Water Governance poses one of the biggest challenges in modern-day India that looks out for definitive solutions.

Every place and every community have their unique stories and problems associated with water, wherein the governance addresses complications of the governor than the benefits of the governed.

How this scare water resource is to be allocated? How to generate livelihood in the food-energy nexus? How to keep the order of the biosphere balanced.

Key aspects of water governance:

The key aspects of an effective system of water governance in a water-blessed country include a comprehensive policy followed by an action plan to formulate the policy.

We need to emphasize the importance of resource literacy on water and building institutions in line with framed policies.

Experts prescribed the top-down approach and definition of ‘per capita availability’ to be rechecked and substituted with a bottom-up approach and relevant definitions, that is, a more localized treatment of governing water.

India aspires to become the 2^nd largest economy by 2047 which will have an enormous impact on the use of water resources and thus highlight the need for effective water governance.

• Water governance: The OECD defines water governance as the set of rules, practices, and processes through which decisions for the management of water resources and services are taken and implemented, and decision-makers are held accountable.
• Actors involved: Central and local governments, regulators, NGOs, communities, and the private sector.

Need for water governance: India is a water-stressed country due to erratic rainfall and excess removal of groundwater.

• The data (1990-2021) show that about 30% of the districts received less than normal Southwest monsoon rainfall in 20 out of 32 years.
• Out of 766 districts, 256 districts are water-stressed.
• By 2050, India is likely to experience water scarcity.
• There are bureaucratic hurdles like the Easement Act 1882, which is still followed, which gives unlimited power of groundwater withdrawal to the owner of the land.
• There is a lack of equity in water access.

At 1.4 billion, India accounts for 17.5% of the world’s population but has only 4% of the freshwater resources. The per capita annual freshwater availability has gone down from 5177 cu m (1951) to 1486 cu m (2019).

What is the significance of water governance?

• It ensures the sustainable and efficient use of water resources and addresses water-related challenges.
• It promotes equitable access to water services.
• It is also essential to address water-related challenges, such as water scarcity, water quality degradation, and climate change.

What are challenges in water governance?

• Fragmented policies: Owing to different jurisdictions and control of states, the interconnectedness of surface and groundwater systems resulted in fragmented policies.
• Data gaps: data is scattered across multiple agencies and inadequate for sound decision-making.
• Looming Water Crisis: A NITI Aayog report held that 21 major cities are expected to run out of groundwater as soon as 2020, which may affect nearly 100 million people.
• Absence of River Boards: While the River Boards Act was passed in 1956, no river board was ever created till this date.
• Federal issue: In India, water is a state subject enter-state except for inter-state regulation of rivers, which is under the Central purview.

What is the agenda for action?

• To work for cooperative federalism in water governance.
• To revamp the existing National Water Resource Council.
• To introduce an overarching institution for regulating the entire water sector at the state level. At present, only 5 states have water regulators in India.
• To develop a model water regulatory framework for adoption by various states.
• To restructure the CWC (Central Water Commission) and CGWB (Central Ground Water Board).
• To adopt multidisciplinary expertise, bridging silos in the water sector, and building multi-stakeholder partnerships.