Climate Change

Initiate Study To Evaluate Climate Change Role In Aggravating Water Scarcity, Parliament Panel Tells Government

Long spells of summer with rising temperatures, on the other hand, leave the land parched without enough water storage in the face of disappearing water bodies due to human encroachments, Parliamentary Standing Committee report noted

Published

on

New Delhi: A Parliamentary Standing Committee has asked the government to initiate a study to evaluate the role of climate change in aggravating water scarcity, noting that changing global climate with the rise in temperatures has serious implications on water availability. Combined with rising population and urbanisation, extreme climate events have already started having serious repercussions on water balance in the form of excessive rainfall within a short span of time causing floods and increasing runoff without enough water getting seeped into the ground causing a decline in the water table beneath the ground, the standing committee report on water resources, which was tabled in Parliament on Monday (March 20), said.

Also Read: Rapidly Narrowing Window For Humanity To Limit Warming To 1.5 Degrees Celsius: IPCC Report

Long spells of summer with rising temperatures, on the other hand, leave the land parched without enough water storage in the face of disappearing water bodies due to human encroachments, it noted.

In the face of such challenges, the committee expressed its apprehension that the measures taken so far to deal with this problem might not be adequate.

The committee recommended the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation to initiate a study to evaluate the role of climate change in aggravating water scarcity and the changes required in strategies to reduce their effects.

Also Read: India Must Prioritise Grants, Policies Around Vulnerable Population To Mitigate Climate Change Impact: IPCC Authors

It was found that it took almost nine years for the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to set up a full fledged National Water Mission in 2020 and that is still not well equipped with adequate funds and autonomy. The mission still needs expertise as consultants and advisors are yet to be appointed, the report stated.

Adequate studies are required to be undertaken to assess the impact of climate change on the total water availability to enable formulation of appropriate policies to handle their effects, it said.

“The committee would, therefore, recommend the government to give required financial powers and autonomy to the mission to enable it to fulfill their objective under National Action Plan on Climate Change and they also desire that NWM (National Water Mission) should be entrusted with the task of taking all the ministries/departments, state governments on board for devising strategies for water management in a cohesive manner,” it said.

Also Read: IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report Endorses India’s Call For Climate Justice And Equity: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ populationindigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Exit mobile version