URBAN India faces a water crisis Madras to Jodhpur, mostcities are already facing thecrippling effects of scarcity. There is hardly any city in India that canboast of a 24-hour water supply. But much of this crisis may be totally bogus. And there is no better example than Delhi:pampered capital of India.
Delhi, Indeed, has a problem as far as water is concerned. But, as the cover story in this issue of Dowm to Earth brings out, theproblem is less of scarcity and more of utter callousness thatgrips its administrators and eliteconsumers. Delhi wants increasing supply of water, even thoughit has very little - ground or surface - of its own. It has been spreading its octopus'-like tentacles, to the water supplies of itsneighbouring states and moremore dams in the Himalaya.This is an approach that satisfiesevery vested interest from construction companies to politicians and bureaucrats.
The lack of concern about how water is used andWhether there are ways of increasing the efficiency ofWater consumption is appalling. There is a remarkableScope for savings all the way. The only reason why waterconservation is not explored with urgency is because it isactually cheaper to "use and throw away" water.
All cities are today spreading their tentacles to capture more water. While the people of Madras think that the Telegu Ganga canal will end their water crisis, thepeople of Jodhpur pin their hopes on the Indira Gandhicanal and the residents of Kanpur on a barrage on the list of water-thirsty cities chasing such This mirage is growing everyday.
Besides the environmentaldisasters that most of these projects are, the water obtained atsuch huge costs is beyond thereach of even the rich. Delhi residents can afford to luxuriate Intheir bathtubs only because theydo. not pay even a fraction of thereal cost of this water. Marutisgleam every morning onlybecause the water used to washthem is virtually free. Even itsdisposal is equally highly subsidised. The socialist Indianstate appears to speciallse insubsidising the rich. The environmental impacts of -these subsidies are there for everyone to see: the transformation of theriver intofroma Yamuna a sewer is just one.
There are already warning-signals that such environmentaland economic freeloading cannot be sustained for long, especially if the social tensions andthe bankruptcy of water supplyand sewage disposal bodies are anything to go by. Theonly hope lies in consumers who understand that wateris an exhaustible and scarce resource and hence must beshared equitably and conserved as much as possible.Despite the "shortage", there is little recycling of watereven for horticulture and industry. It is also difficult tounderstand why the government cannot tax the water-guzzling toilets and thus promote more efficient systems.And why should the rich not be made to pay for the filththey generate?
But perhaps those in power are not yet seeking serious answers. Manmohan Singh can balance his budget , stops subsidising natural resource use by thebetter if he stops subsidising natural resource use by the rich. And promote better environmental management.