To
The Editor
The Indian Express

Sir,

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the article titled “Our Water Challenge is Stark”, published on the Ideas page of your esteemed newspaper, The Indian Express, on March 21, 2026. The piece, authored by distinguished individuals ( authored by Parameswaran  Iyer, who is executive director, World Bank; Arunabha Ghosh who is CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water and Richard  Damania who  is chief economist, Vice Presidency of World Bank )   associated with leading global institutions, unfortunately falls short of offering any substantive or actionable direction on an issue of critical national importance.

It is increasingly disheartening to observe a growing tendency within sections of the media to rely heavily on high-profile or “celebrity” authors, often placing undue emphasis on their credentials rather than the practical value of their contributions. While the authors of the article undoubtedly possess impressive backgrounds, the content itself remains largely descriptive and does little to advance the discourse beyond reiterating well-known concerns.

India’s water crisis is neither new nor obscure—it is a grave and escalating challenge that demands urgent, innovative, and implementable solutions. At such a juncture, readers reasonably expect thought leaders and experts to move beyond diagnosis and present clear, actionable strategies. Regrettably, the article offers little in terms of guidance for policymakers, including institutions such as the Government of India and NITI Aayog.

In this context, it is important to draw attention to the work of CA Anil Kumar Jain, a chartered accountant who has authored the book “River Water Recharge Wells.” His work proposes a practical, scalable, and cost-effective roadmap to address India’s water scarcity on a long-term basis. The approach holds significant promise not only for ensuring sustainable water security but also for contributing meaningfully to the nation’s economic development.

It is both surprising and concerning that such a straightforward and potentially transformative solution has not received adequate attention in mainstream discourse. This raises a broader question: are ideas that do not involve large-scale financial investments being inadvertently overlooked?

I respectfully urge your publication to uphold its distinguished reputation by fostering a more solution-oriented dialogue and by giving due prominence to practical and innovative ideas, regardless of the stature of their proponents.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Pradeep Saxena    

THE INDIAN EXPRESS – THE IDEAS PAGE  
Saturday, March 21, 2026

Our water challenge is stark. Here are four ways to reimagine the solution

Parameswaran Iyer, Arunabha Ghosh, and Richard Damania

There is a strange contradiction at the heart of India’s relationship with water. We revere it in our rituals, celebrate it in our music, and consider it holy in our rivers. Yet, we also waste it with abandon, pollute it with impunity, and price it as though it were infinite. On World Water Day, and in the context of increasing pressure on finite resources in a resource-constrained world, it is time to look for new water solutions for India.

India holds 18 per cent of the world’s population but only 4 per cent of its freshwater. Per capita availability dropped from 1,816 cubic metres in 2001 to roughly 1,486 in 2021. By 2050, we will approach the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic metres. In a rapidly growing and urbanising country, demand is already beginning to outstrip the sustainable supply of water. These are binding constraints on growth, investment, and human wellbeing.

Compounding this situation is climate reckoning. The Indian monsoon no longer behaves as it once did. In 155 per cent of our tehsils, rainfall has increased by more than 10 per cent over the past decade compared to the previous three, but this also comes with challenges. Heavy showers within a few hours overwhelm drainage systems designed for a different normal. Meanwhile, 11 per cent of tehsils, concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic plains, have seen critical declines during the June-July sowing window. Between 2019 and 2023, extreme climate events cost India about Rs 5 lakh crore. More than 80 per cent of India’s population now lives in districts vulnerable to hydro-meteorological disasters.

Yet precisely because the challenge is so stark, the opportunity is equally immense. Water is both a problem to be managed and a resource to be optimised. If we strengthen its governance, it can become a catalyst for economic transformation across every sector. Here’s how we can move from treating water as a free resource to recognising it as a strategic national asset.

First, broaden our understanding of where water actually resides. India’s water policy has traditionally focused on blue water — rivers, lakes, and aquifers — while paying less attention to the vast reservoir of green water stored in our soils. This is the moisture held in soil that plants use for growth. Globally, around 60 per cent of rainfall is stored in soils as green water. And though it is invisible, it is vital, sustaining rainfed agriculture across large parts of the country. Healthy soil organic carbon is the cheapest and most effective water storage system available to us. When we degrade soils through chemical-intensive farming, we lose this moisture memory. Transitioning to regenerative practices — mulching, no-till farming, cover crops — is necessary to manage it. So is the need for protecting upstream natural forest cover, which acts as a reservoir for downstream farms. India would benefit from a National Green Water Mission to co-manage water and landscapes. Steps: One that aligns procurement policies toward water-efficient crops.

Second, confront the distortions embedded in agriculture. The Green Revolution made India food secure, but it also made the farm sector water-insecure. Agriculture consumes nearly 90 per cent of water in India, yet crop water productivity stands at just $0.52 per cubic metre — a third of China’s. India is using its most precious resource in the most wasteful ways. Strategic diversification matters here. Today, our procurement and fertiliser subsidies are locked into water-intensive rice, draining both aquifers and the public exchequer. Shifting just 3.6 million hectares from rice to millets and pulses could save 29 billion cubic metres of water annually — roughly a fifth of India’s household water use. This will deliver triple dividends: Better nutrition, environmental relief, and fiscal savings on subsidies, all flowing from the same intervention.

Third, launch a National Circular Water Economy Mission to treat water as a resource, not waste. Only 28 per cent of urban used water is treated today; reuse remains negligible. But a treated used-water economy could unlock a market worth Rs 3.2 lakh crore by 2047, recover biogas and fertilisers, and create over 1 lakh new jobs. This requires city-specific reuse targets, public-private partnerships, and a shift in mindset from disposal to recovery. The technology exists; what is needed is the appropriate governance architecture to deploy it at scale.

Fourth, reimagine cities as sponges rather than concrete sinks. India’s built-up area has increased by nearly a third since 2005, creating impervious surfaces that block groundwater recharge and magnify flood risks. Cities need blue-green infrastructure — wetlands, urban forests, permeable surfaces — integrated into urban design to absorb stormwater, slow runoff, and recharge aquifers well before the rains stop. Over half of Delhi’s 1,300 water bodies have been lost to encroachment. Protecting and restoring this natural infrastructure, as seen in the transformation of the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, is both climate resilience and economic prudence.

Beyond city limits, a Swachh Bharat Mission 3.0 for peri-urban areas could be considered, which would decentralise waste treatment and sludge management and prevent pollution at source.

Finally, reform water governance. Move towards decision-making that implements transparent water accounting and ensures enforceable regulation. India’s world-class digital public infrastructure can enable real-time water accounting and bulk water trading. Tariffs must move toward cost recovery for those who can pay, with direct subsidies for the vulnerable, because right now, in many cases, the poor pay high rates to unregulated tanker operators, while official tariffs in most cities do not cover the full cost of service delivery.

With supply chains weaponised and natural resources fast becoming geopolitical tools, water remains the one resource we cannot plan poorly for — it is finite. This is the right time to leverage it as an opportunity. Our collective response could determine not just India’s environmental future, but the very shape of its economic destiny.

(Iyer is executive director, World Bank; Ghosh is CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water; Damania is chief economist, Planet Vice Presidency of World Bank. They are co-authors of “Water, Nature, Progress: Solutions for a New India” (2026), forthcoming. Views are personal.)

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