Governing Water in India: Inequality, Reform, and the State

Water scarcity is an urgent concern due to droughts and competing pressures on water resources, exacerbated by inequities of access and the failures of state governance to regulate use. Leela Fernandes' analysis of colonial historical legacies, developmental-state policies, and economic reforms in Chennai highlights the configuration of colonial historical legacies, developmental-state policies, and economic reforms that strain water resources and intensify inequality. Understanding the political economy of water illuminates the failures of the state within countries of the Global South.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 298 pages
Publication date: 13 September 2022
Publisher: University of Washington Press

Droughts are getting worse, and there are more demands on water resources, which is a big problem caused by global climate change. In India, the different needs of people, businesses, and farms make it harder for everyone to get enough water, and the government's ability to control how it is used is not working well. State policies and institutions that follow models from other countries cause and make social inequality worse in the water system.

Leela Fernandes looks at how colonial history, government policies after independence, and economic changes have affected the availability of water and increased inequality. She studies how these things have worked together in the city of Chennai. While reforms aimed at improving water management promote privatization and decentralization, they also give the state more power over water by using city-based development models. Understanding the political economy of water helps us see why the state often fails in countries in the Global South.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780295750439