On Water Sustainability, India May Learn From Ideas Flowing From All Directions

The champions of peace and harmony predicted long back that if the third world war ever took place, it would be over water. However, they seem to have undermined the extent of the problem. In India, the recent agitations over the Cauvery water dispute seem to be proving if two states of one country declared war against each other, it would be over water. We have much to fear as the top cities of the country have found their place at the bottom of a global water sustainability index.The index, prepared by Amsterdam-based global consultancy company Arcadis, ranked 50 cities based on their future preparedness to handle water issues, where Mumbai and New Delhi found the 49th and 50th place, respectively. The index was topped by Rotterdam, a city in the Netherland, while Denmark capital Copenhagen and capital of the Netherland Amsterdam found the second and third place, respectively. Worse still, no Asian city found a place in the Top 20 on the index. In a revelation that should tell India to learn from its neighbours, Bangladesh capital Doha has found the 41st rank at the index. At a time when India is on its way to start work on its ambitious plans for developing 100 smart cities and proving housing for all by 2022, its questionable water sustainability poses a question mark at the very start of things. While grand efforts are being made to develop cities with Wi-Fi connectivity and high-end traffic management systems, providing basic facilities such as uninterrupted power and water supply could prove to be a Herculean Task for this fast-developing economy.

"The rate of urbanisation in the developing world is quite extreme," Bloomberg quoted Arcadis Global Cities Director John Batten as saying. "You look at China: buildings first, people second in terms of priorities of urbanisation. Now, you find cities in Asia that are sort of retroactively addressing air quality and water contamination." It seems India is doing worse than China, another emerging superpower, as far as water sustainability is concerned. Being has found the 31st ranking in the index.