Title: Water security and sustainability in urban India

Authors: Abdul Shaban; Sanjukta Sattar

Addresses: Centre for Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai 400088, India. ' Department of Geography, Gokhale Memorial Girls' College, 1/1 Harish Mukherjee Road, Kolkata 700020, India

Abstract: The rapid growth of population combined with rising levels of consumption and pollution has increased water insecurity in urban India. The depleting water sources on the one hand, higher financial and technological costs to refine and transport water from far off sources on the other, leave limited possibilities to augment the water supply in the near future. Climate change may further adversely impact the available sources of fresh water supply. Intra-urban and inter-class water supplies are also issues in Indian towns and cities. A large section of population in urban India collects water from public and private sources located far away from their residence and bears direct and indirect enormous opportunity cost. The present paper discusses these aspects of water security and sustainability in urban India and highlights monitory and social costs of collection of water located away from premises.

Keywords: urbanisation; water insecurity; inequality; opportunity costs; climate change; India; water security; sustainability; sustainable development; urban development; water collection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2011.044552

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2011 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.231 - 254

Received: 29 Dec 2010
Accepted: 26 Aug 2011
Published online: 23 Oct 2014 *

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