India's water crisis: Why youth pitching for change in climate change policies

A few online petitions came up and garnered signatures of hundreds of thousands, urging government to take more steps, some celebrities and opposition leaders also supported the cause. But has the government's stance towards water crisis changed?

Various parts of India are facing severe water crisis due to depleting water levels in major reservoirs and river basins, and youth of the country are now raising questions on the efforts being made by central and state government to tackle the crisis.

The issue escalated when Chennai, a key urban center of India, ran out of water and residents struggled to get basic things done as water crisis paralyzed the city. As the situation worsened in Chennai and businesses were hit, new cases of water shortage in many rural areas and cities, and the plight of residents started coming to light. The issue took social media by storm as youngsters questioned the lack of attention on climate change in policies of the Indian government. Madras High Court favored an NGO that appealed for permission to hold a demonstration to raise awareness about the water crisis in Tamil Nadu.

A few online petitions also came up and garnered signatures of hundreds of thousands of people, with some celebrities and opposition leaders also supporting the cause. But has the government's stance towards the water crisis and changed?

Soon after the issue escalated on social media, many ministers defended their policies and some of them announced new policies and awareness campaigns. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, pitched for the conservation of rainwater, saying there is a pressing need to make it a mass movement on the lines of the cleanliness drive, in the second edition of his monthly show 'Mann Ki Baat'.

What center doing

Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has recently launched "Jal Shakti Abhiyan" and has also said that government's aim is to make water conservation a people's movement. Speaking at a press briefing, Shekhawat said, "Water crisis is a major issue. We want to make Jal Shakti Abhiyan a people's movement. The United Nations has listed the issue of clean drinking water on number six on its sustainable development goals list. The UN expects all countries to provide clean drinking water to every household by 2030."

"We are beginning this program and the Central Water Commission officials will work with block level officials towards a strategy on how to develop water conservation issue a people's movement. Half of our country is under water stress. We do not want to convert it into water scarcity. I expect your co-operation in this," he added.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is at the face of this water crisis, the state government is actively helping people tackle the water crisis by increasing the number of tankers and increasing focus on rainwater harvesting. But the permanent solution that the government has pitched is the fifth reservoir, and Chief Minister K Palaniswami claims that it is nearing completion.

In Tamil Nadu, the plight of farmers due to water crisis should be the top priority of the government. Tamil Nadu government's ambitious project of constructing a fifth reservoir might be adequate to ensure adequate water for consumption but can't solve the issue immediately as Chief Minister Palaniswami has said that the construction will take two more months to be completed and the government will take steps to store water there in the coming monsoon, which means unhindered supply of water may not reach people until the end of 2019. 

Haryana

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said that a public campaign will be launched for water conservation in the state. He also said that a 20-km canal will be constructed by the Irrigation Department from Yamunanagar to Indri and will be merged with the Western Yamuna Canal.

He acknowledged that water conservation has become all the more necessary as 200 districts of the country have been declared as 'dark zone', of which 18 are in Haryana.

Khattar also said that the farmers in the state have been requested to reduce cultivation of water-guzzling crops like paddy. "The farmers of the state cultivated different crops on 40,000 hectares of land other than paddy, thus saving large quantities of water," Khattar, who had recently appealed to the peasants in this regard, said.

Rajasthan

Intense plantation, renovation of water bodies, borewell recharge and development of water catchment areas will be among activities taken up under the 'Jal Shakti' campaign that will be run in all water blocks in Rajasthan, a government official has said.

The campaign on the initiative by the central government will be run in the state to address the issue of the water crisis, the official said.

Jharkhand

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has said a campaign to conserve and manage water will be launched on July 7 across the state. Das said he will go for "shram daan" (voluntary work) during the campaign in which ministers and senior government officers of the state will join him.

He said water conservation work has already begun in Hazaribagh and other districts of the state after letters were sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to village heads across the country to work in this regard.

Meghalaya

With some parts of the country facing widespread water shortages, the Meghalaya government has launched a conservation campaign, as a part of the pan-India roll-out, targeting dry areas for stocktaking and increasing the water table.

The Jal Shakti Abhiyan, to be implemented in two phases in Meghalaya, will also emphasize on water harvesting, a senior government official said while launching the program at Tura in West Garo Hills district.

West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that her government will observe July 12 as 'Save Water Day' from this year. Banerjee said corrective actions were the need of the hour to combat the situation of water scarcity in various parts of the country.

The chief minister also said she will participate in an awareness walk on water conservation on July 12.

Opposition increases pressure

Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has expressed concern over the scarcity of water in various parts of the country and said everyone should join hands to find a solution to the problem before it is too late. 

Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, M K Stalin, has also moved a calling attention motion over the prevailing water crisis in the state. He also pitched for an exclusive day-long "healthy discussion" over the alarming situation.

But... has the situation REALLY changed?

While many of the steps promised by the governments are mere statements for now, but if implemented effectively, in due course of time, can surely help tackle the water crisis. Still, a lot more would be needed. Key ministers of many states have still not spoken up about the issue and lack of awareness among the public can cripple any progress being made.

Also, the need, besides awareness building on water conservation, is to internalize the long term solutions to the problem in the climate change policy framework of the country. Although India is one of the countries that reiterated support for Paris climate deal at this year's G20 summit in Japan but international environmental organizations have repeatedly raised doubts about the government's weak policies to tackle climate change.