| {mosimage} |
Dilip D’Souza is pissed about our water problem. |
The element of division
Sitting around a table a few days ago, a few of us tried to come up with a list of things that divide us, here in India. You know: religion, caste, language, region, that sort of thing. And … water.
What could be more mundane than water, yet more fundamental to life itself? Far and away the most abundant substance on our planet, the tragedy is that it is getting scarcer and scarcer for more and more of us. And the greater tragedy is that it need not be so. Our hare-brained use of water has made it scarce.
State of affairs
Take the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. For nearly two centuries, they have been arguing over the water in the Kaveri river. Tribunals and agreements and governments have come and gone, but the tension persists. Some years ago, then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha went on a farcical fast amid much fanfare, demanding a resolution. If I remember right, she gave up her fast after a day.
Yet the dispute persists. In each state, there have been attacks on people from the other, so much so that I hesitate to speak Tamil while in Karnataka. (I don’t speak Kannada).
And what is it, this dispute?
Karnataka wants to use the Kaveri water to irrigate its water-starved areas, so there are dams on the river in Karnataka. But the diversion of water affects Tamil Nadu, downstream from Karnataka. Effectively, Karnataka controls the flow of the river, particularly as it winds through Tamil Nadu. So while one state searches for an escape from drought, the other is afraid that search will produce drought.
Cheap Drink
What makes things worse is that irrigation water from dams is always used wastefully. Because water carries political clout, because building dams is such a bonanza for so many, water from dams is supplied to farmers at impossibly cheap rates. They pay nowhere near what it has cost to bring it to them, nowhere near what would make them use it wisely. They pour it onto their fields extravagantly, often growing water-intensive crops like sugarcane and cotton in areas which, left to themselves, would be worthless for agriculture. Nope, this is by no means unique to India. The American southwest, for example — the states of New Mexico, Arizona and California — is really just an enormous desert. But it is now one of the great cotton-growing areas of the world, thanks to water dammed and brought in from hundreds of miles away. To use this water, farmers pay, in some cases, less than three per cent — a thirtieth — of its true cost. Naturally, there are some extremely wealthy farmers in the area today.
The problem in India, as in the USA, is that if farmers were asked to pay that true cost for their water, they would not support the building of dams that supply them that water. So the water must be heavily subsidized. Which means it is so cheap that farmers have no incentive whatsoever to use it sensibly. This is why dams invariably encourage the waste of water.
Used wisely, it’s possible that there is enough water in the Kaveri to supply the needs of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, farmers have got used to cheap Kaveri water that they can use without thought, thanks to dams like Mettur and Kabini. So when water is released to Tamil Nadu, farmers in Karnataka feel threatened. When Karnataka holds on to that water, farmers in Tamil Nadu are deprived.
The Value Solution
A solution to this impasse is impossible as long as it is left solely to politicians — who have their own short-term electoral compulsions — to find one. But the real impediment to a solution may be, ironically, the very existence of those dams on the Kaveri and the waste they foster. Until we learn the real value of water, until we learn to pay its real cost, we will continue to waste it. That means shortages.
That, in turn, will mean more conflicts as people struggle to get water. In southern India, as in other parts of the globe, watch for more of those.
[Dilip D’Souza, a prominent journalist and author, calls himself a ‘typist’ and types his thoughts regularly at http://dcubed.blogspot.com/. He believes that death ends fun]
{mosimage}
Also by
- Consultation Freeze - September 4th, 2006
- Need for Speed - August 28th, 2006
- Meals on wheels - August 14th, 2006
- Whither tomorrow - August 7th, 2006
- Bombay Dreams - August 7th, 2006