A study by NITI Aayog has found out that Odisha lags behind at the 18th place in its water management efforts. This has come at a time when the state faces impending water scarcity due to dams and barrages being built upstream river Mahanadi and Brahmani. The Aayog has taken four parameters-irrigation, drinking water supply, flood management, and rainwater harvesting to evaluate a state’s performance on the water management front. The state has been shown as a poor performer on groundwater management as only 0.17% of the land is irrigated by ground water. Similarly, only 1.7% of the land is irrigated by canals which are pretty low as compared to other states. No rainwater harvesting project is implemented in the state. There is also no long-term flood management strategy and the government responds only to emerging situations with the resources available at its command.
While making effort to ensure the states due to share of water, it has also to be seen that the water available to us is managed properly. Without a proper strategy for optimal utilization of water, the benefits of the higher availability of water can’t be accrued.