URBAN India faces a water crisis Madras to Jodhpur, most
cities are already facing the
crippling 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, the
problem is less of scarcity and more of utter callousness that
grips its administrators and elite
consumers. Delhi wants increasing supply of water, even though
it has very little - ground or surface - of its own. It has been spreading its octopus'-like tentacles, to the water supplies of its
neighbouring states and more
more dams in the Himalaya.
This is an approach that satisfies
every vested interest from construction companies to politicians and bureaucrats.
The lack of concern about how water is used and
Whether there are ways of increasing the efficiency of
Water consumption is appalling. There is a remarkable
Scope for savings all the way. The only reason why water
conservation is not explored with urgency is because it is
actually 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, the
people of Jodhpur pin their hopes on the Indira Gandhi
canal and the residents of Kanpur on a barrage on the list of water-thirsty cities chasing such This mirage is growing everyday.
Besides the environmental
disasters that most of these projects are, the water obtained at
such huge costs is beyond the
reach of even the rich. Delhi residents can afford to luxuriate In
their bathtubs only because they
do. not pay even a fraction of the
real cost of this water. Marutis
gleam every morning only
because the water used to wash
them is virtually free. Even its
disposal is equally highly subsidised. The socialist Indian
state appears to speciallse in
subsidising the rich. The environmental impacts of -these subsidies are there for everyone to see: the transformation of theriver into
froma Yamuna a sewer is just one.
There are already warning-
signals that such environmental
and economic freeloading cannot be sustained for long, especially if the social tensions and
the bankruptcy of water supply
and sewage disposal bodies are anything to go by. The
only hope lies in consumers who understand that water
is an exhaustible and scarce resource and hence must be
shared equitably and conserved as much as possible.
Despite the "shortage", there is little recycling of water
even for horticulture and industry. It is also difficult to
understand 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 filth
they generate?
But perhaps those in power are not yet seeking serious answers. Manmohan Singh can balance his budget
, stops subsidising natural resource use by the
better if he stops subsidising natural resource use by the rich. And promote better environmental management.
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