Water is resource and life line of the human beings on earth. Over the years with increased population pressures, urbanization, industrialization the pressure on the water resource has increased. Domestic Sewage generated from the households, effluent from the factories and industries, wastewater runoff from the agriculture sector are the major contributors for the deterioration of water quality. In developing countries like India, percentage of sewage and effluent treatment is comparatively very low to the volumes generated.

Water is a basic need of all the human beings. Also, because human development places great importance on the availability of water, water is the most vital natural resource. Rising population,unplanned industrialisation, and unpredictable climate have brought the world’s water bodies close to desiccation.

Water has already attained high resonance in the global agenda. The importance of solving the world’s water problems was clearly identified at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Agenda 21, Chapter 18 focused on “Protection of the quality and supply of Freshwater Resources: Application of Integrated Approaches to the development, management and use of Water Resources”. Water related challenges were re-stated in the Seven Challenges of the Hague Ministerial declaration in the year 2000, and Johannesburg Summit in 2002.

Water concerns are particularly prominent in India. Water stress has been driven by the growing demands for water from sectors such as agriculture and industry, and rising domestic demand from expanding and growing urban centres. Groundwater overexploitation was particularly severe in crucial agricultural states such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. While groundwater was being increasingly overexploited, surface water was being used very inefficiently.

Though India is rich in water resources (with a network of as many as 113 rivers [not including tributaries], and total renewable freshwater resources in 2004 being 1261 billion m³), due to high population base, the per capita availability is just 1167 m³ (cubic metres). Many countries across the world have less resource availability than India, but better per capita availability of fresh water because of lesser population

Water quality at many stretches of Indian rivers is deteriorating. CPCB has established a water quality network comprising 870 stations in 26 states and five union territories spread over the country. The monitoring results obtained during 2004 indicate that organic pollution continues to be the predominant form of pollution for aquatic resources. Organic pollution measured in terms of BOD and coliform count gives an indication of extent of water quality degradation in different parts of our country. It is observed that nearly 66% of the observations are having BOD less than 3 mg/l (milligrams per litre), 19% between 3–6 mg/l, and 15% above 6 mg/l. Similarly, total and faecal coliforms, which indicate presence of pathogens in water, are also a major concern. About 44% observations of total coliforms and 59% observations of faecal coliforms have less than 500 MPN

Interventions to abate water pollution and improve water availability in India

Water-quality standards

Drinking water standards for India were set up by the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi. These standards are similar to WHO drinking water standards. In addition, BIS has also prescribed code for drinking water standards namely ‘IS 10500:1991 – drinking water specifications’. These standards give desirable and permissible values for various contaminants in drinking water.

CPCB has developed national standards for effluents under the statutory powers of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. These standards have been approved and notified by the MoEF, Government of India, under Section 25 of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986. This is done through the classification of surface water into five categories, namely A, B, C, D, and E, in decreasing order of quality. Potable water quality standards have also been notified by WHO.

Other initiatives

The Government of India has put forth a monitorable target under the 10th Five-year Plan to clean up major rivers in the country by 2007, and other rivers by 2012. Currently, a single centrally sponsored scheme, the NRCP (National River Conservation Plan), is the umbrella programme for river water and wetland management, and covers 18 major rivers in 10 states through various schemes.

To intervene in the domestic sector, the Government of India is assisting the local bodies to establish sewage treatment plants under the Ganga Action Plan and subsequently under the National River Action Plan. However, operation and maintenance of the installed sewage treatment units are also a concern. There were 911 grossly polluting industries identified, which discharge effluents directly into water—rivers and lakes. Of this, 620 industries have installed pollution control systems to comply with the prescribed standards, 269 have been closed, while 21 industries are yet to install the necessary pollution control systems (MoEF 2005). MoEF has undertaken a centrally sponsored scheme to enable SSIs (small-scale industries) to set up CETPs (common effluent treatment plants) in the country, as some of them are unable to afford pollution-control equipment.

Ground water management

The Government of India has constituted an authority 'Central Ground Water Authority' in January 1997 for the purposes of regulation and control of groundwater management and development. However, since 1997, policies have been modified and statutes adopted at the central and state level for more effective groundwater regulation. Although Model Groundwater Bills have been in circulation for about three decades, with the enactment of state level legislations by Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and so on, there has been a small yet discernable shift towards defining and instituting a system of property rights in water and in the realm of groundwater legislation. In Gujarat and Maharashtra, a bill has been passed whereas in Punjab, the initial groundwork for framing a bill on groundwater regulation is under way. At the central level, 2005 saw the passing of a bill to regulate and control the development and management of groundwater by MoWR (Ministry of Water Resources).

Institutional reforms

At present, the organisational structure for water management is very fragmented at the central level. The Ministry of Water Resources deals with the development of surface and groundwater resources and inter-basin transfers of waters. The Ministry of Environment and Forests deals with water quality and environmental matters, largely through its pollution-monitoring network that operates through the Central Pollution Control Board. Water is also a subject of the Ministry of Power (for electricity generation). The Ministry of Rural Development implements rural drinking water schemes; it also deals with watershed management programmes that have as one of their components measures for soil and water conservation. Urban drinking water and sanitation are the prerogative of the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.

The Tenth (five year) Plan recognises the need for better inter-departmental coordination and has recommended to set up a coordination committee under Member, Planning Commission and comprising secretaries of the various ministries /departments dealing with water.

Departments and Ministries dealing with water