Towards a water-smart India

With the onset of monsoon rains this year, a lesser-known but profoundly significant initiative has quietly taken root across the country’s ecologically sensitive terrains, a first-ever national census of springs.

- PRIYANKAVADREVU

Piloted in Manipur and expected toscale across the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), this initiative represents not just a hydrogeological mapping exercise, but a paradigm shift in India’s approach to water sustainability.

Springs are natural outflows 0 groundwater and have historically served as the primary water source for millions in the IHR, which spans 10 hill states and 4 hil districts of Assam and West Bengal. According to the 2018 NITI Aayog report titled “Inventory and Reviva of Springs in the Himalayas for Water Security,” over 3 million of India’s estimated 5 million springs are found in the Himalayas alone. More than 60 per cent of rura Himalayan communities rely on these springs for drinking, irrigation, and livestock use.

Yet, alarming evidence suggests that nearly 50 per cent of these perennial springs have dried up or become seasonal due to unregulated land use, deforestation, and climate-induced variability in rainfall.

The Government of Manipur, in collaboration with the North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), the Water Resources Department, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti, has initiated a statewide census and digital mapping of over 2,900 springs. Using remote sensing and geospatial technologies, this effort will generate a detailed hydrological and geotagged inventory of each spring, including data on seasonal discharge variability, quality indices, and dependence levels. This will not only inform micro-level conservation strategies but also create an open-access national database aligned with India’s commitments under SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).