India needs a comprehensive national water law, which should be a collection of rules and principles to address all related issues in the country
Water is a unique substance as it is one of the few materials on Earth that exists naturally as a solid, liquid and a gas. There is an estimated over one billion cubic kilometre of water on our planet, which covers nearly three-fourth of the Earth’s surface. Though this seems an inordinately huge amount, less than one per cent of it is fresh and usable and is found in lakes, ponds, rivers and groundwater. Though it is not possible for life on the planet to exist without it, about 97 per cent of the water covering the Earth’s surface is salty ocean and not suitable for drinking without desalination. So, here’s how the Earth’s freshwater is spread around the globe: A whopping 70 per cent of freshwater is locked in ice caps; less than one per cent of the freshwater is readily accessible; Brazil, Russia, Canada, Indonesia, China and Colombia have 50 per cent of the world’s freshwater reserves. Sadly, about one-third of the world’s population lives in “water-stressed” countries, defined as a nation’s ratio of water consumption to water availability. Countries labelled as moderate to high stress consume 20 per cent more water than their available supply.
India is home to nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population and is bestowed with just four per cent of the total water resources. In our country, 50 per cent of the annual rainfall is received in approximately one month, resulting in non-optimal utilisation due to our limited water-harvesting capacity. We optimally utilise only 36 per cent of the total rainfall that translates into about 252 billion cubic metres of water getting harvested against a total rainfall of 690 billion cubic metre. India is still coping with issues like water pollution, water purity and a worsening potability factor. All these may lead to scarcity in the coming years. That, too, in most parts of our country. Despite this, water laws in India are largely a State-based subject. These have been crafted from various formal and informal laws, various kinds of rules and principles which evolved over the years in a parochial and casual manner.
The Indian Constitution has empowered the States to legislate in this area. Therefore, they have exclusive powers regarding framing of rules and guidelines on all water-related issues like irrigation, canals, water management, embankments and so on. Though the Indian Parliament adopted the Water Act in 1974 but the objective of the Act was skewed towards prevention, control of water pollution and the maintenance/restoration of the wholesomeness of water. This implies that it was designed to assess pollution levels and to penalise the polluters. In the present situation, where India’s population is ascending at a rapid pace and water resources are limited, various challenges are emerging, like indiscriminate usage of groundwater, encroachment of water bodies and water pollution, to name a few. There are also various related issues like rejuvenation of moribund rivers, interlinking of rivers, riparian rights and negotiations with neighbouring countries on sharing resources which traverse both the nations.
Apart from these challenges, if we analyse water resources from a development perspective, there is a need to do a lot in the field of inland waterways in the country, interlinking of rivers and water management for better irrigation plans or promoting water- based economical projects like fisheries and developing fox nut (makhana) clusters.
The existing legal framework concerning water in India is mostly complemented by human rights dimensions. The overall picture is that there is multiplicity of principles and rules in the water sector and a lack of an overall framework. This is largely the legacy of the colonial Government, which was more focussed on irrigation work. As a result of this, basic principles of water laws applied in India are derived from these irrigation Acts, like the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873. Thereafter, Acts like the Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Act, 1931, the Regulation of Water Act, 1941 and the very recent Bihar Irrigation Act, 1997 came into existence, in which it was provided that all the rights on surface water shall rest with the State Government.
One trend which should be followed and must be highlighted is the gradual formalisation of national water laws by taking into confidence all the stakeholders. This should ultimately and amicably replace the existing local laws, incorporate every part of water resource and its components and address all water-related issue comprehensively. Any law is a collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the State or nation so as to manage, preserve and ensure proper use of our water resources. India needs a comprehensive national water law, which should be a collection of rules and principles to address all kinds of issues which the country is encountering or may encounter in the foreseeable future.
(The writer is an Advocate, Patna High Court and a water activist)
