Lok Sabha Question No. 1735 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-29
Subject: Water Scarcity
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: S. Jagathrakshakan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1735

ANSWERED ON 29 .07 .2021

## WATER SCARCITY

## 1735. SHRI S. JAGATHRAKSHAKAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is true that water scarcity has increased in the country in recent years; and

(b) if so, the steps taken/being taken by the Government to check the rapid rise in urban and for freshwater?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## ( SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL )

(a)  The  average  annual  water  availability  of  any  region  or  country  is  largely  dependen -meteorological and geological factors, however, water availability per person is dependent on popula country. The per capita water availability in the country is reducing due to increase in popu high temporal and spatial variation of precipitation, the water availab ility of many regions of the countr much below the national average and may result in water stress / scarce conditions.

(b)  Water  being  a  State  subject,  steps  for  augmentation,  conservation  and  efficient  manag resources are primarily und ertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the the  State  Governments,  Central  Government  provides  technical  and  financial  assistance  to various schemes and programmes.

In order to check groundwater exp loitation and create awareness among the citizens of the National Water Mission (NWM) has taken up campaigns like 'Sahi Fasal' Campaign, to nudge farmers in the water stressed areas to grow crops which are not water intensive, but use water very e fficiently and 'Catch the Rain' Campaign with a tagline 'Catch the Rain - when it falls, where it falls', to nudge all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub - soil  strata to catch the rains with the peoples' active participation. Under Sahi Fasal, series of meetings wit been organized in Amritsar, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) and Kurukshetra and also with technica New Delhi.

NWM has also been conducting awareness g eneration activities like 'Water Talk', a monthly lecture series,  to  deliberate  on  various  issues  concerning  the  water  sector,  including  the  issue exploitation, by inviting leading water experts to present inspiring and informative perspe ives on current water issues in the country.

Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is implementing Pradhan Mant Sinchai Yojana -Per Drop More Crop (PMKSY-PDMC) which focuses on water use efficiency at farm l through  precision/micro  irrigation  (Drip  and  Sprinkler  Irrigation  System)  for  promotion  of -farm water management practices to optimize the use of available wat er resources. This component also suppo micro level water storage or water conservation/management activities to supplement Micro Irr

Ministry of Railways is taking steps for conservation of water by minimizing the use of by conducting regular water audit at major consumption centres and promoting use of treated wat recycling plant for other allied purpose (non potable uses). Rain Water Harvesting Systems (RWHS) are also being installed in Railways and have b een made mandatory in all buildings with area more than 200 Through sustained effort, during last three years from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2021, Ministry completed  471  water  audits  at  various  major  water  consumption  centers  across  all  zo nal  Railways, commissioned 33 water recycling plants and installed 2035 number of RWHS. Efforts are taken f water meters at major supply and end - use points to avoid wastage. Inspections and audits are carr regular interval by differen t level of officers to check wastage of water.

Furthermore, the Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) in its report for 2021 - 26, has earmarked 60 per cent for national priorities like drinking water supply and rainwater harvesting and sanitat , out of the total grants earmarked for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). For fifty Million -Plus cities, two - thirds of allocation of funds under Challenge Fund of Rs. 38,196 crore is meant for meeting service level benchmar water supply, rai nwater harvesting, water recycling, solid waste management and sanitation.

The FFC report also emphasizes on sustainable and efficient water use and has suggeste to  reduce  and  rationalise  water  use  in  agriculture:  (i)  by  replacing free  or  subsidised  power  supply  f agriculture  with  direct  benefit  transfers  (DBT),  (ii)  encouraging  use  of  new  technologie sprinkler, sensor - based irrigation to get more crop per drop, and (iii) by conserving and rainwa to  in crease  the  availability  of  surface  as  well  as  of  groundwater.  FFC  has  recommended  in - based grants to States that maintain and augment groundwater stock and maintain a check on any fa table.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated standards which could be utilized to impro ground water table and optimize the utilization of available resources viz. IS 15792:2008 Artificial recharge to ground water guidelines, IS 15896:2011/ISO 21413:2005 Manual methods for measu rement of ground water level in a well, IS 15797:2008 Roof top rainwater harvesting -Guidelines and IS 14654:1999 Minimizing evaporation losses from reservoirs -Guidelines.

Some steps taken by the Central Government to control ground water de pletion and promote rain water harvesting/conservation are available at the URL:

http://jalshakti - dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps\_to\_control\_water\_depletion\_Feb2021.pdf

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