Chhattisgarh is ranked ninth in the country in its performance on Water Resource Management with a Composite Water Index Score of 49 with the reference year as 2016-17, a NITI Aayog report on water management in States has revealed.
Gujarat is the highest performer, closely followed by other high performers such as Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Most other States are clustered around the 40-60 band. Seven states have scores between 50- 65 (including two North-Eastern and Himalayan states) and have been classified as medium performers. However, 60 per cent of states (14 out of 24) have achieved scores below 50 and have been classified as low performers.
The action taken by these states, and their subsequent good performance on the Index, are likely driven by necessity in the face of looming water shortages. This correlation shows, positively, that corrective action is starting in at least some of the areas that need it the most. More worryingly, the low performers on the Water Index are home to 50% of the country’s population, thereby highlighting the significant water risk faced by the country.
The low performers are, worryingly, comprised of the populous northern states of UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, and others, and are home to over 600 million people, it observed.
The poor performance of these states on the Index highlights a significant water management risk for the country going forward. Further, these states also account for 20-30% of India’s agricultural output. Given the combination of rapidly declining groundwater levels and limited policy action this is also likely to be a significant food security risk for the country going forward, it observed.
It is critical to move agricultural water use towards a more efficient and sustainable path. Currently, the populous northern states, which account for 20-30% of India’s agricultural output, face high to extreme water stress, posing a significant food security and livelihood risk for the country. The government can mitigate this risk and improve the country’s water-efficiency in agriculture by accelerating the proposed DBT scheme for micro-irrigation subsidies
Several states did not have data on the number of water bodies restored and its corresponding data on the increase in area irrigated by the restored units. States such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, provided a list of projects (scheme wise) under which water bodies were planned to be restored. However, most states shared the total area that was targetted and the achievement of improved irrigation potential.