Clean Water: A Key Aspiration
Water facilities play an important role in not just agriculture but human flourishing.
Adrija Chaudhuri
Water facilities play an important role in not just agriculture but human flourishing. And yet, rural areas continue to face difficulties in accessing water for drinking, domestic use and farming. It was sobering to see that a basic utility such as access to clean water was a key aspiration voiced by rural communities across the country. It was also one of the first challenges that came to their minds when prompted. At our Jodhpur convening, two women in purdah broke their reserved silence to tell us about the long distances (close to 10 km) they walked everyday to collect water. They had travelled from the semi-arid Nagaur district of Rajasthan and did not have access to tubewells or taps. The lack of water for drinking and irrigation was echoed by participants hailing from districts across Rajasthan, including Barmer, Balotra, Falodi, Sikar, Jodhpur, Pali and Udaipur. Farmers from these areas also lamented the decline in groundwater levels and its contamination.
The primacy of water issues in one of the most arid regions of the country was, although distressing, not surprising. However, problems with accessing water were prevalent even in states receiving high rainfall such as Odisha and Meghalaya. In Meghalaya, participants from the three main hill regions, Garo, Khasi and Jaintia, faced water shortages in the dry winter season. They did not have easy access to drinking water and even running water from taps. The lack of water for irrigation made them dependent on rainfall for agriculture. In Odisha, where we had participants from 21 districts out of 30, the lack of drinking water and irrigation facilities figured prominently, indicating the widespread nature of the issue.
Rural citizens also expressed concern for the degradation of their local water bodies. As mentioned earlier, in Muzaffarnagar, the pollution of groudwater was raised. In Tamil Nadu, especially, our participants were highly aware of water related issues regarding the pollution of rivers, lakes and streams of the Western Ghats. Groundwater was also being contaminated by industries. They recommended the revamping and conservation of water bodies and the diversion of water from rivers and dams into agricultural fields.
part of the blame.
There was also a strong sentiment in Rajasthan regarding corruption. Participants called for putting a stop to influencing votes by giving money and promising freebies. People wanted to bar corrupt politicians or those with criminal records from contesting elections. Citizens are tired of jumlas (false promises) and want their candidates to be held accountable to their campaign promises if they get elected. It appears that “corruption mukt Bharat” is still a distant dream. Apart from the elections, corruption emerged as a big issue in governance as well. Most rural citizens felt that corruption in local governance was impeding the progress of their village. Corruption in panchayats and the cooperative sector was the topic of many a heated discussion in Muzaffarnagar and Jodhpur. Strengthening the Gram Sabhas was seen as a possible solution to encourage accountability at the local level. In Bhubaneswar, participants were weary of facing corruption in every sector, including in government schemes like NREGA, and dreamed of a corruptionfree Odisha. In Shillong too, participants asked for a corruption-free government that would actually deliver on the promises made.
People vote after careful consideration
When people were asked to state the top issues that would determine their votes in the state and national elections, they gave it a lot of thought before individually writing it down. The analysis of people’s opinions reveals some interesting observations.
People are politically aware. There is a distinct difference between issues prioritized for central government and those prioritized for state government. And the division is reasonably accurate in terms of their constitutional role. In Meghalaya, for instance, the most desirable ask from their Lok Sabha candidates was to represent the state and its indigenous culture at the national level, recognize the tribal languages in the Eighth Schedule, enable peace and help implement national schemes in the state. From their candidates in state elections, they wanted to hear about community development, water supply and employment. Similarly in Rajasthan, while the Vidhan Sabha candidates were to focus on jobs, law and order, education, and electricity, their national government representative’s focus should be on interlinking rivers. Water and corruption revealed themselves consistently in conversations around voting across the regions. The discourse on corruption seems to have reduced in recent years, yet the lived experience of people suggests that it is a widely occurring pertinent issue.
Rural India is asking for its rightful place
“Rajnaitik dal, grameen vikas ki yojnaon ke muddo ko apne goshna patr mein shaamil kar, goshna patr sammiti mein grameeno ka pratinidhitva sunischit karein.”
The latent sentiment across more than 300 citizens from 60 districts was for a recognition of rural India’s
RNI No: DELBIL/2024/86754 Email: [email protected]