reader’s digest Conversations
26 july 2019
money on irrigation than Maharashtra,
but look at the crisis facing the Marath-
wada and Vidarbha regions of the state—
water reservoirs have dried up, cattle are
dying on the streets and people are
abandoning their villages. They are pay-
ing the price for indiscriminate use of
water in agriculture and environmental
degradation spread over several decades.
The central government has a new
ministry called the Jal Shakti Ministry. A
change of nomenclature at a time when
time is ticking away is ridiculous. When
will we see some action? The Namami
Gange project, to clean the Ganga, was
also launched with much fanfare in 2014.
This was a classic case of the government
not addressing the fundamental issues
and focusing on optics. Mother Ganga is
facing a cardiac arrest but the govern-
ment has called in a dental surgeon to fix
it. Only cleaning and beautifying the
ghats will not solve matters. Can you stop
the pollution and encroachment along
the river, is the real question.Facing the Future
Let this be clear: A water emergency is
upon us and it’s time we responded on a
war footing. Just as we have the National
Food Security Act that promises food
and nutrition security, we need a
National Water Security Act as it should
be every citizen’s fundamental right to
access this life source.
Community-driven water manage-
ment is the way forward—the govern-
ment must give up its stranglehold on
irrigation and mass water projects. Itshould allow greater freedom and funds
to common citizens, especially in rural
areas, to manage their water resources.
For once, let us fall back on our
ancient wisdom and how our ancestors
conserved water. We urgently need to
recharge our tanks and lakes—the tradi-
tional water bodies that were part and
parcel of Indian life.
And this is doable, as I have demon-
strated in several districts of Rajasthan.
In some places like Bhikampura in Alwar
district, where I have worked with the
rural communities, average tempera-
tures have come down, the water table
has risen and there is no dearth of drink-
ing water, which was the case in the ’80s.
The rains have become erratic and are
playing havoc with our crop patterns. We
need to align ourselves with the chang-
ing weather patterns and take our farm-
ing community along.
In urban and semi-urban areas, solid
waste has been mismanaged for the lon-
gest time. Governments at the centre,
state and municipal levels need to come
together for an integrated solution to
manage this problem as well.
The urban populace can contribute in
a big way. Please be mindful: Do not
waste water; get serious about rainwater
harvesting and pressurize your govern-
ments to work towards better water
security. We owe it to our children.Rajendra Singh, called the ‘Water Man of India’,
is a well-known environmental activist. He won
the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community
leadership in 2001 and the Stockholm Water
Prize in 2015.