New Delhi: At least 21 top cities in India will run out of ground water by 2020 affecting 100 million people, says a NITI Aayog report.

The top cities include Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. The report also states that 40% of the population, especially in these cities, will not have drinking water by 2030.

According to an ANI report, former director of National Water Academy professor Manohar Khushalani said, “The government is counting on the desalination in Chennai which is very expensive. However, the government forgets that the earth is a limited planet and that the oceans will dry. What will we leave for our children and grandchildren? We may have a lot of money, but we cannot ask our children to drink money instead of water. Using ocean water and desalination is not the solution but water harvesting is."

"It is a collective responsibility of the government and people of the country to save water and contribute to increasing the groundwater levels," he added.

Khushalani has made provision for a water harvesting structure inside his residence. He has been harvesting rainwater since 2003. A considerable increase in the groundwater level has been reported since then.

Khushalani also spoke about smart measures of farming and said that crops like sugarcane absorb a lot of ground water. So, the farmers in the arid regions should be aware of these facts and consider them while deciding to grow crops on their field.

"By becoming aware today, we can avert the danger tomorrow," Khushalani said.

Most states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh are facing heatwaves and the monsoon has been delayed in many parts of the country.