New Delhi: Indiscriminate exploitation of
groundwater in India without looking into recharging options
has led to its decline, Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar
Bansal Friday said.
The latest World Bank report titled 'Deep well and
prudence: towards pragmatic action for addressing groundwater
overexploitation in India', released by Bansal, has suggested
water pricing measures as "incentives" to conserve the natural
resource.
"Pricing measures, including volumetric charges, taxes
and user fees, can act an incentives to conservation and more
efficient allocation of water resources, provided they address
concerns of equity and affordibility to the poor," according
to one of its recommendations.
Bansal said indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater
resources in the country without due regard to the recharging
options has "led to decline of groundwater. This threatens the
long-term sustainability of this precious resource."
The report was initiated with the objective of
identifying practical and politically feasible strategies for
managing groundwater use in the country. "The approach was to
look for pragmatic models that have demonstrated potential for
success," a statement issued by the international body along
with the report said.
Bansal said the anticipated impacts of global warming and
climate change on the water resources scenario has
necessitated a "re-look at the way we manage our water
resources."
According to the report, groundwater resources are
depleting at an alarming rate. "Today, 29 per cent of
groundwater blocks are semi-critical, critical or
overexploited, and the situation is deteriorating rapidly."
The World Bank predicted that by the year 2025, an
estimated 60 per cent of India's groundwater blocks will be in
a critical condition. "Climate change will further strain
groundwater resources," it said.
According to lead author of the report and senior Water
Resources specialist of World Bank in India, Sanjay Pahuja,
communities in drought-prone areas of Andhra Pradesh have
shown the first large-scale example of self-regulation of
groundwater.
PTI
First Published: Friday, March 05, 2010, 20:07