Portable Water Problem: A Thirsty India

“Man is a complex being: he makes deserts bloom and lakes die” ~~ Gil Scott-Heron

I. Introduction:

Water, chemically H2O, is the pivotal ingredient for the existing of life on the earth. It is one
of the most important non-renewable resources. Our earth is covered with 71% water.
However, our earth has only 2.75% to 3.1% of fresh water and that can actually be used by
human beings, animals and plants. This small percentage of fresh water is used by all living
beings for their growth and survival. Plants and trees use it for photosynthesis. Animals and
human beings use water to drink and bath every day. The water in the oceans and seas is salty
which cannot be consumed by humans and animals. But this water acts as a lifeline for many
aquatic creatures.

We have already learned this in our school days. But, the time has arrived to understand this
also. The potable water is non-renewable resource and it is depleting at an ever-increasing
rate. At this rate, water will become redundant for future generations, which is to say that life
will become non-existent on earth. Hence, judicious use of after should be followed.

II. Alarming Data of Water Problem in India:

India is currently facing crises, it’s not COVID-19 pandemic, but world’s major national
water crisis. This ongoing potable water crisis affects nearly 1 million people every year.1

In India, less than 50% of the total population has access to safely managed drinking water.
The chemical contamination of water is present in 1.96 million dwellings, mainly through
fluoride and arsenic.2 According to the World Health Organization, in India, excess
contamination of fluoride affects 10 million of people across 19 states, while excess arsenic
contamination affect up to 15 million people in West Bengal. 3 A Water Aid Report in 2016
ranked India among the worst countries in the world for the number of people without safe
water. An estimated 76 million people in India have no access to a safe water supply, and the
situation is only getting worse day by day.

1
National Institute for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), 2019, COMPOSITE WATER MANAGEMENT
INDEX, Available at: https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2019-08/CWMI-2.0-latest.pdf.
2
The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation by WHO and UNICEF, 2017,
Available at- https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/launch-version-report-jmp-water-sanitation-
hygiene.pdf.
3
Ibid.

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The above is for polluted water; however, there is also water shortage in India. Moreover, out
of India’s total 718 districts, two-thirds are suffering with extreme water depletion, and the
lack of planning for water supply and preservation is still a major concern. One of the
challenges is the greater pace of groundwater depletion in India. India is the world’s highest
user of groundwater due to the proliferation of drilling in the last few decades. Groundwater
from over 30 million access points supplies 85% of drinking water requirement rural areas
and 48% of water requirements in urban areas.4

III. Right to Clean Water as a Fundamental Right:

Fundamental Rights which are mentioned in Part III of the Constitution is granted to all
citizens of the country. These rights are applied to all citizens of the nation, irrespective of
their caste, race, sex, religion or place of birth. These rights are recognized by law as rights
requiring a high degree of protection from the government and they cannot be violated by
anyone. Water is a non-renewable natural resource essential for the survival of humans and
plants. The plenty of water is available in on the earth, with around 70% of the surface being
covered with water. But the problem arises when we talk about availability of clean water and
access to it. The clean water is a scarce resource and with the rising population, it is very
difficult to sustainably manage its distribution and use.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India states that ‘no person shall be deprived of his life or
personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law’. This provision of the
Constitution was interpreted by the court to include the entitlement of citizens to receive safe
potable water in Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs. Union of India 5 case. In this case the
petitioner was an ‘organization dedicated to the cause of the release of bonded labourers’. By
doing several surveys, it was found that many workmen who are working in these mines are
migrant workers from other states in India who were ‘bonded labourers.’ They were living in
extreme poverty. Their employer or the owners of the mines didn’t provide them adequate
stuffs for their survival like proper shelter, clean drinking water or proper medical facilities,
etc. Due to these reasons and the plight of farmers, the petitioner filed the Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) under Article 32 of the Constitution.

Held: The Hon’ble Supreme Court stated that ‘there is no doubt that pure drinking water is
absolutely essential to the health and welfare of the workmen and some authority has to be

4
Ibid.
5
(1997) 10 SCC 549.

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responsible for providing it, derived the concept of right to ‘healthy environment’ as part of
the Right to Life’.

Recently, the Court reiterated again that ‘the right to access to clean drinking water is
fundamental to life and there is a duty on the state under Article 21 to provide clean drinking
water to its citizens’. The Court further said that the states are duty bound not only to provide
adequate drinking water but also to protect and preserve the water sources from pollution and
intrusion. It was held by the court that ‘any act of the State that allows pollution of water
body must be treated as arbitrary and contrary to the public interest and in violation of the
right to clean water under Article 21’.

IV. Reasons for Global Water Issues:

As states above, today, India is facing national water crises of all times. But in spite of this
some steps can be taken before it gets worse. There are many reasons due to which the
national water crisis exists. Some of the important issues are as follows-

 Pollution:
Water Pollution can be defined as the contamination of harmful substances in the
water bodies that are dumped into the water bodies that degrade the quality of water
and makes it toxic for the aquatic life as well as for the humans.
Around 80% of the waste water is released into the water bodies without any
treatment which pollutes the water bodies. Water, which can be also called universal
solvent, gets easily polluted as it can dissolve the harmful substances easily. Water
pollution can take place at any levels like groundwater, ocean, surface water and
water source point. Agricultural Pollution, Oil Pollution and Radioactive Pollution are
the most common type of water pollution.
There are many ill-effects of water pollution. It makes peoples ill. In India, water
pollution has caused the death of 1.8 million people in 2015.6 The polluted water led
to the sickness of 1 billion people each year. Polluted water transmits the viruses and
bacteria from one person to another. Polluted water causes diseases like typhoid,
diarrhea and cholera.
A healthy environment highly depends upon the living organisms. Any harm to them
would disturb the chain and causes damage to the environment. Algae which grows

6
The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, THE LANCET, Available at-
https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/pollution-and-health.

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 on the water due to water pollution causes substantial reduction in the oxygen level of
water. This hampers the marine life to the great extent.
Industrial waste reduces the average lifespan of the aquatic creatures and also
adversely affects their reproductive ability. Debris of plastic gets accumulated in the
water bodies that suffocate the marine creatures. More than 200 species of marine
creatures have been affected by throwing fishing rod and similar type of things in the
water bodies.
o Over-Consumption:
Every economic sector needs freshwater for the production. Fresh water is becoming
increasingly scarce due to the increasing demand and huge consumption of water,
which seems to increase even further in future. The competition for getting water is
growing which is left in very limited quantity.
Overconsumption of water directly affects climate change and climate change directly
affects agricultural production. This climate change affects the frequency of droughts
and famine and also permanent adverse change in the renewable water supplies. The
over-consumption of fresh water led to the adverse effects on food and agriculture.
Due to climate change, there is unstable rainfall and delayed or early monsoons with
high temperatures which causes more evaporation and hence more demand for water.
It also adversely affects the soil health, water use and crop yield.7

V. Laws related to Water:

Following are the enactments related to the prevention and control of water pollution on
India.

 Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974:

The prime object of this Act is to prevent the water pollution and deal with the
preservation of the water bodies and carry out those activities which help to the
restoration of water. In order to give practical implementation to this Act, the Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) have
been established by the central and state authorities respectively. The Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) promotes the cleanliness and maintenance of water
streams and wells in different locations of the state. The Central Pollution Control

7
Arush Mittal, Global water issues: Everything important you should know about, IPLEADERS, Available at-
https://blog.ipleaders.in/global-water-issues-everything-important-you-should-know-about/.

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 Board (CPCB) has the power to advise the Central Government on various matters,
which are related to the prevention and control of pollution of water. Under this Act,
the board has the power to conduct research and investigation on various water
samples with a view to promote the prevention of contamination of water in a
significant manner.8
 The Indian Penal Code:
Under the Indian Criminal Law system, the provisions of Indian Penal Code have
been expressly laid down to punish the offenders who commits an offence in the
contravention to the Code. Section 277 of the Code states that any person who
commits an offence of fouling of a public reservoir or a public spring voluntarily shall
be liable to be punished with imprisonment of three months or with a fine of 500
rupees or with both.
Illustration- A, a resident of Chandigarh, goes near a reservoir and voluntarily puts a
toxic substance with an intention to cause harm to the environment and in
consideration pollutes the water. The reservoir was fit for public use before, but after
the Act of A, the reservoir became unfit for the utilization of the public. Therefore, A
was being held liable for the offence under Section 277 of the IPC, and he was
punished with imprisonment of up to three months and a fine of Rupees 500.9
 Right To Clean Water: A Fundamental Right:
Under the Indian Constitution, our judiciary has given a very liberal interpretation to
Article 21 of the Constitution and included the ‘Right to Clean Water and
Environment’ under the ambit of Article 21.

VI. Important Judgments:

Following are the some important judgments under this topic-

 In F.K. Hussain v. Union of India10, the Kerala High Court declared that one of the
attributes of right to life is right to potable water as it is one of the basic elements
which sustain life itself.

8
Saptarshi Dutta, 76 Million Don’t Have Safe Drinking Water: India’s Looming Water Crisis,
SWACHHINDIA.NDTV.COM, Available at- https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/76-million-dont-have-safe-
drinking-water-indias-looming-water-crisis-5606/.
9
Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1960).
10
AIR 1990 Ker 321.

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 In this case, the petitioner pleaded that the administration was disturbing the water
equilibrium by digging more wells, and this digging of wells would lead to salinity in
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The court declared that administrative agencies could
not be permitted to function in such a way to make inroads into fundamental rights
under Article 21. Digging of more wells and to increase their depth would disturb the
sweetness of water. Thus, a proper scheme must be evolved and "safeguard must be
evolved to stop withdrawal of groundwater at a cut-off level". Writ was decided
accordingly.
 In the case of Narmada Bachao Andolan v. The Union of India 11, the Supreme
Court, held that the right to clean water is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the
Indian Constitution. The court had stated that right to clean water is a part of the basic
necessity of the right to life of humans. The state is responsible to prevent the water
from getting polluted.
 In M. C. Mehta v. Union of India12 also known as Ganga River Pollution Case, the
petitioner was a riparian owner (owner of the property beside any water body) and his
riparian rights were violated by nuisance by the pollution of river Ganga. He filed the
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the apex court. The Court admitted Public Interest
Litigation. The Court accepted the locus standi of the petitioner. The Court was
convinced that the nuisance caused by the pollution of river Ganga was a public
nuisance and that the same has hampered the rights of the riparian owners. The Court
came to a conclusion such a contamination was a public nuisance and the petitioner
was entitled to riparian rights of access to the unpolluted water of river Ganga.

VII. Suggestions:

Some of the suggestions to deal with the issue of national water crisis are as follows:

o Educate People

Since childhood, children should be given proper education for limited consumption of
limited water resource. Most of the countries all over the world are already facing a water
crisis, so, changing our lifestyle according to the ongoing situation would help a lot in saving
the precious water.

11
MANU/SC/0640/2000.
12
AIR 1988 SC 1115.

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 o Invention of Water Conservation Technology

Innovation is needed urgently to provide some water conservation technology or proper water
treatment equipment. Those areas where the freshwater is in a limited quantity and there is
also uneven rainfall, water conservation is definitely required.

o Recycling of Wastewater

The contaminated water should not be discharged directly into the water bodies. It should be
treated firstly, to make it less toxic or if possible fit for drinking. The recycling of waste
water makes a nation more self-sufficient in terms of water consumption. Countries should
try to recycle the waste water and use it for other purposes after properly treating it.

o Affordable price of water

Everyone has a right to safe drinking water and this right should not be taken away by
charging high prices for water as Right to safe drinking water is now a Fundamental Right.
Many poor peoples did not afford the safe drinking water. So, the price of water should be the
same for all.

o Improve water harvesting

Those areas that have been affected negatively due to the unstable rainfall, usually suffer
from droughts because they have no other source of water should work towards the
improvement of water harvesting techniques. Water harvesting is one of the best techniques
to recharge the ground water. It is very easy to make and implement also.

o Control Population Growth

One of the main reasons for the national water crisis is the population growth. We are 103
billion populations with the demand for water rises daily, that results in over-consumption of
it. If the population keeps on increasing, there would be a supply-demand gap of 65% by the
year 2030.13

o Proportional Consumption of Water

13
Supra Note 7.

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There should be a controlled and limited consumption of water. It should not be wasted.
Overconsumption or wastage of water is one of the reasons of the national water crisis in
India. So, wastage should not be done while consuming water.

o Control Water Pollution

Water pollution is the primary reason for unsafe drinking water. Various diseases spread by
consuming the contaminated water and it also causes danger the aquatic creatures. Strict
punishments should be awarded to those persons who pollute the water.14

VIII. Conclusion:

It is pretty much evident that water is such an essential part of our lives and relationships that
we are compelled to take it for granted. We think that water is available in abundance. But
that is not the true stance. Polluted water is the main disease source in our country. Recent
developments in Right to Water include Public Interest Litigations being filed by many
citizens of the country. PIL is normally filed to attract the view of the court on the issues
where the rights of the public at large are violated by state action or inaction. Our courts have
also adopted very liberal view in dealing with the matters related to the rights of general
public in the series of judicial pronouncements.

The establishment of central and state boards has also a great significance. They are given the
responsibility to deal with the matters related to water pollutions. They have been given huge
range of powers to protect the environment. But one thing here we have to understand that it
is not only the duty of the state to protect the environment but ours also. State alone cannot
do much unless we join our hands with the government to clean the environment

14
Raj Chengappa, The great Indian thirst: The story of India's water crisis, solutions to tackle it , INDIA
TODAY, Available at- https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20210329-the-great-indian-thirst-
1781280-2021-03-20.

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 IX. Bibliography

Books

 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN INDIA, Prof. P. LEELAKRISHNAN, LEXIS NEXIS

5TH EDITION.
 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY IN INDIA: CASES, MATERIAL AND
STATUTES, DIVAN SHYAM, ROSENCRANZ ARMIN, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
PRESS, 2ND EDITION.
 INDIAN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: KEY CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES,
SHIBANI GHOSH, THE ORIENT BLACKSWAN.
 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, S.C. SHASTRI, EBC, 6TH EDITION.

Articles:

 Global water issues: Everything important you should know about by Arush Mittal
Available at- https://blog.ipleaders.in/global-water-issues-everything-important-you-
should-know-about/.
 National Institute for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), 2019, COMPOSITE
WATER MANAGEMENT INDEX, Available at:
https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2019-08/CWMI-2.0-latest.pdf.
 The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation by WHO
and UNICEF, 2017, Available at-
https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/launch-version-report-jmp-
water-sanitation-hygiene.pdf.
 The great Indian thirst: The story of India's water crisis, solutions to tackle it by Raj
Chengappa, INDIA TODAY, Available at-
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20210329-the-great-indian-
thirst-1781280-2021-03-20.
 76 Million Don’t Have Safe Drinking Water: India’s Looming Water Crisis by
Saptarshi Dutta, SWACHHINDIA.NDTV.COM, Available at-
https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/76-million-dont-have-safe-drinking-water-indias-
looming-water-crisis-5606/.

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E Sources

 www.manupatrafast.com
 www.legalservicesindia.org
 www.youtube.com
 www.indiankanoon.com
 www.livelaw.in

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