Fundamental to our living, water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. Drought has become a part of many people’s lives in rural areas, and water scarcity a part of urban life. The problem is so severe that even one of India’s cities, Cherapunji, the place that receives the maximum amount of rainfall in the world, is facing a water crisis! So, unless drastic action is taken to manage the looming water crisis, water will remain only in our country’s name.

Without water security, it is impossible to ensure food and energy security, both of which are essential for development and poverty alleviation in a developing country like India. After decades, we can now talk of food surplus and hence food security and to a certain extent energy (power) security. All will be lost, however, if we face a water crisis. Simply put, a good harvest means a good year for all Indians. For this, water security is essential and water crisis needs to be avoided at all costs.

Professor Ramaswamy R. Iyer from the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi stated in a water policy issues seminar organized by the Asian Development Bank recently, “Water crisis is inevitable if we go on as before. It can be avoided if we take certain steps.” So, there is hope.

With increasing urbanization and population, a long-term plan for sustainable development of water resources with an emphasis on efficient use is essential if we wish to retain our egalitarian goals of food and water for all Indians.

There is agreement among different groups like non-governmental organizations (NGOs), farmers, liberals, government, and international institutions like the Asian Development Bank, that water is a finite resource and needs to be managed carefully to ensure water security, and thus economic prosperity. But there is disagreement on the methodology to achieve this. The NGO versus government debate currently boils down to just one point; who gets to control the water, the government or the people?

The government naturally wants to continue controlling the water resources as it has been doing all along. However, many officials and bureaucrats agree better governance of the water resource is essential. The success story of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is often cited as an example of how better governance leading to water security can be achieved by government bodies themselves. What the HMWSSB team headed by Mr. M.G. Gopal has managed to achieve is indeed breathtaking and deserves to be recognized. But can this be replicated in other areas considering the diversity of India and the politics of water? Probably not, as the reasons for water problems are different in different parts of the country. Some can be attributed to poor management of water while in others it is scarcity.

Decentralize the process, say other experts, as according to them water is not a commodity but a common good.

Ms. Nafisa Barot, executive trustee of Utthan—a Gujarat-based NGO, cites her experience of how almost no government control in addition to complete community involvement in over 150 villages across Gujarat have changed the situation from water scarcity to water security in these areas. In villages, women who are the primary users of water have been trained in good water management principles and implement roof top harvesting, check dams, manage water use, etc. These women repair broken pipes and pumps on their own and no Public Works Department (PWD) board is helping them.

So should people be charged for the water they use? Yes and no. Water is a basic right and people shouldn’t be charged for it but if we pay for electricity and food, why not for water? After all, most people, irrespective of economic class in cities now buy water while others use bottled mineral water, so water has already been privatized.

However, if water is used simply to support life, especially that of the poor who cannot afford to pay, then they must receive it free of charge. Others must pay—rich farmers, industries, power plants, and water bottling plants, for example, as they’re using water for commercial purposes. Like electricity meters, we need to get water meters in place. A block tariff system should be used to overcharge people who use more water for domestic consumption. Dual piping systems need to come into place—one pipeline for drinking water and another for sanitation.

But the safety aspect should be paramount.

Nowadays, usable water doesn’t necessarily mean the water quality is good or hygienic. All households boil and filter water because groundwater is high in salt or silt content. Also, the more wastewater we generate, the greater the danger of water pollution and contamination of available freshwater resources, which in turn leads to increasing health problems and hence health costs.

While industries are supposed to process the water with which they make soft drinks or bottled water, lack of consumer awareness among Indians and in developing countries in general about consumer rights make us susceptible to paying for unsafe products.

So the key word is safe water and not just water for all. This means better water processing and management. Who can do this and how do we bear the costs involved? Can the people themselves take care of it, or should it be the government, or should we involve the private sector?

Meanwhile, there is another problem as far as safety is concerned. Industries discharge effluents into rivers from which we use water for drinking and sanitation needs. Harmful chemicals like arsenic are present in the water we drink. In Bangladesh, it was recently discovered that arsenic is present in unacceptable levels in the groundwater, slowly poisoning the people to death. Remember Erin Brokovich? Well, Bangladesh needs one immediately.

As for bottled mineral water in India, the impurities scandal started before the cola scandal but didn’t receive much media attention.

So how safe is our water? The simple answer is we don’t know because we don’t ask questions and don’t demand certification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of our state or from the center. Most of us are unaware of the Indian Consumer Rights Act of 1986, which allows us to both demand answers and legal compensation if malpractice is detected.

While not a single human being can survive without water, it doesn’t make sense if we get sick because of the water we consume. Others don’t pay our health bills, we do. The mantra has to be: SAFETY FIRST.