I extend my felicitations to all of you on the occasion of the Curtain Raiser of the Freshwater Year 2003.

The United Nations has proclaimed the Year 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater. By doing this, it has highlighted two inter-related objectives: promoting understanding and cooperation at the global level; and increasing the awareness about freshwater through programmes at the local and national levels.

Water sustains life. Now the time has come for us to sustain the availability of water.

Civilizations have prospered on the banks of rivers. Many important cities of the world also have derived their sustenance from rivers. Today, however, it is rivers that are in need of sustenance.

With the phenomenal increase in population, and the dramatic rise in living standards of people in many parts of the world, there has been a sharp increase in the demand for freshwater. The total availability of freshwater, on the other hand, has not increased.

To make matters worse, availability has actually dipped on account of man-made pollution.

This is a cause for great concern, especially since the planet’s population is projected to increase to about 8 billion by 2025.

We in India face another problem. Rainfall is uneven across the length and breadth of our country. Also, it is not uniform throughout the year. This frequently causes the twin problems of floods in some parts and drought in others.

The problem manifests in yet another peculiar way. Some areas, which receive abundant rainfall during the rainy season, face acute shortage of water during the rest of the year. The case of Chirapunji, which is one of the wettest places on the face of the earth, comes readily to mind.

The situation is made worse on account of degraded catchments and excessive groundwater withdrawals. This has resulted in water scarcity in many rural areas, forcing migration of population to urban areas. This puts an additional burden on the already overstretched infrastructure resources in urban areas.

Thus, we see how a disturbed water cycle in Nature has caused a vicious circle of distorted development in Society.

Mother Nature is reminding us to learn proper lessons from the wrongs we have committed. We have to respect and restore the delicate balance in Nature. Water is not unlimited. Therefore, we have to be wise and farsighted in using it.

This is the message of the Year of Freshwater.

To translate this message into practice, we should make concerted efforts to stop its wastage anywhere and everywhere. We must work for augmentation and optimal utilization of the existing water resources. We have to harness the latest scientific and technological developments in water conservation and recycling. At the same time, we also have to adopt many of our time-tested traditional methods of water harvesting and management.

The two tasks are not mutually contradictory. Rather, they supplement each other.

All of you know that the Government has recently taken a major initiative on the long-pending proposal of interlinking of rivers. We have set up a Task Force, under the chairmanship of Shri Suresh Prabhu, with specific terms of reference. Its report would pave the way for starting the work on some of the feasible and environmentally sound components of this project.

In recent weeks, I have come across some critical comments that in pursuing the ambitious river-linking project, we are neglecting the imperative of promoting small, village-level water conservation projects. This is not true. I would like to reiterate what I have said earlier. The two are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they complement each other.

As a matter of fact, the Central Government has recently launched two important water-related rural development schemes. They are Swajaldhara and Yojana Hariyali. Both are being implemented by Panchayati Raj Institutions. We want panchayats and community organizations to play a crucial role in maintenance of village-level water conservation projects. State Governments need to actively encourage community participation and ~make water everybody’s business~ – and not only that of government departments. That would be one of the surest ways of ensuring water for all.

Nearly 80 per cent of the water requirement for irrigation, which is a major consumer of freshwater in the country, is met from ground water resources. It is, therefore, necessary to properly conserve and equitably distribute our groundwater resources. We must put an end to the indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater, which we see in some parts of the country. For this purpose, a Model Ground Water Regulation Bill was circulated to all the States for adoption some years ago. I urge the States to take immediate action in this regard.

Often there are misconceptions about the efficacy and desirability of inter-basin transfer of river waters. We need to remind the people in these basins that such transfers are not new. They have been carried out in the past with all-round benefit to people in these areas and to the country at large. Beas-Sutlej Link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, Periyar-Vaigai Link, and the Sardar Sarovar Project are some of the examples of such success stories.

In the Sardar Sarovar Project, water has been transferred across five basins to reach the remotest parts of Gujarat, which suffered from scarcity of drinking water for a long time.

We are presently trying to amicably resolve the problem of sharing of Cauvery waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Cauvery joins these two neighbouring States. Therefore, the issue of sharing its waters need not divide them. I appeal to the people, political parties and the governments in these two States to help find a lasting solution to this problem through mutual understanding, spirit of accommodation, and by being guided by the overall national interests.

It is ironic that, although we consider our rivers holy, we are allowing river pollution to assume alarming proportions. A major reason for pollution is disposal of untreated sewage from large and medium towns. The Tenth Plan has accorded a high priority to effectively tackling this problem. We need to implement the Ganga Action Plan and the National River Conservation Plan with a greater sense of urgency.

Friends, I believe that this is the right time to launch 2003 as the Year of Freshwater. Last year we adopted the National Water Policy, which requires the Centre and State Governments to initiate action on several fronts. Several parts of the country are passing through a severe drought. Although we have succeeded in keeping prices under control, and taken several relief measures, we need to move from short-term responses to long-term remedial measures.

Therefore, let the Year of Freshwater be used as the Year of Action. Let us create mass awareness on the responsibilities and tasks of all the stakeholders in society and government.

With these words I have pleasure in inaugurating the Freshwater Year and wish the programme all success.~