Gujarat holds rank one in Composite Water Management Index 2.0

Scientific management of water is increasingly recognized as being vital to India’s growth and ecosystem sustainability.

To supplement the efforts of Jal Shakti Ministry, NITI Aayog has prepared the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0). The Report was launched today by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. 

Shri Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry; Shri U.P. Singh, Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry; Dr. Amarjeet Sinha, Secretary Ministry of Rural Development; Shri Yaduvendra Mathur, Special Secretary, NITI Aayog, Shri Avinash Mishra, Adviser, Water and Land Resources, NITI Aayog and senior officials of Ministry Jal Shakti, Rural Development and NITI Aayog were also present at the launch event.

Scientific management of water is increasingly recognized as being vital to India’s growth and ecosystem sustainability. Government is being proactive about water management and has created the Ministry of Jal Shakti to consolidate interrelated functions pertaining to water management. The newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has strived to over-bridge the water challenges by launching the Jal Shakti Abhiyan - a campaign for water conservation and water security.

NITI Aayog first launched and conceptualized the Composite Water Management Index in 2018 as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states. This was a first-ever attempt at creating a pan-India set of metrics that measured different dimensions of water management and use across the lifecycle of water. The report was widely acknowledged and provided actionable guidance to States on where they were doing well absolutely and relatively and what they needed to focus on to secure their water future.

The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in the efficient management of water resources.  This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Rural Development and all the States/ Union Territories. The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources. 

CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17. In the report released today, Gujarat holds on to its rank one in the reference year (2017-18), followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.  In North-Eastern and the Himalayan States, Himachal Pradesh has been adjudged number 1 in 2017-18 followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, and Assam. The Union Territories have first time submitted their data and Puducherry has been declared as the top ranker. In terms of incremental change in index (over 2016-17 level), Haryana holds number one position in general States and Uttarakhand ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and the Himalayan States. On average, 80% of the states assessed on the Index over the last three years have improved their water management scores, with an average improvement of +5.2 points.

(With Inputs from PIB)