Why has state-level adoption of treated wastewater reuse policies remained the exception rather than the rule in India despite a National Framework? Suggest measures.

Water being a State subject (Entry 17, List II), the Union's National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Waste Water, along with its draft policy template, can only guide — not compel — States [3]. Consequently, dedicated reuse policies, recently notified by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, remain isolated successes rather than a national norm.

Why adoption remains the exception

• Advisory character: the Framework is a template, not a statutory mandate; adoption depends wholly on State political will [3].
• Infrastructure deficit: installed sewage treatment capacity covers only a fraction of urban sewage generated, and even that capacity is under-utilised — with few functional STPs, a reuse policy has little to regulate [2].
• Absence of enforceable standards: States lack common, end-use-specific quality norms, leaving industry and municipalities without regulatory certainty [1].
• Weak demand and distorted pricing: near-free groundwater and subsidised freshwater make treated water commercially unattractive, deterring investment.
• Institutional fragmentation: urban local bodies, water boards and pollution control boards operate in silos, with limited technical capacity for fit-for-purpose planning.
• Social acceptance: farmer and consumer hesitancy over treated water in irrigation persists [4].

Measures

• Time-bound State reuse policies with phased targets by 2030, backed by enforceable common standards for agriculture, industry and non-potable domestic use [1].
• Create assured offtake by mandating sectoral reuse, extending the model of the Power Tariff Policy, 2016, which requires thermal plants to use STP water from within 50 km [3].
• Fund reuse infrastructure through blended finance and PPP, converging AMRUT 2.0 and Namami Gange's Arth Ganga monetisation with volumetric water pricing.
• Scale peri-urban agricultural reuse using NITI Aayog's strategy, alongside farmer awareness drives [4].
• Institutionalise digital monitoring and a single nodal State agency for accountability.

Reuse is the cheapest new source of water India possesses. Converting a national template into enforceable State policy — with standards, finance and functioning STPs behind it — would advance both SDG 6 and a genuine circular water economy.