Jal Shakti ministry needs to make urgent course corrections for paradigm shift in water management | The Indian Express

Jal Shakti ministry needs to make urgent course corrections for paradigm shift in water management | The Indian Express

Written by Mihir Shah |Updated: July 6, 2019 9:40:13 am

Mihir Shah writer was member, Planning Commission from 2009-14.

Jal Shakti ministry needs to make urgent course corrections for paradigm shift in water management

The FM has rightly spoken of a “focus on integrated demand and supply side management of water at the local level, including source sustainability and management of household wastewater for reuse in agriculture”.

While drinking water is the first priority, we must remember that 90 per cent of India’s water is consumed in agriculture.

India is not a water-short country. We have merely managed our plentiful water very poorly. What we need, therefore, is a paradigm shift in policy. Could the finance minister (FM) be said to have risen to this challenge?