India is facing its worst-ever water crisis, a new report by a government advisory body has warned.
About 600 million Indians are facing high to extreme stress over water, according to the Composite Water Resources Management report by the government’s policy think-tank Niti Aayog this week.
The comprehensive study on the state of India’s water warned of conflict and other related threats, including food security risks, unless actions are taken to restore water bodies.
“Critical groundwater resources, which account for 40 percent of our water supply, are being depleted at unsustainable rates,” the report said.
Mridula Ramesh, author of an upcoming book on climate change, told Al Jazeera that “groundwater can be used and abused at a very low cost.”
“There are few or no restrictions on groundwater extraction, leading to wasteful water consumption. In agriculture, crop choice that is unsuitable for a given region is one example of this,” Ramesh noted.
