Internationally acclaimed geo-scientist Virendra M Tiwari has been heading the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) for the past three years. Earlier, he headed the National Centre for Earth Science Studies under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. During the past three decades, he has contributed over six dozen research papers to international science journals.

His main area of research is the earth structure and dynamics to find a solution for challenges relating to water, energy and earthquakes. His team of over 100 scientists is conducting seismological studies on the movement of plates deep inside the earth, earth’s structure, its dynamics and resources.

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Besides studying minerals in the earth, geo-hazards and potential catastrophes, he is also providing recommendations to the Union Government on how to recharge underground water aquifers to increase the country’s underground water wealth. Tiwari did his doctorate from Banaras Hindu University.

He has contributed to the oil and mineral industries and received several national and international awards. He is also a member of 18 prominent national committees and six international committees.

In an interview to VIJAY THAKUR, Tiwari spoke of how to recharge aquifers and manage water scarcity in the country. Excerpts:

Q: The Modi government has taken up several schemes for water harvesting and water management to conserve water and prevent its misuse. It is stressing on water harvesting structures in urban areas and watershed programmes in rural areas.You have done research on India’s water management and its necessity for sustainable irrigation. What is your take?

A: The initiative taken by the government is great. Water reserves are depleting fast, particularly in Northern India. According to a rough estimate we are taking out 30 gigalitres of water every year from our underground reserves. The situation is alarming. In future water will become one of the biggest challenges for humanity, not only in India but the entire world. Countries like India, which are primarily dependent upon agriculture, would be most affected. Having said that, I would add that there is an urgent need for a proper water management plan for replenishable water to sustain agriculture, a scientific way to harvest water, and proper accounting of underground water reserves.

Q: This is exactly what the government is doing.How are your plans different?

A: I do not question the govenrment’s intention and appreciate its efforts and initiatives in all fields. What I say is it should be done after understanding our aquifers and water retention capabilities. Two-thirds of India’s land has hard rocks underground, which means our efforts to harvest water will not pay desired results until we know the underground situation. If there are hard rocks deep inside, water harvesting would have little or no result as water would not percolate down. What I suggest is a proper mapping of aquifers and framing policies accordingly. If we know our underground situation, water harvesting would bear more fruit. Underground water storage on a large scale would only be possible if the concerned department was told where the aquifers are and where they can recharge.

Q: Is your institute doing something in this direction?

A: Yes, we have started a project using state-of-the-art technology, helibone electro magnetic survey, to find resources potential of a region. We also call it aquifer mapping. We have also suggested that the Jal Shakti Ministry have a decision support tool (DST). This means calculating the intensity of rain in a region, weather condition of that particular region, its water requirement for irrigation, domestic use and industrial demand. Finally, all the factors should be numerically calibrated to find a solution for prudent use of water.

Q: Do you think farmers should also be taken into confidence while making a water policy for a region?

A: Yes, that’s what we should do. The DST data must be shared with all stakeholders, the state government, Central government and farmers. If a farmer knows how much water is available in his underground water bank, he would prefer to grow crops, according to water availability. This practice would certainly pay dividends. Farmers in India are very cooperative. If they know their water bank account is low they would certainly not waste their underground water reserves.

Q: We know our water reserves are depleting fast.What other water related problems are we going to face in future?

A: The quantity of water is certainly a big problem in India, but a bigger problem is the quality of water. The main cause of concern is contamination of aquifers. The quality of water has gone down very rapidly and underground water contamination is present in almost every part of the country in one form or the other. Thirty years ago, arsenic contamination was limited to Bangladesh. Now it has spread to West Bengal, Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh along the Ganga basin. One hypothesis is that arsenic contamination could be because of excess withdrawal of water. There are reports of arsenic in water in various parts of the country. It is leading to arsenic contamination of the food chain as crops are irrigated with arsenic-contaminated water. All this is likely to impact the health of the people.

Q: Israel has done remarkably well in the prudent use of water. Their water management system is probably the best in the world. Do we need to learn some lessons from Israel?

A: Israel, no doubt, has done wonders in water management. But you cannot compare India with Israel. Water usage pattern and water management depends upon several factors. Unlike Israel, land holding in India is very small, sometimes even less than an acre. Secondly per capita income in India is much less than in Israel. Also, our farmers are not as educated as farmers in Israel. So we need to understand whether costly technologies could be applicable to small land holdings, or to poor farmers who have little capital to invest in building infrastructure. Even if they used costly subsidised technology for agriculture, this would not serve the real purpose. Our agriculture scientists should device technology which suits our marginal farmers and fits their pockets. At the same time it should highlight our age-old water saving technologies. The scientists should review cropping pattern, availability of water, weather predictions and educate farmers on which crop to grow and which would give them real value for money in long terms. I remember 30 years ago farmers in Telangana used 70 per cent surface water for their crop and 30 per cent underground water reserves. Today the cycle is reversed, they use 70 to 80 per cent underground water and only 20 to 30 per cent surface water. We seriously need to introspect where we went wrong.