
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu chairs a review meeting with State Water Resources Department officials on December 3, 2024. Photo: Special Arrangement
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has recently called for a comprehensive water policy for Andhra Pradesh while reviewing the water resources development. The idea of such a policy must be welcomed. The fledgling state of Andhra Pradesh requires, at any rate, a territorial re-imagining of its water futures especially given the multiple challenges it confronts as a result of its bifurcation a decade ago.
Water policymaking at the State level is often underrated, yet it is both desirable and imperative for subnational and national water security. This is so at least for three fundamental reasons.
First, the fulcrum of water governance in India lies with and within the States. The much-needed paradigmatic choices and shifts — say, in supply augmentation to demand management — can be accomplished when these are leveraged at the State level.
Second, water resources development is deeply localised and territorialised for contextual reasons. For instance, Maharashtra, advanced in water resources development, may need to focus on regulation, whereas Jharkhand on supply augmentation strategies.
Third, the current Anthropocene world warrants re-visioning water resources management paradigms and practises. As the eminent Professor Asit K. Biswas puts it, the effects of climate change are most profoundly manifested in the ways of water, largely as risks get extreme and frequent. Coping with these risks sets a new agenda for policymaking, both at national and subnational scales, more so for the latter.
Mr. Naidu’s contemplated comprehensive water policy relies on conventional approaches of supply augmentation. While the Polavaram Project was a priority, he also stressed the longer-term river interlinking projects. The interlinking projects are, however, expensive, distant, and increasingly infeasible for political reasons. This reliance on supply augmentation is not surprising for a downstream State though. While these may remain part of the water policy portfolio, the State will do well to make beginnings in some key strategic directions.
Making the shift away from supply augmentation must be a top priority for the State. Many other States’ water policies articulate aspirations for such a shift, but these often fizzle out due to the problem of institutional inertia. Deeply entrenched institutional cultures of water resources departments are premised on supply augmentation through engineering solutions. These are ill-equipped to adapt or promote demand management strategies.
Reimagining these cultures must accompany other elements of institutional reforms. This includes incorporating proven institutional models, such as an independent water resources regulatory authority. This is critical for Andhra Pradesh given the acute and politically sensitive regional imbalances within the State. Such reforms could also help with another good starting point for improving water use efficiency.
The important direction is to cope with risks. While climate change presents an overarching source of these risks, water security involves addressing other emerging risks such as groundwater depletion, river pollution and water quality, and dam safety. With over 32 dams aging past 50 years, and perhaps the highest average storage per structure in the country, dam safety is an important concern.
As a downstream State with a long coastline, Andhra Pradesh is exposed to compounded climate change risks. The Vijayawada floods in September is a case in point. The intense rainfall in the upstream stretches and poor conditions in the downstream to moderate the floods led to inundation in large parts. While the Chief Minister personally led the response efforts, institutionalisation of more efficient and effective mechanisms is necessary. The State must evolve robust monitoring and response systems to address climate risks, including cyclones. This brings to the fore the crucial element of intergovernmental multi-jurisdictional coordination to cope with such an extra-territorial nature of risks. The State must be conscious of these challenges of institutional reconfiguration towards a more comprehensive water policy.
Srinivas Chokkakula is president and chief executive, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi .Views are personal
Published – December 19, 2024 01:24 am IST