India, Nov. 13 -- As India's water crisis deepens, the Jal Shakti ministry has the unenviable task of setting right a system mortgaged to the Nehruvian model of big dams and the green revolution

The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has the responsibility of forcing the proverbial genie linked to water distress, into the bottle.

Water distress today is a lot about development, environment, climate, community, infrastructure, economics, politics and water. The entire arithmetic needs to be relooked through appropriate policy changes.

The urban-rural water crisis has common roots, as expanding cities make inroads into rural neighbourhoods for their water needs. In India, the needs of the city are being given greater preference, even as the rural...