30-Groundwater Governance - Few Pertinent Issues Relating to Availability and Possible Threat.

Abstract

The governance issue emerges when there is disproportion in supply and demand, conflicts in sharing and interest of users, disparity in priorities of allocation, threat to availability due to interfering polluting matter, etc. The supply or the availability of groundwater in a specific location or in an area normally remains unaltered due to the fact that parameters such as rainfall in a year and hydro-geological features that retain water in the subsurface remain unchanged. Thus, management of demand and readjustments of supply both spatially and temporally could form the primary focus in groundwater governance; other issues automatically subside when demands are met adequately. However, the supply and demand management of ground water is governed by a number of constraints, such as, hydrological and hydro-geological variability, population growth and their water requirement, land uses, pollution hazards, etc. Considering hydrologic, hydro-geologic, and demographic homogeneity on a regional scale with river basin and administrative boundary as the scale unit, the availability of replenishable groundwater resources in terms of depth per unit area and the change in per capita availability over the next two decades has been assessed. The analyzed results are indicative only because of the assumptions involved. Projections have been made regarding the statewise additional per capita groundwater requirement in the coming years. The scope for augmentation of groundwater resources to meet the additional requirement and the probable threat to aquifers due to pollution hazards is also discussed.