Sanjeev Maheshwari¹, Tahsinur Rahman Warsi¹, Mohammad Arif Kamal^2,

The congruous and sustainable development of any nation/region is dependent on several ingredients of development being given their right and judicious due / consideration in overall planning and implementation. India over a period of a couple of centuries has witnessed the highest level of exploitation of natural wealth and resources because of so-called development and population explosion. The industrial manufacturing activities and even exploitive agricultural practices initially saw the extinction of large and dense forests followed by pollution and contamination of air, water, and land. The severity of air pollution is not felt in one geographical locale but ill effects of water and land pollution are immediately noticeable in a land entity characterized as a nation, India over a period of time has polluted its almost all freshwater reservoir and resources leading to an unprecedented crisis. In this paper, a qualitative research method has been used. The systematic literature review has been explored through the internet and secondary data from relevant published academic literature from journal articles and research papers. The present paper critically examines the dismal scenario of water with reference to the comprehensive sustainable development in India.

water, sustainable development, environment, India