GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 965
ANSWERED ON:03.03.2010
AVAILABILITY OF WATER
ANANT KUMAR HEGDE
(a) whether India has access to less percentage of water in proportion to its population at World level;
(b) if so, the comparative data thereof;
(c) whether the Government has evaluated the quantum of water obtained from rain and melting of glaciers;
(d) if so, the quantum of water received from all sources separately including rain and glaciers; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government to increase the water harvesting capacity in the Eleventh Five Year Plan and the total quantity of water to be harvested thereby ?
Will the Minister of WATER RESOURCESbe pleased to state:-
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES
(SHRI VINCENT H. PALA)
(a) & (b) India has about 16 percent of the world’s population and has about 4 percent of the world’s water resources. As per “The United Nations World Water Development Report 2”, published in 2006, the average annual per capita water availability varies considerably from country to country. The statistics in respect of 193 countries included in the report indicates that the total actual renewable water resources (TARWR) per capita for India is about 1750 cubic metre per year for the year 2005. The information in respect of some of the countries is annexed. Based on the population of 1027 million as per the 2001 census, the per capita availability works out to be 1820 cubic metre per year. The per capita water availability of the country is declining year after year due to population growth. Further, due to large temporal and spatial variation in the rainfall in the country, the availability of water also varies considerably from one basin to another.
(c) & (d) The average annual precipitation for India has been estimated to be about 4000 billion cubic metre (BCM). After accounting for the natural process of evaporation etc. the average annual water availability in the country is assessed as 1869 BCM. It is estimated that owing to topographic, hydrological and other constraints, the utilizable water is 1123 BCM. Assessment of the contribution of rain and glaciers have not been made separately.
(e)Several measures for development and management of water resources are undertaken by the respective States Governments, which include creation of storages, restoration of water bodies, rainwater harvesting, artificial recharge to ground water and adoption of better management practices etc. State Governments conceive, plan and implement major, medium and minor schemes (both surface and ground water) for utilization of water resources. Storage capacity of about 225 BCM has been created so far. As per present assessment, the total estimated storage capacity of the various projects under construction is about 64 BCM. Further, the State Governments have identified various other schemes for investigation and planning and the estimated storage for such schemes is about 108 BCM. Government of India is providing central assistance to the State Governments through various schemes/programmes, such as Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programmes (AIBP); Command Area Development and Water Management (CAD&WM); National Project for Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies etc. The Government of India also encourages rainwater harvesting and recharge to groundwater for conservation of water.