which should prepare a draft integrated State Water Master Plan at regular intervals for consideration by the SWRC. Sixth, like in the electricity sector, there should be a forum of State Water Regulatory Authorities at the central level which will share experiences and best practices undertaken by various WRAs in the states for their adoption.
S K SARKAR
The writer is a Distinguished Fellow, TERI, New Delhi and a former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India