The economic prosperity and development strategy of a country depends upon the proper utilization of its water resources, particularly the river waters. For a country like India, water is more valuable than land, because, when applied to land, it increases its productiveness at least six fold and renders great extents of land productive, which otherwise would produce nothing or next to nothing.
The country enjoys an average rainfall of about 110 cms, which if distributed over the country’s land area of 328 million hectares will give a total precipitation of 3,700 billion cubic metres (b.cu.m.) whose 33 per cent is lost due to evaporation, 22 per cent seeps into the ground and 45 per cent flows through surface run off. The Khosla Commission estimates the water resources of all river basins to 1,888,057 million cubic metres (m.cu.m.) and the groundwater recharge to 424 m cu. m.
The unequal distribution of water in space and time and a steady increase in the need of water (which are not necessarily limited to areas having adequate water supplies) make water a scarce resource.
The conservation of water and its equitable and rational use is, therefore, a matter of great national importance. Since Independence an integrated development of water resources has been taken up to meet the requirement of irrigation, drainage, flood control, navigation, recreational facilities, hydroelectric power generation, water supply for industrial and domestic uses, land reclamation and water pollution etc.