VANISHA SINGH IX A FR.

AGNEL SCHOOL, GREATER NOIDA

Water Debate 2022

Target – 450 words

Should water be priced or free?

Poem

Conditions

Freebies

Awareness

Need of the hour – Water Pricing

Thank You

In the support of Priced Water

My grandfather cherished the rivers,

My father celebrated the tanks

I suffice with the bottles

Will the next generation spot it pictures?

Saying that like sunlight and air, water also comes from nature so it should be free is according to
logical views, a very big misconception at this time. It is obviously our human right to get safe access
to sufficient water for our personal and domestic needs. But, let’s take a look at what is the condition
of water in our country:

 600 million people, or nearly half of India's population, face extreme water stress
 There are 200,000 deaths per year due to inadequate access to safe drinking water
 By 2050, 6% of GDP will be lost due to water crisis
 India ranked 120 out of 122 countries in Global Water Quality Index with nearly 70% of
accessible water being contaminated.
People tend to neglect the importance of water conservation because in most places it is free of cost or
charged nominally. Water being a human right doesn’t mean it has to be free for everyone regardless
of their financial conditions. This human right means that water should be accessible to all. The
accessibility of water in a particular area depends upon the policies of the government and authorities
and the awareness of people.

Supplying free water to all people would pose a great harm both to the economy and the standard of
living. Water is a scarce resource. At this time, we need to know the importance of water and learn to
use it wisely.
Many parties are promising free water through subsidy without working on any proper plan to execute
it sustainably. The so called ‘Freebies’ are actually worsening the problem of water crisis in our
country. Rich homes often have subsidized pipelines or submersibles which provide water at
relatively low prices. In contrast, people living in slum areas do not even have connections and
VANISHA SINGH IX A FR. AGNEL SCHOOL, GREATER NOIDA

therefore, have to buy water from local tankers, spending up to 100 times more for water of
unverifiable quality and safety. High water subsidy services under governmental control have led to
water being an under-priced commodity, and consequently, the community consistently perceives that
water is free. This rather makes people think “Abhi toh kaam chal raha hai”. When water is free,
individuals will not have an incentive to invest in water saving technologies. This is where the
problem occurs. Also, free water supplied is many times not of a good quality and in turn, lead to
distress caused by health problems caused by drinking contaminated water. As told earlier, nearly
70% of total accessible water of our country is contaminated.
This situation is entirely counterproductive to our goals of sustainable development. Hence, adding to
the probability that by 2030, 40% of population of our country won’t have access to drinking water.

Hence, we need a strong political structure for connecting rural areas and informal settlements. This
system should work on the principle of ‘Taking and giving’. Those who earn and can afford water
services should be charged for it and those people facing water scarcity with a bad quality of water
would be supplied water.
But as far as I could think, if we want to redistribute money to the poor, giving cash transfers would
be preferable to selling water at a 0 price. With cash transfers, the poor could choose whether they
wanted to spend their money on water or other necessities such as food and shelter. If cash transfers
are not feasible, a voucher program could be instituted
Moreover, pricing water can prove to be beneficial for both the people and the economy of our
country. First, it depends on the psychological factor. We only know the value of something if we pay
its price. For instance, if fixing a leaky pipe in your house costs $1000, you’re much more likely to
pay to fix the leak if you also have to pay for each drop of the wasted water. When water is free, you
may put off fixing the pipe perhaps indefinitely.
The second reason is that when we pay for a thing, we want it to be in the best condition. So, paying a
price for water, we would also ensure that the quality of water is good by having regular checks and
would inform the authorities if it is not of a drinkable quality.
The third and one of the most important reasons is paying a price for water would also supply the
government with some funds. As we know, we pay a tax for almost everything we buy. So, we would
supply the government with some more tax which would later be used for development of slum areas
and making a stronger network of pipelines to supply water to the entire country.
A positive price on water will compel individuals and businesses to conserve water.
So, those who can afford to, should pay a reasonable and fair price of access of water. But for people
who cannot pay for reasons beyond their control, water should be supplied to them through a better
system of water management and distribution.
Thank You