A Scarcity-Pollution Tango In India

INEFFICIENCY AND INEQUITY IN SUPPLY ARE TWO MAJOR REASONS FOR THE CONTINUING STRESS.

- Sushmita Sengupta

Another two billion people, or one-quarter of the current global population, are expected to move to cities just three decades from now. They will all need water – to drink, bathe, wash clothes and dishes, and for electricity – even as weather patterns become increasingly uncertain. Forecasts say urban water consumption might increase 80 per cent by 2050. Growing abuse will leave this seemingly infinite resource polluted and contaminated.

Water will be the deciding factor on whether India will prosper or not. Research by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in its State of India’s Environment Report Excreta Matters shows there is no information available on how much water is actually needed, supplied or even reaches users. There is no real-time information about water use in different sectors – agriculture, domestic or industry – and how such use is changing.

Water is what Indian cities are fighting for today. From Chennai in the south to Shimla in the north, from Rajkot in the west to Cherrapunji in the north-east, all are facing the crippling effects of acute water scarcity. There is hardly any city that can boast of 24-hour water supply. Groundwater levels are falling rapidly, centuries-old water bodies have disappeared or are severely polluted, and urban floods are becoming a regular phenomenon during monsoons. In addition, most rivers have become carriers of urban filth. This scarcity-pollution tango is giving rise to a scenario in which urban poor are at the receiving end.