Water sector in the coming decades in India must unfold a much brighter picture if the prosperity of our people is to be ensured over a long period. This requires knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing the water sector in India at present and the overall approach that should be adopted in future to deal effectively with the challenges. This chapter provides an overview of the same along with major highlights of the required policy framework, the components of which have already been explained in detail in the respective chapters.

The challenges

The water resource scenario in India is markedly worse than what it used to be decades earlier and may get further worse in future. The increasing scarcity of water has started threatening the stability and prosperity of our people, with adverse effects on growth and social justice. It results in over-exploitation of aquatic ecosystems, which affects the sustainability of the resource. As a result, the ecosystems and organisms, including humans dependent on them for survival and well-being, suffer in the end. How to cope with this scenario so as to ensure water security to all in the coming decades has emerged as a major challenge at present in India and may become daunting in future, unless the authorities take appropriate measures in time. Further, there is the challenge of removal of poverty along with provision of food security in which too water has a pivotal role. There is a special problem of women and other vulnerable sections, which suffer more due to scarcity of water. The problem gets aggravated due to the intense controversy related to choice between large and small projects. How to resolve this controversy has emerged as an additional challenge.

The above challenges become greater because of the dwindling scope for the usually adopted supply-driven options. But, how to adopt other options, such as increasing water use efficiency, reversing the trend of degradation of rivers and aquifers and enforcing a system of demand management, is a real challenge, as these depend on governance. Poor people often lack access to safe water and basic sanitation because the management system is not up to the mark.