The problem of groundwater depletion in India is exacerbated because Indian farmers’ electricity bills are either free or heavily subsidized. As a result, many run their pumps with abandon, further depleting water tables.
In total India spends $8 billion to $9 billion annually subsidizing farmers’ electric water pumps. That’s half the amount spent on health care and twice what the state spends on education, according to government statistics.
While many say the answer to India’s groundwater problems and energy woes is to charge farmers the true cost of electricity, Saurabh Kumar, who heads the government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency in New Delhi, says that would only spark riots.
As a result, he is set to begin a $7.5 billion pilot program nationwide that will create more efficient groundwater pumps with meters and prepaid electricity credits, allowing farmers to draw roughly the same amount of water they use now. But if they pump less, they can pocket the savings. If they pump more, they pay more. Utility companies will also upgrade transmission and distribution lines to improve service.
Source: Daniel Pepper, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 May 2008
2 responses so far ↓
Quirky Indian // May 14, 2008 at 12:31 pm |
You have to undestand that we are Indians. We are a free people in a free country. That means the water and the electricity that we use is ours – so why should we pay for them? Ditto for any other freebies and subsidies we receive. It is our birthright. State Electricity Boards bleeding? Not our problem. Shortfall in power capacity and supply? Too bad. Not enough drinking water for people? Who cares. Lynching someone over water, like in Madhya Pradesh recently? Collateral damage. This is India.
Ratul Arya Baishya // August 17, 2008 at 8:26 pm |
According to me ,as I am an Ecologist, rain water harvesting should be practised in India in order to stop the depletion of groundwater. Otherwise it may be a thread to the whole Nation in the Near Future.