[Dec 2007, Volume 4 Quarterly Issue] Pdf File size - The IIPM Think ...

Jharna Pathak
Assistant Professor,
Gujarat Institute of Development
Research, Ahmedabad
Water Resources In Gujarat And Role Of Water Markets In Breaking Gridlock In
Water Scarcity – A Replicable Policy Prescription At National Level
"Whiskey is for drinkin'; water
is for fi ghtin'."
-Mark Twain
Conferences like Paris Declaration
(1998), Millennium Development
Goals (2000), Vision 21:
Water for People (2003); and water policies
like National Water Policy (1987 and
2002) and Gujarat 2010 emphasises on access
to hygienic conditions, safe water and
sanitation as fundamental rights to be
achieved for all citizens of Gujarat.
As far as availability of water resources
are concerned, Gujarat can be divided into
three dependent hydro-geological units,
namely South, North Gujarat, Saurashtra
and Kachchh. South Gujarat is better
placed in terms of water resource potential
than other three regions. According to the
available statistics, Gujarat state has experienced
rising population on one hand
(from 19 million in 1951 to 60 million in
2001) and the declining water resources on
the other hand. As a result, the state has
experienced a consistent decline in per
capita availability of water, from more than
2000 cubic meters in 1951 to about 1200
cubic meter at present (Government of
Gujarat, 1999). It has been estimated that
the per capita availability will decline to
910 cubic meters in 2010 and to 800 cubic
meters in 2025 (Patel, 1998). The corresponding
figures for India are much higher,
150 cubic meters in 2010 and 1500 cubic
meters in 2025. Let us examine different
components of the total water resource
carefully like groundwater and surface
water resource.
a. Surface Water
As regard to surface water resources, regional
inequalities are high across the regions
(Table-1). The table shows that south
Gujarat has 54 percent of the total surface
water potential and 78 percent of the total
utilisable surface water potential of the
state. These percentages are much lower
in the other regions. This is mainly because
of the high rainfall (upto 2000 mm)
and the large number of perennial rivers
in South Gujarat. Saurashtra and Kachchh
have 71 and 97 rivers respectively, but except
for two major rivers, Bhadar and
Shetrunji, all the rivers are small and more
or less seasonal. In the case of South Gu-
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