Sustainable management is the long-term management of natural resources to ensure that they last for future generations and are not exploited for short-term advantage. Economic, environmental, and social sustainability are the three pillars of sustainability. Informally, these three pillars are known as people, planet, and profits.

If we only achieve two of the three pillars of Sustainable Development, which of the following statements is correct?

A study of rainfall patterns does not reveal the whole truth behind the water availability in various regions in India. Rains in India are largely due to the monsoons. This means that most of the rain falls in a few months of the year. Despite nature’s monsoon bounty, failure to sustain water availability underground has resulted largely from the loss of vegetation cover, diversion for high water demanding crops, and pollution from industrial effluents and urban wastes.

Which is the better option, Collecting rainwater in ponds or artificial lakes or let it recharge groundwater by water harvesting? Justify your answer.