Task Group on Water Policy (led by Mihir Shah, S V Ranganath and Sharachandra Lele). 2019. Karnataka State Water Policy 2019: Recommendation submitted to GoK. Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (Karnataka Knowledge Commission), Bengaluru

As in the rest of the country, the water crisis facing Karnataka is reaching unmanageable
proportions. This is reflected in grave agrarian distress but also in acute shortage of safe
drinking water for the people of the state, in both rural and urban areas.

The Government of Karnataka has consistently responded to the water crisis with appropriate
policies. The state adopted a water policy in 2002 and an urban water and sanitation policy in
2003. These policy documents made a major contribution in the shaping of water related
strategies and programmes in Karnataka. However, as outlined in this report, the 21st century
has seen dramatic changes in demography, economy and agriculture, and hence in the
demand for water in the state. The last few decades have also seen an intensification in the
impacts of climate change, landuse modifications and urbanization on the hydrology of river
basins, as also the finalization of inter-state tribunal awards on multiple river basins. All these
developments have substantially complicated and aggravated the water challenges in
Karnataka.