India’s Diminishing Water Wealth

India is facing its gravest water crisis at the moment. A distressed groundwater lifeline, push for large dams, increasing footprint of the urban water sector and climate change are already adding to the existing water woes. If left unchecked, 6% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) would be lost due to the water crisis by 2050.

It is projected that 21 Indian cities – including the major metro cities of Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad – will run out of groundwater, affecting access to potable water for over 100 million people. The situation is especially worse in rural areas due to high dependency on depleting groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes.

Harsh Reality

border

If the current water crisis continues

40%

of India’s population will struggle for
drinking water by 2030

Jal Jeevan Mission to provide
Functional Household
Tap Connection (FHTC)
to every rural household

border

HAR GHAR NAL SE
JAL BY 2024

A Clarion Call For Water Conservation

In 2019, responding to the water crisis, the Government of India launched a mission-driven water conservation campaign – the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, followed by the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). An estimated 84% of rural households do not have access to piped water supply. Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide Functional Household Tap Connection– Har Ghar Nal Se Jal– to every rural household by 2024.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan, on the other hand, focuses on rainwater harvesting, water conservation, and replenishing water bodies to improve groundwater levels. To augment the two initiatives, Reckitt Benckiser India Private Limited (RB) launched its flagship initiative, Mission Paani, in August 2019. Water For People India has partnered with RB in the campaign towards saving the life-critical resource and sustaining it for generations to come.

Where We Come Into The Picture

Water For People India is currently building a proof of concept for its proposed intervention for Mission Paani “Conserve-Sustain-Transform”. To that end, Water For People India will run a pilot project for a three-year period (2020 – 2023) in two blocks – Achalpur and Chandurbazar – of Amravati district, Maharashtra to build water conscious households and communities. During the implementation phase, collaborations will be developed with the local communities, local governance, and government line departments. The pilot project will be executed in close coordination and collaboration with the district authorities – expected to directly impact over 90,000 population.

Key Interventions

  • Conservation and management of water resources.
  • Increasing water efficiency and water reuse through behaviour change-Measure-Reduce-Reuse.
  • Establishing and institutionalising strong water governance mechanisms

These interventions will be pivotal in the replenishment of groundwater and aquifers in the proposed areas. Additionally, they will help tackle water scarcity during dry seasons, water losses at the source of drinking water and increase greywater reuse.

Way Forward

Robust knowledge management systems are an integral part of the model and will design guidelines for scaling and replicating the model in Nalanda district, Bihar. Collaborations with the district administration, technical resource agencies and funding partners committed to water conservation, will be key to implementing the pilot project. Water For People India will collaborate with Mission Paani’s media initiatives for awareness generation, experience and knowledge sharing. We will partner with various corporates, institutions, and development partners to help amplify and disseminate the good practices and learning. Finally, we will explore partnerships with technical institutions and private players for technical expertise and financing, respectively.

Let’s Build A Healthier Country and
A Better Future!

Water For People India is proud to be a part of #MissionPaani
Take the #JalPratigya today to ‘Respect’ and ‘Conserve’ Water
Join the ‘Mission Paani’ movement and become a part of the water revolution
Know more about Mission Paani