WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT AND UTILIZATION IN THE NORTHEASTERN REGION OF INDIA: LESSONS FROM THE PAST AND FUTURE STRATEGIES
U. C. SHARMA
Centre for Natural Resources Management, V.P.O. Tarore - 181133, District Jammu, J&K, India
E-mail:
VIKAS SHARMA
Div. of Soil Science, S. K. University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Jammu, Chattha-180009, J&K, India
The northeastern region of India is endowed with rich water resources but their mismanagement and continuous human interference has rendered them in a fragile state. The region receives about 510 km3 of water as annual rainfall. It has two major river basins, the Brahmaputra and Barak, which drain 194 413 and 78 150 km2 area with an annual run-off of 537.2 and 59.8 km3, respectively. The government of India introduced two major water policies of 1987 and 2002 to stream line the development, management and utilization of water resources. The former recognized the drainage basin as the basic unit of planning water resources and to optimize their utilization. The national water policy of 2002 stressed for rain water harvesting, ground water recharge and prevention of over-exploitation of water resources, water allocation priorities, flood control management and involvement of beneficiaries and stake-holders in the developmental works undertaken. The prevalence of shifting cultivation in the region in 386.9 thousand ha, annually, has resulted in large scale soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and resource degradation in the hills and silting of river beds and floods in the plains. About 601 million tones of soil is eroded every year from the region due to rain water mismanagement, of which 88.3 million tones is claimed by shifting cultivation alone. There is urgent need for replacement of shifting cultivation with alternate eco-friendly and sustainable land use systems, taking into account the traditional wisdom of the tribal societies of the northeastern region in water resources management.
INTRODUCTION
The environment of a place determines the habitat, the mode of life and the progress of civilization up to a large extent. In northeastern region of India, the social sanctions and belief system maintained a balance between resource potential and their utilization for a long time but due to the increase in demographic pressure and indiscriminate use of natural resources, imbalance has been created. The fast growing population in the region has pressurized the food production base and to satisfy their needs, the people have mismanaged and misused water resources (Sharma, 2003). The region, though having sufficient water in aggregate, cannot boast of adequate quantities of water at all the places and during all the times.
Figure 1. States in north eastern region of India
The region receives about 510 km3 of water as rainfall, at an annual average of 2474 mm. However, gross misuse and mismanagement of this water has resulted in soil erosion and land degradation in the hills and silting of river beds and frequent floods in the plains (Sharma, 1997). The problem has further been aggravated by the prevalence of shifting cultivation in 386900 ha, annually. There is annual loss of 83.3 million tones of soil and 10.65, 0.37 and 6.05 thousand tones of available N, P2O5 and K2O, respectively due to shifting cultivation alone (Sharma & Prasad, 1995). The forecast indicate that by 2021, an additional 20 million people will be added to the population of the region thereby increasing the competition from various sectors of the society for more quantity of water, exerting more pressure on the resource base (Sharma, 2003). There is urgent need to develop, manage and judiciously use the water resources for enduring and sustainable resource base as well as food security. Sustainable solutions to water problems would require a radical policy and institutional reforms for better management and utilization of water resources. The major objective of the study was to highlight the water resources and the associated problems and make the people aware of the related issues.
PLACE OF STUDY
The study relates to the northeastern region of India; comprising seven states namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura; and lying between 21o 57’N and 29o 28’N latitudes and 89o 40’ E and 97o 25’E longitudes (Fig 1). About 72% of the area of the region is hilly. The region has a population of 40.2 million and is expected to increase to 60.9 million by 2021 at an annual compound growth rate of 2.43%, thereby putting more pressure on land and water resources for survival. The region has two major river basins, the Brahmaputra and Barak, which drain 194 413 and 78 150 km2, with an annual run-off of 537.0 and 59.8 km3, respectively. Prevalence of faulty agricultural practices like shifting cultivation, unabated deforestation, hilly terrain and heavy rainfall has caused large scale land and environmental degradation. The region has meagre irrigation facilities and due to hilly terrain, the development of irrigation projects is difficult as it involves heavy investments with relatively low returns. The rain-water needs to be conserved, managed and planned for its efficient utilization in the region.
WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
Background
In pre-British India, water resources development and management was essentially a local matter and handled by the community, though some rulers took the initiative to construct canals and other water supply structures. . The customary rights of the people were legitimized, but with the provisions of “the right of the government to regulate the collection, retention and distribution of the water of rivers and streams flowing in natural channels, natural lakes and ponds”. The power of the government over water development and management was conditioned upon the fact that the traditional supplies of water should not be diminished (Upadhyay, 2002). The central water commission was set up in 1945 and charged with the responsibility of initiating, coordinating, and furthering, in consultation with the state government concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources for irrigation, flood control, navigation and hydro-power generation. Then came the National Water Policies of 1987 and 2002 (Government of India; 1987, 2002). While the former recognized the drainage basin as the basic unit of planning of water resources development and called for appropriate measures to optimize utilization of these resources, the National Water Policy of 2002 stressed for rain water harvesting, involvement and participation of beneficiaries and other stake- holders, ground water recharge and prevention of its over-exploitation, improving the quantity and quality of ground water, water allocation priorities, development of irrigation projects, flood control management etc.
Water resources development in northeastern region
The northeastern region of India has surface water and replenishable ground water resources of 1487.4 km3 and 31.22 km3, respectively (Table 1). The ultimate irrigation potential in the region is 1488 thousand and 1755 thousand ha from major and minor irrigation projects. About 510 km3 of water is received as rainfall in the region. However, misuse and mismanagement have resulted in shortage of water at many places in the region. Most of the surface water in the region is confined to river systems which are in highly dynamic state due to high gradient and thus retain a very small quantity of fresh water for human use. Two major river basins in the northeastern region are Brahmaputra and Barak which drain 194.4 thousand and 78.1 thousand km2 area, respectively (Table 2). The average annual flow from Brahmaputra river is 537.2 km3 while it is only 59.8 km3 from the Barak river. The water needs of the region are increasing with increase in the demographic pressure. The sudden spurt in population growth has put tremendous pressure on land and water resources, while development has not kept pace to accommodate increased growth rate. The pressure on the fresh water system continues to grow for domestic use, agriculture, industry, energy and disposal of effluents, not only due to population increase but also due to a change in life style of the people (Sharma, 2003). The present fresh water demand is 27.4 km3, which will grow to 43.0 km3 by the year 2025 (Table 3). Since food productivity is highly dependent on spatial and temporal changes in water availability, the future needs for water have to be met from water resources similar to those existing at present. To ensure that all water resources development schemes should be environmentally sustainable, it is the responsibility of the concerned departments to establish the most appropriate ecological condition taking into confidence the stake- holders.
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
The northeastern region has 40% of the country’s renewable fresh water. Problems with managing water resources in northeastern region of India have been a challenge for the state governments of the region. Integrated water resources management may be hindered by the complex hydro-political situation characterized by natural water scarcity at some places and sometime during the year, sharing of water, conflicting demands and intensive development. The uncertainty may also be related to the climate change, which may aggravate the problem. Rapid and unplanned urbanization cause a real threat to surface and ground water resources. The increase in run-off means a loss in potential ground water recharge. Run-off coefficient was reported to increase with urbanization (Carmon et al., 1997). Pollution threats from solid and liquid wastes in the region are alarming. Adequate plans need to be developed to accommodate the needs of growing population without jeopardizing the natural balance and the ability of the ecosystem to cope with the requirements. Water use and sustainability is highly influenced by the political, social and economic factors therefore, a system need to be developed which should integrate natural system with the social system of the resource user (Loebis, 2003). Water availability is one of the most important Indices of sustainable development. Data on water availability is any region and dynamics of water resources is necessary to characterize water availability and utilization.
Table 1. Water resources in the north eastern states of India
State / Total replenishable ground water resources(km3) / Ultimate irrigation potential (000’ha) / Approximate annual rain-water received (km3)Major projects / Minor irrigation
Arunachal Pradesh / 1.43 / 100 / 10 / 156
Assam / 24.71 / 970 / 1700 / 158
Manipur / 3.15 / 100 / 5 / 42
Meghalaya / 0.54 / 85 / 15 / 54
Mizoram / -- / 55 / 5 / 40
Nagaland / 0.72 / 75 / 5 / 38
Tripura / 0.66 / 100 / 15 / 22
Total region / 31.21 / 1485 / 1755 / 510
Table 2. Water availability in major rivers of north eastern region
River basin / Drainage area(000’ km2) / Average annual
run-off (km3) / Average run-off
per km2 (m3)
Brahmaputra / 194.4 / 537.2 / 276300
Barak / 78.1 / 59.8 / 765600
Table 3. Approximate water needs of the north eastern region of India (km3)
Purpose / 2001 / 2025Agriculture / 20.0 / 28.0
Domestic use / 2.9 / 5.5
Energy / 1.5 / 3.0
Industry / 1.5 / 3.0
Others / 1.5 / 3.5
total / 27.4 / 43.0
Flood management
The northeastern region is vulnerable to land and environmental degradation. Because of flat topography of adjoining river basins and the diversions, the region is vulnerable to flooding in rainy season (April - September). As there is no complete protection against floods, the societies have learnt to live with them. Takeuchi (2002) mentioned that the ways of living with floods is different in different regions as natural environment; people’s living pattern, economy and social structures are different. The flood prone area in the northeastern region of India is 35840 km2 whereas annual flood affected area is 3760 km2 or 14.05% and 1.47% of the total geographical area of the region, respectively (Table 4). The scale as well as frequency of floods has been increasing year after year, causing massive loss of human lives and immense damage to the infrastructure and economic activities. Frequent flood events in the region result not only from the climatological factors such as heavy rainfall but also due to human interference, deforestation because of shifting cultivation and short term economic gains. The ecosystem has been seriously disrupted by rapid population growth and uncontrolled development resulting in increased flood risk. The severity of floods can be mitigated by adopting suitable measures for flood control and for preservation and sustainable upgrading of the eco-system (Booij, 2003). The measures should take into account the social, economical and ecological consequences.
Table 4. Approximate flood affected area in north eastern states of India
State / Area prone to floods (km2) / Annual flood affected area (km2) / Flood prone area as per cent of geographical area / Annual floods affected area as per cent of cultivated areaArunachal Pradesh / 145 / 7 / 0.17 / 0.46
Assam / 31450 / 3597 / 40.09 / 13.29
Manipur / 985 / 44 / 4.41 / 3.14
Meghalaya / 75 / 3 / 0.33 / 0.14
Mizoram / 65 / 2 / 0.29 / 0.30
Nagaland / 70 / 2 / 0.42 / 0.11
Tripura / 3050 / 105 / 29.08 / 3.88
Total region / 35840 / 3760 / 14.05 / 10.10
The following measures are suggested to manage water resources in northeastern region.
(i) Replacement of shifting cultivation with modern agricultural practices taking into account the traditional wisdom of indigenous societies in water resources managements.