Alarmingly, 60% of states (14 out of 24) have achieved scores below 50 and have been classified as Low performers as mentioned in the report.
As per the report, one of the critical challenge driving this crisis is the lack of water data.
Data systems related to water in the country are limited in their coverage, robustness, and efficiency.
This crisis is further driven by a poorly defined legal framework for groundwater that rests ownership with landowners and leads to unchecked extraction.
Composite Water Management Index ‘Composite Water Management Index’ measures both the overall progress made by states in water management and the incremental improvement in performance across time.
The central government should provide financial incentives to states to improve performance in irrigation management.
Linking of the national rivers will be very effective to avert water shortage.
Currently, 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about two lakh people die every year due to the deprivation of safe water.
It is believed that by 2030, the country’s water demand will pass twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual 6% loss in the country’s GDP as per the report.
Currently, India is ranked 120th amongst 122 countries in the water quality index, and 70% of the water is contaminated, as reported by Times of India Also published on Medium.