Every count matters

India’s first census of waterbodies is a much awaited one but experts question the methodology

- SWATI BHATIA

IN MARCH 2023, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti released the “Water Bodies First Census Report”. Since 1986, India has conducted a census of minor irrigation every five years, exclusively on rural waterbodies. The “Water Bodies First Census Report” is a broader version of the sixth minor irrigation census and covers all types of rural as well as urban waterbodies—such as those used for irrigation, industry, pisciculture, drinking, recreation, religion, groundwater recharge, conservation—natural and human-made, and owned by the government and private individuals. It has also quantified the encroachment of waterbodies created under various water conservation programmes.

The findings show that there are 2,424,540 waterbodies in the country, of which 97 per cent are in rural areas. Of the total waterbodies, 59.5 per cent are ponds, 15.7 per cent are tanks, 12.1 per cent are reservoirs, and the remaining 12.7 per cent are structures created under water conservation schemes (see ‘Graphic clarity’). The share of privately owned waterbodies is 55.2 per cent while the rest are government-owned. Less than 2 per cent of the waterbodies have been encroached upon.

Though the census is by far the widest such survey, experts doubt if it can be called national in scope. India has a total of 7,933 towns and 0.64 million villages, as per Census 2011, but the waterbodies census covers only 3,009 towns and 0.36 million villages—less than half of the total. Does this mean that half the country’s towns and villages house its 2,424,540 waterbodies? Also, since 97 per cent of the waterbodies are in rural areas, does this mean that just 3 per cent of the waterbodies are located in the 3,009 towns?