Vol 22/12 July 2019 Patriotism Redefined HARKING BACK THE VANISHING WATERS IRRIGATING HUMOUR BLUE GOLD Himachal Calling Suresh Ramdas Great Indians : General Thimayya | Ganju Lama | Girish Karnad MORPARIA’S PAGE Contents July 2019 VOL. 22/12 THEME: Morparia’s Page 02 WATER Fresh water and sustainable development 04 Dr. Arvind Kumar Managing Editor Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde Harking back 06 Rina Mukherji The vanishing waters 08 Editor Mamta Chitnis Sen Anuradha Dhareshwar Irrigating humour 10 Nivedita Louis Saving water begins at home 12 Assistant Editor Usha Hariprasad E.Vijayalakshmi Rajan The rural deficit 14 Bharat Dogra Design Corporatising water 16 Resurgam Digital LLP Mamta Chitnis Sen Where water was the star 30 Shoma A. Chatterji Subscription In-Charge Nagesh Bangera Know India Better Himachal Calling 17 Nivedita Louis Advisory Board Sucharita Hegde Face to Face Justice S. Radhakrishnan Suresh Ramdas 25 Venkat R. Chary A. Radhakrishnan General Printed & Published by Finally, victory! 33 Prof. P.M. Kamath Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde for One India One People Foundation, An enjoyable Marathi musical 34 Prof. Avinash Kohle Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Great Indians 36 Mumbai - 400 026 Tel: 022-2353 4400 Fax: 022-2351 7544 e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] visit us at: GENERAL THIMAYYA GANJU LAMA GIRISH KARNAD www.oneindiaonepeople.com www.facebook.com/oneindiaonepeoplefoundation WATER Sustainably saving water Water shortages have been identified by industry, government, academia, and civil society as one of the top three global concerns. India, home to 16 percent of the world’s population, has only four percent of the world’s water resources at its disposal. It is therefore imperative to link fresh water and sustainable development, to ensure no one is left behind, says Dr. Arvind Kumar. Source: wasatchwater.org id you know that over 1.7 billion people live in When clean water arrives in a community, the river basins where water use exceeds recharge, impact ripples through every aspect of daily life. Freed from leading to the contamination of rivers, depletion of the persistent disease that results from dirty water and poor D groundwater, and the degradation of ecosystems? sanitation, their future becomes brighter, as does the economic prospects of their communities and countries. The water conundrum Women no longer have to spend hours every day fetching water that they know could well make their children sick The human right to safe drinking water places and deplete their funds in availing medical facilities. obligation on States to ensure that services are affordable. Instead, they can spend more time helping their families, More than two billion people are compelled to drink perhaps with time to boost the family income. Understand- contaminated water, resulting in a child dying every minute ing the relationship between drinking water and good of every hour of every day. Without safe drinking water, it is health is vital to population and public health. harder for women and girls to lead safe, dignified, produc- tive, and healthy lives. It is now widely recognised that the The need of the hour is to go circular by embracing primary determinant for addressing the issues of global the need to recover, recycle, repurpose, refurbish, repair, poverty is the provision of safe water; access to safe water refuse, rethink, reduce, reuse and remanufacture. Attain- enhances the potential for educational opportunities ment of the targets of the SDGs (Sustainable Development (particularly for girls), and facilitates participation in local Goals) within a stipulated period, along with achieving the community economic development. It would be safer to say targets of Paris Agreement on Climate Change, with water that economic security is also at risk due to lack of clean being at the core, can be facilitated by adopting new water. policies and programmes based on innovative techniques 04 ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE Jul 2019 and technology, along with new concepts of cooperation requires paying special attention to geographical differences and partnership in tandem with existing concepts and in access, access by vulnerable and marginalised groups, approaches. Scientific concepts like new water, rewilding, and affordability issues. use of green infrastructure, roof-top gardens, hold high potential to revive the water economy, and the application I must here refer to a recent yet important news of circular economy principles can help us meet the chang- piece, “Delhi: Everyone wants a piece of Yamuna”. It is es to practice that will be necessary for it to meet future acknowledged that the river continues to flow quietly water demands. through the heart of the city, but is quite dirty and murky, but ought to be a source of fresh water. The ancient city India, home to 16 percent of the world’s popula- Delhi is lost in a haze of water pollution with Yamuna as a tion, has only four percent of the world’s water resources at sewer, uncontrolled, sprawling growth, and urbanisation, its disposal. Burgeoning demand for water due to growing and inadequate solid waste management, creating an population is projected to very soon overtake the availability environmental disaster zone, not necessarily because of of water. Currently, our on-field experiences working in the lack of resources only, but also because of lack of policy and ‘Aspirational Districts’ of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by proper planning. way of community engagement and stakeholder consulta- tion, resulted in understanding the problems and challenges As water resources become more stretched, the of the aspirational indicators underlying the water sector; energy and food sectors’ dependence on water, and the fact basic education, health, infrastructure, financial inclusion, that all three underpin several of the Sustainable Develop- and skill development. It summed up to the absence of clean ment Goals, means that decision-makers in all three drinking water, and as discussed earlier, led to 80% of the domains are now increasingly focusing on water resource illnesses prevalent in rural India, which further prevented management, ecosystem protection, and water supply and children from attending schools. It forms a vicious cycle, and sanitation, as part of their policy and practice. One of the we have to work towards breaking this cycle because targets is the attainment of policy coherence for sustainable sustainable interventions can only be achieved through development, which requires the individual goals to become education, empowerment, and ownership. interlinked. The governance of water and climate change are the themes that are best connected to SDGs, and should Moreover, without an understanding of the social, therefore be addressed by policymakers by adopting a political, cultural, historical and economic contexts within multi-sectoral approach to policy integration. “Leave no one which humans live, work and play, sustainable change in behind” is a core principle of the 2030 agenda, and policy human behaviour is not possible. integration is a necessary condition for its successful imple- mentation. Recognising that the dignity of the human To link fresh water and sustainable development, person is fundamental, we wish to see the Sustainable some key imperatives must be acknowledged, which as per Development Goals and targets met for all nations, and for my understanding, can help in filling up the gaps: all segments of society. And we will endeavour to reach the furthest behind first. This is also in line with Gandhiji’s idea • To secure access to water as a human right, we must of ‘Sarvodaya, reaching the last man standing’. envisage the twin-track approach of ‘Comprehensive Water Governance’. Governance mechanisms at all levels (local, To conclude, sustainable development is support- national, regional, and global), need to be more open, ed by ‘nature’s contributions to humans’, including the rich inclusive, and accountable to marginalised groups. Local biodiversity, and the four ecosystem services – supporting, communities must be closely involved in developing local regulating, provisioning and cultural services. We often take targets and indicators, and take an active role in monitoring these for granted, and therefore must begin with a new and holding local authorities accountable for SDG imple- paradigm of moving towards ‘conscious and collaborated’ mentation. efforts, envisaging water as a valuable resource. The inextri- cable linkages between these critical domains require a • Combining these instruments into a well-designed policy suitably integrated approach to ensuring water and food is critical for effectiveness. For example, water legislation security, and sustainable agriculture and energy production must prioritise water use for domestic consumption over worldwide. Broad estimates indicate an investment of One other uses. A well designed policy needs to have a substan- Trillion USD in water sector in India in the coming years, tive vision accompanied by assessment, monitoring and and it is felt that water is the oil of the 21st century, and will evaluation, for cost effective benefits, so that they can be command the world market place in the years to come, and appropriately improved based on an assessment of the time is ripe and right to collectively make sure, ‘No one feedback mechanisms. is left behind’. • Nature based solutions like recharge of natural aquifers, Dr. Arvind Kumar is the President community conservation