Water Wars

The English poet Coleridge in his poem "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" wrote: "Water, Water everywhere, but not a drop to drink" This is precisely the situation of the people living in large parts of India. Despite having immense reservoirs of water in the form of the Himalayas in the North and the Arabian sea, Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal in the West, South and East of India, there are water shortages everywhere often leading to riots, road blocks and other disturbances and disputes for getting water. In many cities, in many colonies people get water for half an houra day, and sometimes not even that e.g. in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, U.P., Northeast, etc. In large parts of rural areas there isa shortage of water for irrigation and drinking purpose. Rivers in India are drying up, ground water is rapidlydepleting, and canals are polluted. The Yamuna in Delhi looks like a black drain. Several perennial rivers like the Ganga and Brahamputra are becoming seasonal. Rivers are dying or declining, and aquifers are getting over-pumped. Industries, hotels, etc are pumping out groundwater at an alarming rate, causing sharp decline in the groundwater levels. Farmers are having a hard time finding ground water for their crops e.g. in Punjab. In many places there are serpentine queues of exhausted housewives waiting for hours to fill their buckets of water. 

In this connection, John Briscoe has authored a detailed World Bank report in which he has mentioned that despite this alarming situation there is widespread complacency on the part of the authorities in India. 

Often there are disputes between states in India relating to the waters ofinter-state rivers, as in the present case. To resolve these disputes Parliament has enacted the Inter State Water Dispute Act, 1956, which was amended in 2002. This Act has provided for a mechanism for resolving such water disputes between states through tribunals constituted under Section 4 of the Act. 

Experience has shown that while such tribunals have played a role in resolving such disputes to a certain extent, they have not, and cannot, resolve the water shortage problem permanently. For instance, if there is a dispute between State A and State B relating to water, and if the Tribunal decides in favour of State A then the farmers and persons living in urban areas in State B often resort to agitations which may even lead to violence. Hence the real solution of the water shortage problem in the country can only lie in utilising the immense water reserves in the sea and in the snow mountains by scientific methods. Rain water must also be scientifically managed.

As regards sea water, the basic problem is how to convert saline water into fresh water through an inexpensive method. The methods tried till now have been distillation and reverse osmosis, but these are expensive methods. We have to find inexpensive methods for this through scientific research. Similarly, the immense water reserves in the Himalayas in the form of ice can be utilised for the people of the North and Central Indian States.

In my opinion, it is science which can solve this problem. It is indeed sad that a country like India which solved the problem of town planning 6000 years ago in the Indus Valley Civilization and which discovered the decimal system in mathematics and plastic surgery in medicine in ancient times, and is largely managing Silicon Valley today,has been unable to solve the problem of water shortage till now. In my opinion, there is no dearth of eminent scientists in the field who can solve this problem, but they have not been organised and brought together and not been requested by thecentral and state governments to solve this problem, nor given the facilities for this.

In my opinion the right to get water is a part of the right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. In this connection, it has been observed in Delhi Water Supply & Sewage Disposal Undertaking and Anr versus State of Haryana and Ors. 1996(2) SCC 572:

"Water is a gift of nature. Human hand cannot be permitted to convert this bounty into a curse, an oppression. The primary use to which water is put being drinking, it would be mocking nature to force the people who live on the bank of a river to remain thirsty…."

Similarly in Chameli Singh & Ors vs State of UP & Ors 1996(2) SCC 549, this Court observed:

"……….Right to live guaranteed in any civilised society implies the right to food, water, decent environment, education, medical care and shelter. These are basic human rights known to any civilised society. All civil, political, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention or under the Constitution of India cannot be exercised without these basic human rights…." 

The same view was taken in several other decisions by this Court in various other decisions.

I, therefore, recommend to the central government to immediately constitute a body of eminent scientists in the field who should be requested to do scientific research in this area on a war footing to find out scientific ways and means of solving the water shortage problem. This body of scientists should be given all the financial, technical and administrative help by thecentral and state governments for this purpose. They should be requested by thecentral and state governments to do their patriotic duty to the nation in this connection, and by scientific research to find out the ways of solving the water shortage problem in the country. The help and advice of foreign scientific experts and/or Indian scientists settled abroad who are specialised in this field may also be taken, since the solution to the problem will not only help India but also foreign countries which are facing the same problem, some of which may already have progressed significantly in this area. 

In particular this body of scientists should be requested to perform the following tasks:

(i) To find out inexpensive methods of converting saline water into fresh water.

(ii) To find out inexpensive and practical method of utilising the water which is in the form of ice in the Himalayas.

(iii) To find out a viable method of utilising rain water. 

(iv) To utilise the flood water by harnessing the rivers so that the excess water in the floods, may instead of causing damage, be utilised for the people who are short of water or be stored in reservoirs for use when there is drought.

In my opinion, the central government should constitute such a body of scientists immediately and give them all the help failing which the hardships of the people of India will further increase causing great suffering and social unrest everywhere. The problem brooks no delay for being addressed not even for a day.

In the end I would like to quote the couplet of the great Hindi poet Rahim:

"Rahiman paani raakhiye, bin paani sab soon
Paani gaye na oobrey, moti, manush , choon"

Justice Markandey Katju is a judge of the Supreme Court of India.