WHAT ARE THE SIGNALS FOR INDIAN WATER SECTOR IN UNION BUDGET 2019?

Union Minister Piyush Goyal presented an interim budget (2019-20) in the parliament of India this Friday. Yes, it was only an interim budget - we can’t and won’t judge the overall focus and efforts of government on water sector based on this. This was the last budget before the general elections (due in May 2019). Hence, we did expect a shot in the arm (if not something major) for the water sector which has the real potential to be India’s next sunrise industry. Let’s take a look at what all was relevant to the flagship projects of current government like #NamamiGange, and #SmartCities, etc.

In 2014, Rs. 7000 crores were kept for Smart Cities Schemes, of which less than 2% have been released till now. There was no new announcement or mention about it this the interim budget.

In the last 5 years, around 6% work has been done under the Smart Cities projects. And the trend is continuing. Moreover, there is a 9% cut in the funds allocated to the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation.

Mentioning the 10 Point Vision, Piyush Goyal, said, "Our rivers and water bodies are our life-supporting assets. Our Government has worked vigorously for cleaning River Ganga. The Fifth Dimension of our Vision for India of 2030 is Clean Rivers, with safe drinking water to all Indians, sustaining and nourishing life and efficient use of water in irrigation using micro-irrigation techniques.”

o Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, which aimed at ensuring robust sewage networks, water supply, and other infrastructures to improve the quality of life of people in urban areas, was given Rs 7,300 crore, which was Rs 6,000 crore in the current fiscal.

o Smart Cities Mission, under which the government has selected 100 cities, has been given Rs 6,600 crore as against Rs 6,169 crore in the last budget.

o Allocation to another flagship programme of the government, Swachh Bharat Mission has been increased to Rs 2,750 crore from Rs 2,500 crore in the current financial year.

“An India which is clean and healthy, where everybody would have a house with universal access to toilets, water, and electricity. One of the dimensions of our vision for India of 2030 is clean rivers with safe drinking water to all Indians,” Goyal said. He also mentions, “The Aspirational Districts Programme, for the 115 most backward districts of the country, has achieved notable results with improved performance on all indicators - health and nutrition, education, agriculture & water resources, financial inclusion and skill development.”

Some of the reactions (from the #WaterSector and media) worth mentioning are:-

Union Minister for River Development, Rejuvenation and Clean Ganga Mission, Nitin Gadkari says, “The way India’s infrastructure is improving, be it highways, airports, river ports or seaports, India is moving towards a New India of 21st century that is “satisfied, content and prosperous. The new India uses the latest technology in every field…from transport to roads, agriculture to industry, from small to large industries.”

Ranganath NK, Managing Director, Grundfos India, says, "This year's union budget is good for the common man despite it being an interim budget. The government has not only revitalized its vision for the infrastructure sector but has also strengthened its commitment to promote renewable energy. The budget reinforces the direction to make India a global leader in the solar power by actively leading the agenda to reduce climate change by setting up the International Solar Alliance treaty. We are happy to note the solar power generation in the last five years has increased by 10 times. This will encourage further adoption of solar installations and will also create lakhs of job opportunities in the sector. We hope that this will also lead to the implementation of solar pumps in the agricultural sector, thereby strengthening the country’s water and energy security further."

Bidisha Nagaraj, Vice President, Marketing, Schneider Electric India, says, “With the growing focus on gender diversity and need for female leadership, the Union Budget 2019 is noteworthy, given its emphasis on empowering women at large. By making it mandatory for the government enterprises to source at least 3% from women-owned SMEs, the budget seeks to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among women, which is very encouraging.”

Bloomberg Quint notes that..."The increasing allocations since 2014 for Swachh Bharat have come at the cost of drinking water. India faces the worst crisis in its history with nearly 600 million Indians facing high-to-extreme water stress, and 21 Indian cities set to run out of groundwater by 2020. After many years of prioritizing allocations for sanitation, it was expected that the interim budget (or at least the revised allocations for 2018-19) would finally indicate a shift. Surprisingly, allocations for the National Rural #Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) have not changed significantly. Instead, allocations decreased by 22% from the budget to the revised estimates for 2018-19. The interim budget sees a 17% increase over the 2018-19 budget estimates. The government’s own data show that only 44% of rural habitations are provided drinking water at 55 liters per capita per day (LPCD) as on Jan. 1, 2019, up from 43% in 2014-15, reported Accountability Initiative. India’s commitment of ensuring piped water supply to 80% households by 2020 remains elusive given that coverage was only 18% as on Dec. 31, 2018.”

DownToEarth summarizes the interim budget, "Most of the environmental issues - pollution free nation, cleaning rivers, protecting the coastline, self-sufficiency in food and good health infrastructure - only found a mention in the ‘Vision for the Next Decade’ section of Goyal’s speech. None of these had any tangible targets or action plans."

Frankly, I can’t sum it up better than that. Here, it is worth mentioning that last year, a CAG report had said that underutilized funds and an absence of a long-term plan are affecting the rejuvenation of river Ganga. On the other hand, Union Minister for the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MOWR & GR) Nitin Gadkari had declared (after taking charge of the ministry) that Ganga will be cleaned by March 2019. That was a departure from the position of his predecessor, Uma Bharati, who had said the river would be clean by 2018. We can safely expect a new ‘target date’ now.

Let’s hope that the newly elected government (in May/June) would come up with a concrete plan for next 25 years, allocate the funds for these projects within the stipulated time period, and focus more on the execution of projects which are already announced. A potential sunrise industry like the Indian #Water Sector would need all the push it could get from the government as well the industry stakeholders. What do you think...?

- Mayur Sharma, Editor, Smart Water & Waste World Magazine

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