Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
55% by 2050. (OECD, 2015)
(ii) Over-extraction and contamination of aquifers worldwide will pose
significant challenges to food security, the health of ecosystems and
safe drinking water supply, and increase the risk of subsidence, among
other consequences.
(iii) In 2050, 240 million people are expected to remain without access to
clean water, and 1.4 billion without access to basic sanitation. (OECD,
2015)
The Indian scenario mirrors the global trend in many ways:
(i) Inadequate waste management systems have resulted in pollution of
both surface water resources (all major rivers in India) and ground water
resources (RobecoSAM, 2015)
(ii) Only 43.5% of the households in India use tap water as the major source
of drinking water among urban residents
(iii) The Ministry of Urban Development assesses that only 72% have water
within their premises.
(iv) Only 32% of India’s population receives treated water.
(v) 18.6% of urban households do not have access to any form of sanitation
facilities at home.
Therefore, clean water and sanitation are seriously critical aspects India as a
country needs to be paid closer attention to, while simultaneously focusing on
economic growth activities. The UNESCO organization in 2015 has also outlined
‘water and sanitation’ as one of the 17 key focus areas for sustainable global
development over the 2015-2030 period.
Specifically for India, it is therefore imperative to protect our rivers from drying
out as well as eliminate/reduce polluting them to ensure their sustainability
towards nourishing our future generations for hundreds of centuries as
sumptuously as we have experienced.
300 Annexures