Water Resources of Odisha and its Utilisation

Among the challenges faced by the world today in the area of health care, water is the greatest challenge, and this is particularly true for the developing countries. A large proportion of the world?s population relies on ground water as primary source for drinking and domestic use. In recent years, due to increase of population, urbanization, industrialization, use of chemical fertilizers, pesticide in agriculture, there is over increasing threat to surface and ground water quality. The indiscriminate use of ground water for irrigation and other purposes has resulted in sharp decline in ground water table and in changes in the natural geochemistry of ground water. In the largest areal state of the country i.e. Rajasthan higher concentration of all the three hydrochemical parameters viz. salinity, nitrate and fluoride in ground waters have adversely affected the lives of people in general and their socio-economic status in particular. Ground water of western, north-eastern parts of Rajasthan are facing problem of salinity, nitrate and fluoride, whereas central and southern parts are generally facing an acute problem of fluoride. Therefore, immediate action for mitigating the problems at government, semi-government or social levels are required for the welfare of countrymen.

India is a water stressed country. Regionwise scenario is different but in general surface water resources are not sufficient to fulfil the need of the country. Available sites for water storage are limited and are located in reach regions which makes it difficult to rationally distribute the available surplus water resources to the deprived regions. This compels the extraction of groundwater in the deprived regions. Even in the command areas of the dams the tail enders do not get water and hence they have to depend on groundwater. Cropping pattern has been continuously changing due to market variations and hence the regions which are not expected to grow water-intensive crops have started growing them by meeting the water demand from precious groundwater. Objective of agriculture has been changed from food production to profit-making. Urbanization and Industrialization have furthered the dependence on groundwater. The erratic rainfall sometime is the cause of depending on groundwater. In all, the reasons for dependence on groundwater are many and the overall dependence on groundwater has been at present between 50 % to 90 % in different parts of India. For last so many years that the dependence on groundwater has been on increase which has posed a serious threat of quantity and quality of water almost in the entire country and the present model of economy, agriculture and development as a whole has become a subject of reconsideration on the ground of sustainability and environmental change. The root cause of this situation is the unsustainable ways of resource management we have adopted. Gujarat is one of the most suffering states in water scarcity because of all the aforesaid factors. The objective of the paper is to discuss the issues and the probable solutions such that that the future course could be corrective and is approached early to save the future of the state and the entire country.

Drylands of arid Rajasthan are well known for Drought and hot Desert having diversified hydro-geological conditions. Potential aquifer systems include unconsolidated (Quaternaries deposits), semi-consolidated (Tertiary Sandstone, Lathi Sandstone etc.) and fissured consolidated formations. Groundwater level is generally deep especially in western Rajasthan, where it reaches even 150m below land surface. Quality of groundwater is poor in many parts due to geogenic and anthropogenic reasons. Stage of groundwater development in the State is 139.88% with 185 blocks categorized as over-exploited. Groundwater related issues include deep and declining water levels, low groundwater recharge, over-exploitation, drying up of potential aquifer systems, high salinity, fluoride and nitrate concentration, industrial pollution, water logging and lack of appropriate water management. Management options include supply side and demand side measures i.e. water conservation, regulation, protection and especially structural measures for augmentation of resources by large scale artificial recharge of aquifers, for which financial provisions by the Government/incentives to individuals need to be introduced. Scope for artificial recharge of aquifers exists on account of availability of thick permeable geo-formations, deep & declining water levels, and availability of surplus monsoon water in northwest India, which otherwise goes waste flowing to the neighbouring country. Regulatory measures including notification of 35 block areas, mandatory provision for issuance of NOC for industries/ infrastructure/mining projects for controlled groundwater withdrawal. etc. are being taken up by Govt. organizations. State Water Policy is in place and rooftop rainwater harvesting is to be made mandatory for all buildings. State Ground Water Legislation and State Ground Water Authority need to be constituted and regulatory measures be enforced by Rajasthan Government in line with CGWA. There is need for integrated participatory approach of water management. Rajasthan being the most water deficit State in India, deserve to be given ?Special Status for Water Resources? for financial and other purposes by Government of India.

Maharashtra is one of the largest states of the country and playing a vital role in the India?s economy through its agricultural and industrial growth. Agriculture is the most predominant occupation in the state and is dependent mainly on ground water irrigation. However, specific focus is being given for the demand side intervention rather than supply side interventions for management of limited ground water resources that available in the state, as the 92% of the state is underlain by hard rocks bearing limited yield potential. The rainfall is the sole source of natural recharge to aquifers and the rainy season extends for three months with barely 55 to 60 rainy days. This is the period during which aquifers get replenished and during the remaining part of this water is utilized for agriculture, domestic and industrial uses. Highest rainfall is received in the coastal areas which have very high runoff rate, whereas remaining part of the state receives rainfall varying from <400mm to 1500 mm per year. A concept plan to recharge the aquifers has been prepared, and details of the artificial recharge structures suitable for the varying geological and topographical setups have been suggested. Besides, micro irrigation techniques are also suggested for water intensive crops to regulate the ground water draft.

Air, Solar energy, Land, and Water are the four life support systems of which, only ?Water? is amenable for its development and management to meet human needs of water. Water Resource Development structures had to be compatible to the characteristics of ?Water Resource?. With the advancement of civilization, ingenuity of man prompted him to evolve different types and sizes of infrastructure to meet changing patterns and increasing magnitude of water demand. It also stressed the need to have an integrated approach in such development. Subsequently as a soft option, improvement in management of infrastructure was the next logical step. As the issue of complexities in the competing and conflicting demands on water surfaced prominently, need for taking a holistic approach towards them was thought of and there emerged the viable solution in the form of better governance of water resources. An attempt has been made here in below to present evolution of all these developments by citing a case study of Maharashtra State in the Peninsular India. It mentions at the end a ?Vision Statement? for the future development of the State in the water sector and an outline of future planning and policies which need to be adopted. In conclusion it states a framework of desirable actions to be taken in future, to transform the ?Vision? into a reality.

The high reliability of rural and urban settlements on groundwater in India and the individualistic nature of groundwater usage make groundwater management and governance extremely challenging. Groundwater resources development in India, even today, has progressively become synonymous with increasing the accessibility of the resource through more and more sources and meeting the growing demand through the infrastructure of distribution. Management of groundwater becomes selflimiting when the focus is on exploration for new sources, without understanding resource behaviour. On the other hand, experience has shown that bringing aquifers to the centre stage of groundwater management is important. The concept of aquifers changes the way in which communities begin to perceive groundwater and becomes the first step in developing socioecological resilience to groundwater-related vulnerability. Building resilience to groundwater-related vulnerability further includes developing a governance mechanism that strikes a balance between supply management and demand regulation through an understanding of the resource, i.e., the aquifer.Aquifer systems in India are highly diverse and complex because of the variation in their inherent properties such as storativity, transmissivity and groundwater quality. Aquifer vulnerability is a consequence of not only how the rampant exploitation and contamination of groundwater occur, but also how different aquifers react to these fluxes. Moreover, irrespective of the scales of groundwater accumulation and movement, micro-level analysis of aquifers becomes imperative because of the atomistic nature of groundwater access and use. A systematic hydrogeology-based approach that requires delineating aquifers, understanding the dynamics of groundwater and mapping the demand and dependence of community on the resource holds the key to decentralized groundwater governance in India. Such an approach can be undertaken through participatory monitoring, decision support and action.The inherently heterogeneous nature of aquifers and communities in western and central India demand a strategic application of mapping, characterizing and managing local aquifers through a participatory groundwater management protocol. This nuanced approach beginning with aquifers as both a resource and a system, ensures equitable, efficient and hence, the sustainable management and governance of aquifers in this region.