Agenda for Priorities in Water Resources Sector in India

摘要

Water is the finest natural resources and it's input is largest in the agriculture sector. India has predominantly agrarian based development, therefore, availability of fresh water resources with respect to spatial and temporal variations play a very dominant role. Geographically speaking, India is bestowed with reasonable quantities of fresh water resources such that the demands could just match with the availability till 2025AD. However, western parts of India are relatively deficit in rainfall as compared to other regions and water management continues to remain on high priority. Further, agriculture sector uses up to 85% of the present exploitable water resources resulting only a marginal availability for other sectors. By 2025 AD the cereal production has to be increased to around 350 M tonnes from the present production level of 203 M tonnes. It shall be yeomen's task and the great challenge to increase water resources utilization for near optimal level for all the sectors including agriculture. It calls in for increase in agricultural production level, improved water use efficiency, reducing water demand for agriculture use from 85% to 65% to meet the competing demands for other sectors, linking of rivers to increase their availability of water resources from surplus to deficit areas in the near future. The new projects shall be requiring relatively higher investment costs as comparatively easier and manageable schemes have been brought under operation. Efficient water management is of dire need starting from storage, conveyance, distribution, field application and crop utilization, industrial water supply and environmental needs. The action plan is required to be framed for all the elements of inputs of engineering, agriculture, social sciences and farmers such that the role played by each individual stems for innovative technologies and finally lead to efficient utilization. Some of the key drivers are analysed by the author in Indian context and argued their practicability in application with reasonable degree of success which has to be achieved to overcome the future challenge.