Decentralised Water Management in small towns of India

Rémi de Bercegol (1) , Shankare Gowda (2)

1 LATTS - Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés
2 CSH - Centre de sciences humaines de New Delhi

In India, the limited impact of the decentralisation reform on urban drinking water accessibility poses new questions both technical and institutional, especially in small indian municipalities. Based on empirical data from a recent doctoral research, we will analyse the water service management of four small towns in eastern Uttar Pradesh, a poor state in northern India, where expectation of improvement are strong. Beyond their singularity, each of these towns is facing the same kinds of water services problems and governance needs. Their comparison is relevant to highlight the general process of decentralisation, and at the same time, to underline the permanent role of the state in water accessibility. For that, interviews have been done with users, political leaders and government officials appointed at different levels (local, regional and state. Our aim is to give an idea of the municipal building of these small towns and its impact on water service.

Keywords: Urban India; small towns; municipalities; decentralisation reforms; water management

Domains: Environment and Society

Rémi de Bercegol, Shankare Gowda. Decentralised Water Management in small towns of India. 13th edition of the World Wide Workshop for Young Environmental Scientists (WWW-YES-2013) - Urban waters: resource or risks?, Jun 2013, Arcueil, France. ⟨hal-00843101⟩