Scenario on the water front

I PREDICT - A BLUE REVOLUTION: Dr. M. A. Chitale; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 407408, Shivaji Nagar, Off Sevnapati Bapat Marg, Pune- 411016. Rs. 150.

INDIA IS blessed with enough water resources though the population is more than one billion. The per capita availability of water per year is more than 2000 M3 which means there should not be any water stress according to the accepted U.N. norms. But due to uneven distribution, erratic rainfall, water scarcity is felt in many parts of the country. Even where the rainfall is more than 10,000 mm, there is scarcity for drinking water as in the case of Cherapunchi and where the rainfall is less than 500 mm, plenty of water is available throughout the year as in the case of Ralegoan Siddhi and all depends upon how it is managed. The author, an eminent engineer, has brought out all the points and has given various suggestions for solving numerous problems encountered in the country, in nine chapters in this book.

In the first chapter ``Hydrological setup'', climatic adversity, evaporation, geo-hydrology, water potential of the country and global phenomenon of water are detailed. India can be called as the golden country of lakes, since it has a tradition in the development of lakes and ponds in harvesting water. The author has explained the colonial approach and advent of modern technology in water resources development and Indianisation after Independence.

In the chapter ``Unfinished agenda'', he has brought out many points like waste water management, low productivity, lack of organised processing and marketing facilities for various crops, the widening gap between the economic status of the city and rural population and lack of well developed local management system. He has suggested the availability of water per hectare of cultivable land is one of the stable indices for comparing natural water resources status of basins. Accordingly, he has grouped into five categories, namely water-rich, good water availability, water-short, water-deficit and highly water-deficit basins. He has given the clue to financial mobilisation to take up irrigation works and argued for taking up inter-basin transfer of water; thereby another 35 MHa (25 MHa from surface and 10 MHa from groundwater) can be brought under irrigation, raising the ultimate irrigation potential from 113 MHa to 148-150 MHa and producing about 40,000 MW hydro power. There is a need for strengthening the hydrological field to provide needed hydrological expertise for the future.

In the chapter, ``Water for food security and agriculture'', he has argued that water management is going to be more and more critical in India's national development plans and irrigation has truly been a key for the transformation of the rural economy. It is a fact that water is the dividing line between the rich and the poor. Irrigation has raised not only crop productivity but cropping intensity also. We have still to go a long way in this direction including increasing the water use efficiency. He has suggested themes ``save water'' campaign, establishing awards for achieving saving of water in the use of irrigation, introducing low plastic tunnels placed over plants to increase the production and upgrading of farmer's knowledge, especially women farmers.

In the chapter ``Water for people and industries'' he has dealt with water quality in rivers and the role of the Central Water Commission and the Central Groundwater Board to tackle the problems. He has narrated the concept of the pumped storage scheme with sketches. The scope for this technology is plenty in our country, especially in the Western Ghats region, where this can be followed to use the surplus energy during low load period at night to lift excess water to the east and create energy during the peak use time through reversible turbines. He has also explained that apart from the pumped storage schemes, India has fairly large hydro power resources to provide more than 84,000 MW at 60 per cent load factor and also reuse the same water to generate electricity again and again (cascade development) as in the case of China. He has detailed the possible inland navigation in the country which is very economical compared to surface transport.

In the last chapter, ``the new water era'', he has stressed the need for a new breed of water managers with a more holistic understanding of the water sector, the need for national outlook for future water development scenarios and regional integration. Further, he has stressed the need for environmental upgradation in rivers, lakes and reservoirs and hi-tech management using satellite images, electronic sensors for detection of water quality. He has suggested frontiers of research, administration reforms, integrated basin approach for water resources management like the Czech model, financial discipline and people's participation for overcoming water scarcity in the coming years.

The book gives an overview of the wide spectrum of Indian scenario on the water front including water management and water transfer. This will be a source book for all those who are involved and interested in water and water related fields.

R. K. SIVANAPPAN

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