Water crisis in Delhi – call for action
- The Munak Canal in Haryana’s Mundela village, which brings 80 million gallons per day of water to Delhi, became a target of Jats protesting for reservation in Haryana last week. First, a mob blocked the gates of the canal at Mundela, then they closed gates 35km upstream at Khubdu, and finally they damaged the canal at Mundela on February 21.
- The 102-km canal is actually two parallel canals – a carrier-lined channel (CLC) and the Delhi Sub-Branch or Western Yamuna Canal.
- There is a 200-feet-long breach in the CLC that will take at least 15 days to repair. Haryana has diverted water to the Delhi Sub-Branch canal, but its capacity is 350 cusecs as opposed to the CLC’s 720 cusecs. Till the CLC is repaired, large parts of Delhi, especially Dwarka, will face a shortage.
- If that wasn’t bad enough, the water being released by Haryana through the Yamuna river, which accounts for about half of Delhi’s supply, has become so polluted that it can’t be used. Water treatment plants have been forced to close three times in a week because of high ammonia levels
- With taps in lakhs of households going dry, the crisis has once again reminded Delhiites that the Capital is at the mercy of others – Haryana – for its basic drinking water needs.
– A case for promoting co-operative federalism
- The recent water crisis in the Capital has revealed that Delhi remains unprepared if trouble brews in the neighbouring States, like the Jat agitation in Haryana
- Right now, the agitation was only in Haryana. The consequences could be dire if it spread to UP. Delhi gets 240 MGD of water from the Murad Nagar drain in U.P,” said Mr. Mishra.
- Delhi had come up with ambitious plans of setting up three dams in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, but the projects have been held up due to environmental concerns and disputes between governments.
- The Renuka Dam in Himachal Pradesh was proposed about 17 years ago, and was supposed to add 275 MGD to Delhi’s water supply. But, the future of the project is up in the air as the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh Government have disagreements over mandatory clearances and compensation.
- The other two projects — at Lakhwar-Vyasi in Uttarakhand and at Kishau on the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border — have also been pending for years.
– A case for environmental conservation and urban planning
- It may be too late to do anything about the current water crisis now, but Delhi can prevent a repeat by reviving its neglected lakes, strictly implementing rainwater harvesting and recycling water.
- Environmentalists say that the water shortage currently being faced by the Capital could have been prevented, or at least reduced in intensity, had the government acted earlier. In 1998 that 200 million gallons per day (MGD) of water could be saved in the floodplains around Delhi. But the government did not act then. They allowed construction in the floodplains. .
- If reservoirs are made along the floodplains, they can be used to store the heavy flows in the Yamuna in the monsoon season. About 35 MGD can be added to Delhi’s supply, which on an average is 890 MGD.
- Delhi must ensure that it takes its share of Yamuna water through the river, not the canal. The river cannot be damaged, like the Munak Canal has been
- Apart from that, off-rover reservoirs to store water. These should be used to store Delhi’s own share of water during the monsoon. The areas can be developed as recreational hubs, and the water can be used in emergencies
- Delhi also had about 800 natural water bodies that have been forgotten over the years. The water bodies should be revived naturally, without any concretisation, so that the water holding area as well as the catchment is secured.
- In addition, there are 201 natural drains that can be revived in order to recharge groundwater.
- One of the biggest flaws in Delhi’s water management has been the lax implementation of the rainwater harvesting guidelines in place since 2000.There is no agency seriously implementing the rules. The municipal corporations are supposed to check as rainwater harvesting is mandatory in the building bye-laws don’t bother and the State government doesn’t have the machinery to enforce the rules
