Right to Clean Water as a Fundamental Right

All plants and animals need water to survive. Without water, there will be no life on our planet. In a Human body, 60% of its weight is water. For the survival of a human, water is more essential than food. For animals and plants, water is only essential for drinking and survival purposes whereas humans rely more on the water than only on drinking. We need water for cleanliness (which includes washing, bathing, cleaning, and sanitary purposes), for cooking, for agriculture for industrial purposes for fire safety purposes, and for recreational purposes like swimming pools and fountains.

Availability of water

With water being so vital in our lives we should constantly monitor the availability of water. 90% of the earth is covered with water. This figure is only good as numbers because despite having so much water on earth, water is still a scarce resource. 96.5% of Earth’s water is in the seas and oceans, 2.5% is freshwater, and around 1% is salt groundwater. Freshwater assets are almost 70% secured in ice, and a large portion of the rest is in the ground. So the water we get is mostly from rains, rivers, and glaciers. India consists 17% of the world’s total population but it has only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources.

Need for safe water

The amount of freshwater we have is not sufficient for everyone. Even if it were sufficient we cannot consume the water directly from the sources like rivers and lakes. Even though these sources are having freshwater, the water from them is not consumable. Humans require water that is potable. That means it must be free of all disease-causing germs, bacteria, viruses, and fungi. To remove them water must go through a long process of purifying and disinfection to become safe for drinking and other uses. 

Effects of unsafe water

Unsafe water which has disease-causing microbes causes adverse health issues. Many diseases are waterborne like diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, etc., and unsafe water can cause epidemic situations that result in high deaths. Water that is contaminated by industrial waste or due to regional mineral existence can cause long-term diseases like rickets and fluorosis. Many people yearly die because of water-borne diseases.

Fundamental rights- Article 21

Fundamental rights are vital and at the heart of the constitution. Among them, the right to life is an important right that comes under Article 21 of the Indian constitution. In right to life along with many other basic things, people need to live a decent life the right to pollution-free air and water is included. This is because air and water are crucial for a person to survive and pure air and water is a basic rights a citizen should have.  That means every citizen is entitled to receive safe and hygienic drinking water. Every person irrespective of income and status should have access to clean water.

The right to water is a fundamental right that is claimable in court if violated. Many cases were held in supreme and high courts based on the violation of the right to water. For example, the Andhra Pradesh government had conceded permission to a contaminating industry and permitted it to be set up almost two principal supplies in Andhra Pradesh – the Himayat Sagar lake, the Osman Sagar lake. The Supreme Court struck down such an exception and held that the “environment Protection Act and The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 did not empower the State to allow exclusion to a specific industry inside the area disallowed.

Laws to protect – Right to Water

As a Right to Water is a fundamental right we can claim it in court if it is violated. It is more like a measure. But to make sure a situation like a violation of the right to water does not occur some laws are needed. Many laws have been made even before independent India and after the independence when the right to water was a made fundamental right. The majority of these are worried about water supply for the end goal of drinking, water system, and restoration of evacuees impacted by the activities of plans for water assets the executives. 

• Indian Easements Act, 1882: This was passed by the British government and it recognizes the right of the riparian owner. This means a landowner has equal right to use the water that flows through his land along with his neighboring landowners and to have the water not diminished or polluted by the time the water reaches his land.
• Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974: This act constitutionally introduced and empowered The Pollution Control Board at the Center and in the State. It empowers them to carry various functions which aid to curb the pollution of water and promote cleanliness of water. The Water Act says that no industry or any treatment and removal system can be laid out without the previous assent of the State Board. This ensures that there will be no industry which can be established which releases its toxic waste into the air or water causing pollution. Separate standards are given to industries, which specify which toxins are permissible and level of toxicity in the waste to be discarded before they let it into air or water. That means the toxins should be filtered and treated before releasing them into the environment. 
• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986: Here environment includes air water land and the inter relation between them and living beings and property. Its main aim is to improve the quality of environment and at the same time protecting it from getting polluted. The Act approves the Central Government to lay out guidelines for the nature of the climate and for outflows of release of ecological toxins from any source.

The Government policies and Decisions

• National water policy: National Water Policy was introduced by the Ministry of Water Resources  in September, 1987. It was formed to govern the planning and development of water resources. It was updated in 2002 and 2012. Its monitors planning of resources considers impact of hydro projects on human settlements and environment, provides Guidelines for the safety of dams and other hydro projects. and regulates exploitation of groundwater .
• Jal Jeevan mission: It’s a mission whose mission is to provide drinking water to all households by providing individual taps by the year 2024. It also implements measures for sustainable use of water by grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting etc.
• National water mission: The main objectives of this mission are conservation of water, minimizing the wastage of water and managing resources so that nation would receive equal supply of water. It aims to increase the waste efficiency by 20% by forming regulations and pricing that means indirectly reducing wastage of water. It emphasizes on recycling of wastewater improving storage above and below ground, rainwater harvesting, adoption of water saving irrigation programs like sprinklers, drip and ridge and furrow irrigation systems.
• Central water commission: It is a technical organization and is a part of the Jal Jeevan mission. It takes the responsibility to consult state governments regarding the issues related to water and coordination of schemes for preservation, control, and usage of water resources. They also help states governments in control and forecast of floods. It has three wings namely Designs and Research (D&R), River Management (RM) Wing, and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing and each wing has multiple organizations under them which aids to reach their goals and tasks.

Sample Questions

Question 1: What is the availability of water and the need for safe water?

Answer:

With water being so vital in our lives we should constantly monitor the availability of water. 90% of earth is covered with water. This figure is only good as numbers because despite having so much water on earth, water is still a scarce resource. The 96.5% of Earth’s water is in the seas and oceans, 2.5% is fresh water, and around 1% is salt ground water. Freshwater assets are almost 70% secured in ice, and a large portion of the rest is in the ground. So the water we get is mostly from rains, rivers and glaciers. India consists 17% of world’s total population but it has only 4% of the world’s fresh water resources.

The amount of fresh water we have not sufficient for everyone. Even if it were sufficient we cannot consume the water directly from the sources like rivers and lakes. Even though these sources are having freshwater, the water from them is not consumable. Humans require water which is potable. That means it must be free all disease causing germs, bacteria, virus and fungi. To remove them water must go through a long process of purifying and disinfection to become safe for drinking and other uses. 

Question 2: Why is right to water included in right to life?

Answer:

Fundamental rights are vital and heart of the constitution. Among them right to life is an important right which comes under Article 21 of the Indian constitution. In right to life along with many other basic things people need to live a decent life the right to pollution free air and water is included. This is because air and water are crucial for a person to survive and pure air and water is a basic right a citizen should have.  For the survival of a human being water is more essential than food. For animals and plants water is only essential for drinking and survival purposes whereas humans rely more on water than only drinking.  That means every citizen should be entitled to receive safe and hygienic drinking water. Every person irrespective of income and status should have access to clean water.

Question 3: How does right to water being a fundamental right help?

Answer:

Right to water being a fundamental right is claimable in court if violated. Many cases were held in supreme and high courts based on the violation of right to water. For example the Andhra Pradesh government had conceded permission to a contaminating industry and permitted it to be set up almost two principle supplies in Andhra Pradesh – the Himayat Sagar lake, the Osman Sagar lake. The Supreme Court struck down such exception and held that the “environment Protection Act and The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 did not empower to the State to allow exclusion to a specific industry inside the area disallowed.

Question 4: What are the uses of law and mention some laws related to water?

Answer:

As a Right to Water is a fundamental right we can claim it in the court if it is violated. It is more like a after measure. But to make sure a situation like violation of right to water does not occur some laws are needed. Many laws have been made from even before independent India and after the independence when right to water was a made fundamental right. The majority of these are worried about water supply for the end goal of drinking, water system, and restoration of evacuees impacted by the activities of plans for water assets the executives.

1. Indian Easements Act, 1882
2. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
3. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986