A water policy for the youth in India

The new National Water Policy must have a special chapter for the youth of the country.  This is not just because the youth need to take leadership in managing our water resources since India is set to become the youngest country in 2020, but also because the youth is fast disconnecting from the natural resources. 

The government of India is in the process of drafting a new water policy for the nation.  This is a much timely initiative.  However, looking at the implementation of previous water policies it would be interesting to see if this one would remain another piece of wish list or a real guiding document to manage India’s dwindling water resources.  The country is entering its most difficult yet defining decade in so far as water is concerned.  Half of the country is now severely water stressed. 

As we welcome the New Year 2020 and a new decade, we are reminded of the fact that many cities of the country face a “Day Zero” warning that means water availability – at least in so far as groundwater is concerned – is going to reach to a critically low or almost nil condition.  In the last six to seven decades, we have already utilised about 70 to 80 per cent of the usable water meant for ourselves as well as for our future generations.  By 2030, beginning of the next generation, we would have just half the water we would need.

As a child and a youth, I freely plunged into a river or a water body.  Gradually, as I grew up, it became difficult to find a clean water body to take a dip. 

Many of these precious water resources have been vanishing so fast.  I had never ever imagined, as a young boy, that I would ever have to buy water in bottles and that I would fear to take a dip in a river or water body for the level of pollution.  In simple terms, that is the degradation we have experienced.  People of my generation have certainly failed to arrest this decay.  The crisis has been growing and we have reached a point in history where the youth have been agitating across the world to remind us of the criminal offence we have committed.  We have already overused and abused the future generations’ water entitlements.  You can call it we are on overdraft with the water credits that belonged to the future generations. We, the people in our 40s, 50s and above, are currently using the water of our future generations. This is the water injustice being done to our youths and their future generations.  This has to change and with engagement of the youth themselves.  That’s why I call it to be the defining decade and it is going to be the most difficult decade in our lifetime. 

The new National Water Policy must have a special chapter for the youth of the country.  This is not just because the youth need to take leadership in managing our water resources since India is set to become the youngest country in 2020, but also because the youth is fast disconnecting from the natural resources.  My own experience shows, as you move from villages to cities, the knowledge and perception of youth on water changes. 

The city youth is starting to believe water comes from taps and bottles, the village youth still considers monsoon as a source besides rivers, ponds and wells.

There are aberrations but this general trend points to a dangerous crisis that we are going to face by the time we reach 2030 by when most of the current day youth would be leading their family economies, public discourse and national policy making.

The water policy therefore must have a two point agenda in its youth section. 1. To make the youth of the nation understand the importance of natural resources in holding and recharging water systems and their related biodiversity; and 2. To help them develop as leaders to work on water resources use and management in sustainable manners by recognising the inter-relation between water systems with communities, livelihoods, biodiversity and all other aspects of the society.  It should also give a lot of emphasis on the new and emerging challenges such as climate change. While it is important for the youth to study for degrees and to fetch jobs, it is equally – even more –important to understand the importance of water conservation.  This will help them reduce the water illiteracy leading to less abuse and pollution of water resources and more awareness and action towards conservation. 

Water crisis is intensifying despite conservation efforts by both government and civil society organisations.  This is because the damages we have done to our natural resources in the past are starting to unfold. Natural forests that we have destroyed; rivers that we have ravaged; and water bodies that we have encroached upon have brought us close to this Day Zero situation.

The vision for the future is rather an emergency agenda to ensure water security. Let the youth be prepared to understand the crisis and take the leadership in solving the same.  The water policy should be the first step towards this.

This article was first published in Urban Update and republished here with author’s permission