The Central and State governments of India have persistently endeavored to develop the nation’s share of freshwater resources, albeit at a pace slower than population-driven rise in demand for the resource. Failure in achieving desired objectives has been for a lack of strategic vision and synchronized action. With emerging challenges like climate change, India can no longer ignore the impending need to shift towards a more strategic management of water resources. A federal approach is therefore necessary to bring nation-wide structural reforms in the sector, focusing on deficit and surplus management for sustainable development of water resources.
A key challenge underlining these reforms is the stochastic nature of water resources. Moving off the beaten path, I propose four pillars of reforms in water resources management: (i) revamping the basic algorithm of planned development; (ii) creating area-based data systems; (iii) States’ own institutional restructuring; and (iv) integrated river basin evaluations. The strategic management approach here would bring in the dynamics of 4S: sensing, scanning, signaling, and strategizing. This will enable the planners and policy makers to pursue a coherent and synchronized federal response to future challenges of water governance. The suggested approach will also support decentralization, which is essential for sustainable development.