Water resource management is the need of the hour.

#1 The city of Chennai recently faced the worst water crisis ever with people standing in queues for hours to get some liters of drinking water.
#2 The villages, living along the Godavari banks, who were walking on the bed of Godavari for months back as if it was a road, are now reeling under floods.
#3 Rama, a domestic help in a posh farmhouse in Delhi, was shocked to see her employers bathing in a private swimming pool while she could not see the face of water in her home for the past four days.
All these incidents show the need for water resource management in India. The water crisis and inequitable distribution of water are deepening day by day in India. The per capita water availability is 1,545 w/m, which makes it a water-stressed country. It is expected to further decrease to 1342 w/m by 2025 and 9,940 w/m by 2050, inching it closer to being a water-scarce country.
Furthermore, India secures a low rank of 122 out of 124 in the water availability Index. All of these show the imminent disaster that is facing us right before us. This crisis cannot be resolved unless water resource management is made the norm by the government and the people in India.
This essay will firstly analyze the reasons behind the water crisis which make water resource management necessary. It will then look into the impact of the water crisis in India and society. It will then analyze the measures already taken and look for further steps needed to make water resource management the key to resolving the crisis.
Historically, water has been worshipped in ancient scriptures. The Hindu beliefs worship rivers as goddesses (Ganga, Yamuna) and the God of rainfall (Lord Indra). The religious and cultural values and their efficient use ensured water availability to all. However, with the industrial revolution, colonial policies, and industrial and agricultural development in post-independent India, water started to be exploited indiscriminately.
There are multiple reasons behind the water crisis that make water resource management a need of the hour to tackle this.
CAUSES BEHIND THE PRESENT WATER CRISIS
There are both natural and anthropogenic causes. The natural factors include a concentration of rainfall for 3-4 months, leaving the rest of the year as a dry season. The presence of arid and semi-arid regions, rain shadow areas like Rajasthan, central India, etc., are some of the other reasons. Thus, the natural factors themselves necessitate the need for water resource management.
The anthropogenic factors are more severe. First and foremost is agriculture, which consumes 80% of the groundwater. The growing of water-guzzling crops like paddy, sugarcane, etc., in otherwise dry areas like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra has exacerbated the problem, making water resource management necessary.
The inefficient irrigation methods have further increased the problem. The fields are flooded with water extracted from groundwater. The situation is so grave that in Haryana alone, 64 blocks of groundwater are declared as dead zones; this makes water resource management the ultimate recourse.
The industrial use of water is also a reason behind this crisis. Various industries like thermal power plants, paper and pulp, bleaching not only consume a huge amount of water but also discharge polluted water into clean rivers. Water resource management is key to ensuring their sustainability.
The domestic use of water has also increased. The new lifestyle infrastructure has increased the water consumption needs. Moreover, lack of solid waste management by administration results in pollution of water resources which results in a water crisis.
The encroachment of wetlands, ponds, rivers, etc., is also one of the reasons. Experts have attributed the water crisis in Chennai to encroachment of hundreds of wetlands in the city. The encroachment coupled with poor river water management (where monsoonal water is discharged into the sea without percolation) are also the culprits behind the present water crisis. These issues can be resolved only by efficient water resource management.
The SOCIAL reasons which result in inequitable distribution of water between rich and poor people, urban and rural areas, dominant and vulnerable sections make the water crisis more complex.
These social reasons coupled with lack of strong political measures have resulted in the present crisis. Water management does not feature high on the agenda of political parties. The National Rural Drinking Water project failed miserably as even today only 18% of households have access to piped drinking water. All these causes point to the fact that water resource management is key.
The impacts of the water crisis and lack of effective water resource management are very grave. These are.
IMPACTS OF WATER CRISIS
The economy of the country is greatly affected. Lack of water results in an immediate shutdown of economic activities; for instance, in Chennai. It also negatively affects the investment potential of the region.
The negative impact can also be seen in SOCIAL aspects of our lives. The water crisis disproportionately affects vulnerable sections and women. It is often women who have to walk kilometers daily to fetch water. This takes a toll on their health too.
Lack of water and use of polluted water result in various diseases like cholera, typhoid, etc., which result in the death of thousands of children daily. It leads to stunted growth, poor cognitive skills thus affecting human resource development.
Above all these impacts, the most important is a violation of the basic dignity of humans (Article 21). Water is a basic necessity and failure to provide this is a huge question mark on governance and administration of the country.
The Indian culture has always respected this right. In fact, People in North India celebrate the festival Nimani Kasti in May where they offer sweetened and chilled water to people. But the question is what will we all do if there is no water left? Here comes the solution i.e. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.
First of all, water as a resource needs to be managed in Agriculture sector farmers have to be induced to shift from water-guzzling crops to more agro-climatically suitable crops like millets etc Haryana has launched a new scheme to shift 50,000 acres of paddy growth crops to non-paddy crops.
Apart from this, water-efficient irrigation methods like drip irrigation, sprinklers etc., need to be adopted on a large scale watershed management, creation of tanks also need to be undertaken for this purpose. This is what water resource management is.
Similarly, industrial and domestic sectors also need to rationalize their demands and use of water. Further, wastewater treatment by industries solid waste management etc., need to be undertaken to prevent water pollution
Other measures under water Resource management are cleaning rivers like Namami Gange and rejuvenation of natural wetlands and artificial recharge systems for instance, Telangana government is implementing Mission KaKatiya which includes repairing old water collecting areas.
Aquifer mapping and sound groundwater use policy are other aspects of water resource management. The current groundwater policy doesn’t address water resource management effectively and hence needs to be a crucial aspect of water resource management is rainwater harvesting and reuse of water. India needs to learn from Israel in reuse of water and water resource management.
All these initiatives can be possible when water resource management is made an integral part of all policy planning. Composite Water Management Index (NITI Aayog) and schemes like Nal Se Jal & Jal shakti ministry are right steps in this direction.

Along with government measures, cooperation of people is required to make water resource management a reality. It has to be made a People’s movement. For instance, the campaign started by Red FM to save water is a good initiative where it stops playing songs midway to draw an analogy with the stoppage of water supply in our homes.

Water is the basis of life. Without it, nothing exists (Bin Paani, sab soon). Hence, it is imperative that both the government and the people take up the task of water resource management to save the elixir of life.