As the storm of COVID-19 passes overs us, we are seeing results improve every day. Across the world societies are progressing towards normalcy. As the Maharashtra Government has prioritised 'aggressive testing' from an early stage, our frontline workers have displayed untiring efforts to contain the disease outbreak. Among others, they have achieved this by creating a widespread awareness in rural Maharashtra about frequent hand washing as recommended by the World Health Organization. While this is the first-line of defence against the virus, it also makes one recognise the stark division of water in our society. 3 billion people or 40% of the world’s population lacks access to basic hand-washing facilities in their homes. With inadequate access to water, people face the conundrum of maintaining social distancing or using water from public sources. As the scorching summer heat is compounded with the need to use more water for hand washing to tackle COVID-19, the problem of water scarcity has yet again come to the fore. Today as we celebrate the 46th World Environment Day, I believe we all should take a moment to review our situation, our actions and its consequences to Mother Earth, without whom we would not be here.
In 2015, the United Nations established the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and goal number six talks about ensuring availability and sustainable management of water for all. Globally, 780 million people do not have access to improved water sources and more than 15% of India faces drought today. While water for drinking and sanitation are huge issues in India, almost 85% of our water is utilised for agricultural purposes and a decline in water availability will severely affect our food production. This must be a cause for concern as the supply of water is approximated to decrease by one-third by 2025 but the general water use will increase by 50% during the same period. Maharashtra is no stranger to the water battle; historically it has been associated with our right to land, its resources and social justice. Geographically, more than 80% of Maharashtra’s agriculture depends on rainfall and one third of the state falls under the semi-arid climatic zone.
The state has witnessed extreme climate conditions in the past conflating floods and droughts affecting the livelihoods of people and the state economy. Extreme rainfall is a sign of climate change influencing our weather patterns that have shifted the cultivation calendars completely while on the other hand deficient rainfall has led to a drop of groundwater levels. This had led to acute water shortage and severe loss of crops. Efforts and lessons of water conservation have been in place for more than 150 years. The first instance of building reservoirs during monsoons to provide water for irrigation was the Khodshi canal project on the river Krishna completed in 1875.
In 1883, Mahatma Jotirao Phule, presented a charter of the native agriculturists’ demands to the Government. He suggested the implementation of soil and water conservation, bunding and levelling of lands to prevent soil erosion as well as the supply of irrigation waters to improve the condition of the farmers. 100 years later, Maharashtra was again fighting one of its worst droughts in 1972. As a young MLA of Baramati, Sharad Pawar Saheb’s exemplary work in building percolation tanks led to many best practices which have 2 been adopted since. Throughout history, water scarcity and irrigation development is associated with the state’s political and social situation.
Irrigation projects are a lifeline for small and marginal farmers. Even relatively well-off farmers with assured irrigation in their fields are facing difficulty in harvesting their crops due to the unavailability of labourers in this current crisis. As we witnessed the mass exodus of migrants from our cities, the Ministry of Water Resources managed to provide them with adequate services. There were 537 irrigation camps set up especially for people working in irrigation projects and housed 20,000 workers, with provisions of all facilities, including food and healthcare. It is common to think that the financial constraints brought in by the pandemic would affect infrastructure projects, such as water and irrigation. Funds are critical for reaching the maximum irrigation potential in drought-prone regions. This is not unfounded, and we need to start thinking of feasible and efficient methods of water management. We need to prioritise projects and make choices that are sustainable in the longer run. The MahaVikaasAghadi Government has various plans for environmentally friendly conservation practices for Maharashtra. Our Government has been vocal about sustainable practices and building a safer environment for our future generations. New methods of water conservation and sustainable innovation, especially in agriculture-based water projects will be a top priority of the Ministry of Water Resources. We have also planned to divert the floodwater from Krishna river to the drought-prone region in Sangli. This will help to rejuvenate the lakes in the most vulnerable regions and improve livelihood for people in the surrounding villages. Community ownership of water resources, social awareness and inclusive participation is the key to sustainable practices.
Maharashtra has seen such success stories of ensuring water security with pragmatic programs that reached thousands of people. ‘Pani Panchayat model’ started in Naigaon village of the drought-prone Purandhar taluka in 1974, is one such project which developed a recharge pond and installed a lift irrigation system. This met both, the needs of groundwater recharge and surface water management. Another such initiative was the 1992 project under the guidance of Sharad Pawar Saheb that focused on rehabilitation of watersheds for the regeneration of natural resources in the village of Kadavanchi in Jalna city. It started water harvesting projects by capturing rainwater and secured over 3,000 people as well as benefitted countess farmers. Expanding food production and ensuring food security has to be in tandem with water security. In a bid to increase food capacity, people have exploited unregulated access to groundwater and the Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, was the first such legislation in India to curb misuse of groundwater reserves. As we move towards making radical choices in these harsh times, the focus will be on preventing over-extraction of groundwater, encouraging efficient use of water sources, and preserving traditional water conservation systems.
COVID-19 has reaffirmed the unequal access to water and years of unsustainable use of resources, and has amplified the need to employ innovative solutions to use water with the principles of equity, inclusion and social justice. We have seen how the world-wide lockdown has positively affected the environment in terms of air and water pollution. The pandemic should be seen as a wake-up call for climate justice and a future of suitability. As we all have shown unprecedented unity to fight COVID-19 and rebuild, let’s remember water is a critical tool for the survival and strengthening communities, and we must show the same unity in building resilience in the long-term.
अभोजनेन जीवितुम्भिेत्
विनाजलंतुसिंविनश्येत्।
शुष्कं तपनंिािाकारः
जलसंरक्षणम्पररिारक
