A steering committee, led by Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand, is likely to recommend a clear methodology to define and assess water neutrality and water positivity required across sectors to ensure sustainable use of water and propose incentives based on the assessment, a senior government official told ET.
The committee is also expected to reassess the water resource scenario of India and make future projections of water requirements to arrive at benchmarks for water neutrality.
Incentives could include rebates to individuals and industry to use appliances with water-efficient models and supplying free retrofit kits for households and businesses to avoid wastage, among others.
The government is of the view that water conservation, efficiency improvement, wastewater treatment, reuse and recycling of water are paramount in ensuring water security. But this is possible only with a defined methodology on water neutrality, the official said.
As per a NITI Aayog report of 2018, India’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply by 2030. Presently, 600 million people in India face high to extreme water stress in the country with three-fourth of the households devoid of drinking water at their premises, it said.