Water must be free from political pollution too

From NASA to ISRO, scientists search for signs of water on outer planets because water is life. And to sustain life, you need safe water, which is the backbone of a healthy economy, yet is woefully under prioritized, globally, says UNICEF. It is estimated that waterborne diseases have an economic burden of approximately $600 million a year in India. This is especially true for drought- and flood-prone areas, which affected a third of the nation in the past couple of years, UNICEF explains

Less than 50 per cent of the population in India has access to safely managed drinking water. Chemical contamination of water, mainly through fluoride and arsenic, is present in 1.96 million dwellings. Excess fluoride in India may be affecting tens of millions of people across 19 States, while equally worryingly, excess arsenic may affect up to 15 million people in West Bengal, according to the World Health Organization.

Moreover, two-thirds of India's 718 districts are affected by extreme water depletion, and the current lack of planning for water safety and security is a major concern. One of the challenges is the fast rate of groundwater depletion in India, which is known as the world's highest user of this source due to the proliferation of drilling over the past few decades. Groundwater from over 30 million access points supplies 85 per cent of drinking water in rural areas and 48 per cent of water requirements in urban areas, according to the JMP 2017 – Joint Monitoring Programme by the WHO and UNICEF.

In India, even water shortage has an abundance of gender bias which none of the politico class realises. It is often women and children that are responsible for collecting water when families do not have a safe and reliable water source, preferably direct to their home. School attendance in India decreases when children are required to spend hours collecting water. A 22 per cent increase in school dropout rates has been reported in drought-affected states. Close to 54 per cent of rural women - as well as some adolescent girls - spend an estimated 35 minutes getting water every day, equivalent to the loss of 27 days' wages over a year, an analysis of the situation of children, adolescents and women in India 2016 says.

In 2015, India achieved 93 per cent coverage of access to improved water supply in rural areas. However, with the shift from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new baseline estimates that less than 49 per cent of the rural population is using safely managed drinking water (improved water supply located on-premises, available when needed and free of contamination).

It is in this context that the recent launches of tap water for every home by the Prime Minister assume importance. Water is everybody's right and hopefully it will not be limited to the Double Engine States. As Union Roads, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari pointed out that the 124 aspirational districts in the country are lagging behind socially and in terms of education and health. The urban regions have witnessed a lot of development, but a huge population has migrated to cities due to lack of facilities and opportunities, he said.

In their joint report on the State of the World's Drinking Water, WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank say that governments must invest strategically in building safe drinking water systems by not only increasing funding, but also strengthening capacities to plan, coordinate, and regulate service provision, if the world is to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and mitigate the effects of climate change. Over 2 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water in the past two decades. This progress, while positive, is fragile and inequitable with one-quarter of the world's population left behind. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, which exacerbate water insecurity, disrupt supplies and devastate communities. Meanwhile, rapid urbanization is increasing the strain on cities' capacity to deliver water to the millions of people living in in-formal communities and slums, the report says.

Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health said: "Providing greater access to safe drinking water has saved many lives, most of them children. But climate change is eating into those achievements. We have to accelerate our efforts to ensure every person has reliable access to safe drinking water something that is a human right, not a luxury."

The climate change and environmental aspects are the ones that no one cares for. In 2018, a national survey in India found that about 40 per cent of rural and 20 per cent of urban households collect water from off- premises sources. We keep drawing ground water without recharging them. We don't have to make any special efforts for recharging. All that we have to do is to allow rainwater to seep into the ground. No. We prefer the nature given rainwater to be drained into the sea and waste it. Then we go for multi-hundred-crore-rupee desalination plants with foreign technology. If this is not corruption, what else?

The WHO takes note of the fact that in August 2019, the Government of India committed to provide a "functional household tap connection" to every rural household by 2024. The Jal Jeevan (Water for Life) Mission was launched by the Prime Minister with a mandate to ensure that, in full alignment with SDG criteria for safely managed water supply, every rural household is served with potable water supply, in adequate quantity and of prescribed quality, on a regular and long-term basis. This is to be achieved through household tap connections connected to locally managed village piped water supply infrastructure. This ambitious programme is currently being implemented in partnership with state governments. Across all levels of government, more than $65.6 billion in public sector funding has been committed. One hopes that this water scheme is devoid of any double engine drama. We will have to wait and for reports from all BJP and non-BJP ruled states on the progress of the Jal Jeevan scheme. Then we hear about Har Ghar Jal scheme too. It should also cover all homes – saffron or not.

(The author is a Mumbai-based

media veteran, known for his

thought-provoking messaging)