Chapter 6 Water Policy at Science-Policy Interface: Challenges and Opportunities to Mitigate
6.2. State Water Policies
6.2.2. Water Allocation Priorities
Science-policy interface is reflected in the uses which are prioritized for allocating water in water policies. Here the discussion revolves around prioritization of water use for agriculture, and for meeting water requirements of ecology and environment. The policy emphasis on sustainable use is also examined.
The first NWP (1987) was revised in 2002 with two major modifications in water allocation priorities, i.e., integration of ecology and navigation, and bifurcation of the industrial sector into agro and non-agricultural(Government of India 1987, 2002a). The order of water allocation priorities of NWP 2002 are (1) drinking water, (2) irrigation, (3) hydropower31, (4) ecology, (5) agro-industries and non-agricultural industries, and (6) navigation and other uses. In India, agriculture and power generation have been prioritized since 1855, when famine brought irrigation into prominence (Figure 6.1). It is also evident in the fact that in 1985, Ministry of Irrigation and Power was renamed as Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), which appointed a National Water Resources Council to adopt the NWP 1987(Government of India 2015b).
31 Chhattisgarh is the only state which has not recognized hydropower as a water allocation priority.
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Figure 6.1: Depiction of how irrigation and power played a central role in realizing a need to constitute MoWR and adopt NWP Source: Compiled from (Government of India 2015b)
Public Works Dept. 1858 : Famine brought irrigation
into prominence
Government of India Act
- irrigation becomes provincial subject
Dept.of Industries and Labour [ by merging PWD and
Dept.of Industry]
1927 : Central Board of Irrigation
Dept. of Industry and
Labour divided into
Dept. of Communicat
ion and Dept. of Labour.
Dept.of Labour reconstitute
d as Dept.
of Works, Mines, and
Power
Ministry of National Resources
and Scientific Research
Ministry of Irrigation and Power
Irrigation Commission
Dept. of Irrigation constituted
under Ministry of Agriculture
and Irrigation by
bifurcating Ministry of Irrigation and Power
Dept.of Irrigation shifted to Ministry of Energy and Irrigation .
Later the Dept.
became Ministry of
Irrigation
Ministry of Irrigation renamed as
Ministry of Irrigation and Power.
Dept. of Irrigation reconstitued
as 'Ministry of Water Resources'
(MoWR)
National Water Resources
Council constituted
under the MoWR to adopt National
Water Policy;
1990:
National Water Board
1855 1919 1923 1937 1952 1969 1974 1980 1985 1987
/90 1951
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Groundwater (GW) has become a major source of water to meet drinking and irrigation demands, the top two priorities. It meets about 90% of drinking water and 60% of irrigation demand(Government of Andhra Pradesh 2008, Government of Chhattisgarh 2012). Although NWP 2002 recognizes GW as a dominant source, it continues to focus on GW „development‟
rather than „management‟ (Aw-Hassan et al. 2014). GW development estimates do not consider geographical characteristics and seasonality which are crucial for sustainable use and management of GW (Bassi 2014). Due to which GW has been over-exploited32 in highly water-scarce states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi (Figure 6.2). These states are highly water-scarce and net VW-exporters (Table 6.1). Among these only Rajasthan has implemented SWP. Punjab, the highest water losing state during 1996-2014, formulated a Draft SWP in 2008 which is yet to be accepted. The Draft SWP reflects an absence of a science-policy interface to arrest unchecked over-exploitation(Government of Punjab 2008).
Further, even though SWPs voice concerns of GW over-exploitation, they lack discussion on state-specific strategies to curb it. Therefore, sustainable use and management of GW need to be flagged through science-policy interface.
32GW over-exploitation: abstraction rate exceeds replenishment rate
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Figure 6.2: Stage of groundwater development (%) Data sources: (Government of India 2006a, 2011a, 2014d)
Ecology figures as the fourth priority in the NWP even though water for ecology and environment is essential for ecosystem structure and functioning and the economy is a subset of the environment (Daly 2003). Orissa and Jharkhand SWP, have prioritized ecology over irrigation, i.e., ecology is the second water allocation priority. It is interesting to note here that based on the water scarcity and VW-flows analysis, both the states are moderately water- scarce and net VW-importers (Table 6.1).
Himachal Pradesh, which is a moderate to highly water- scarce state, and a net VW-importer, has grouped ecology with afforestation, biodiversity and tourism (Table 6.1). There is a concern that ecological issues would be overshadowed by the short-term benefits from tourism (Cullet 2009). Further, some of the SWPs have recognized EWR (approach III33 to assess water scarcity), e.g., Himachal Pradesh considers that „not less than 15% of available
33 Approach III discussed in section 4.1.3 0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Arunachal Pradesh Meghalaya Manipur Mizoram Nagaland Tripura Jammu & Kashmir Sikkim Orissa Chattisgarh Jharkhand Assam Goa Himachal Pradesh Bihar West Bengal Andhra Pradesh Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Uttarakhand Karnataka Uttar Pradesh Gujarat Tamil Nadu Haryana Rajasthan Punjab Delhi
Stage of development (%)
States
Stage of groundwater development (%) 2004 2009 2011
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discharge at any given time should be allocated for environmental needs‟(Government of Himachal Pradesh 2005). However, the SWP does not refer to any specific method through which EWR of the rivers flowing through the state is established. In fact, EWR of Indus, a major river of Himachal Pradesh, has not been determined(Smakhtin and Anputhas 2006).
This raises a concern on the strength of association among the scientific community and policymakers. With the importance of preserving e-flows in rivers being recognized by the latest NWP (2012), there is an opportunity to strengthen the science-policy interface for sustainable water use to mitigate water scarcity. This is crucial for the highly water-scarce states which are in the process of revising their SWPs, like Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu was one of the first states to formulate an SWP, i.e.1994, in accordance with the NWP (1987), in which water requirements of ecology and environment were not recognized as a water allocation priority.
The bifurcation of agro and non-agriculture industries is crucial primarily because of significant variation in water-intensities of the agro and non-agricultural based industries.
Some SWPs differ from NWP on prioritization of these industries. While Karnataka prioritizes agro over non-agriculture industries, Maharashtra prioritizes agro-industries over irrigation and hydropower. This is because Maharashtra‟s economy specializes in agro- industries, and value-addition by industrial water use is higher than irrigation. This prioritization is an outcome of the formulation of Maharashtra SWP in consultation with The World Bank which reflects sub-national, national and international experiences in WRM (Cullet 2009). It is crucial to emphasize here that, both Karnataka and Maharashtra are net VW-importers (Table 6.1).
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