2 Aquifers as Common Pool Resources: Current Context
India is one of the most hydrogeologically diverse regions of the world. Two
distinctly different aquifer settings dominate India’s aquifer setting. Nearly,
1 million km
2 of India’s surface area is underlain by unconsolidated, river and
wind-blown deposits, while 1.5 million km
2 of its area is underlain by crystalline
rocks—ancient igneous and metamorphic—rocks, also called ‘hard-rocks’.
Together, these two hydrogeologically different aquifer systems underlie 70% of
India’s area and constitute the two dominant regions of large-scale groundwater
overexploitation. More than 80% of the region of groundwater exploitation in India
is underlain by these two aquifer systems (Kulkarni et al. 2015; CGWB 2017).
Moreover, it is interesting to note how rural and urban habitations in India are
distributed across its diverse aquifer settings (Fig. 1).
The great dependency of India’s major sectors on groundwater and the emerging
crises of depletion and contamination has meant growing competition and potential
conflicts over groundwater resources (Kulkarni and Vijay Shankar 2014). Such
competition is evident within each sector (farmer versus farmer) but is clearly
emerging in the form of inter-sectoral competition (agriculture versus urban
demands), leading to conflict. Many villages face acute drinking water scarcity,
especially during summers, as a consequence of large-scale groundwater irrigation
throughout the year. Not many of these conflicts are reported except the one about a
beverage company and a village panchayat (ELRS 2012).
India has the largest number of wells in the world. There are an estimated
29 million irrigation wells today across the country (5th Minor Irrigation Census,
Government of India). However, Shah (2009) had estimated 30 million irrigation
wells in India. While one can continue to argue about the actual numbers, it is
interesting to note how, in the last couple of decades, the rise in bore wells and tube
wells have enabled easy access to many users from greater and greater depths. For
instance, during the two decades from 1986 to 2006, the number of dug wells in the
Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh increased by one and a half times, while the
number of deep tube wells increased by thirteen times (Kulkarni et al. 2015), clearly
indicating that not only has the well-density significantly risen, but the competition
over chasing groundwater from greater depths has also gone up significantly. In
other words, groundwater users are competing for water in different aquifers, both
through putting more sources on their lands but also ensuring that the deepest wells
in a region are also on their land.
India’s average landholding is estimated to be of the order of just over a hectare.
The highly granular nature of groundwater usage across India’s diverse aquifer
typology creates a variety of tensions. The mismatch of hydrogeological boundaries
(aquifers) and political–administrative boundaries (e.g. land-holds, villages, talukas
or blocks, districts, states) is evident in myriad forms. However, this mismatch has
resulted in tensions across the entire typology of India’s aquifer systems, many
examples of which are available in Kulkarni and Patil (2017). Conflicts over
groundwater are a result of early competition (Kulkarni and Vijay Shankar 2014).
4
H. Kulkarni et al.
India is one of the most hydrogeologically diverse regions of the world. Two
distinctly different aquifer settings dominate India’s aquifer setting. Nearly,
1 million km
2 of India’s surface area is underlain by unconsolidated, river and
wind-blown deposits, while 1.5 million km
2 of its area is underlain by crystalline
rocks—ancient igneous and metamorphic—rocks, also called ‘hard-rocks’.
Together, these two hydrogeologically different aquifer systems underlie 70% of
India’s area and constitute the two dominant regions of large-scale groundwater
overexploitation. More than 80% of the region of groundwater exploitation in India
is underlain by these two aquifer systems (Kulkarni et al. 2015; CGWB 2017).
Moreover, it is interesting to note how rural and urban habitations in India are
distributed across its diverse aquifer settings (Fig. 1).
The great dependency of India’s major sectors on groundwater and the emerging
crises of depletion and contamination has meant growing competition and potential
conflicts over groundwater resources (Kulkarni and Vijay Shankar 2014). Such
competition is evident within each sector (farmer versus farmer) but is clearly
emerging in the form of inter-sectoral competition (agriculture versus urban
demands), leading to conflict. Many villages face acute drinking water scarcity,
especially during summers, as a consequence of large-scale groundwater irrigation
throughout the year. Not many of these conflicts are reported except the one about a
beverage company and a village panchayat (ELRS 2012).
India has the largest number of wells in the world. There are an estimated
29 million irrigation wells today across the country (5th Minor Irrigation Census,
Government of India). However, Shah (2009) had estimated 30 million irrigation
wells in India. While one can continue to argue about the actual numbers, it is
interesting to note how, in the last couple of decades, the rise in bore wells and tube
wells have enabled easy access to many users from greater and greater depths. For
instance, during the two decades from 1986 to 2006, the number of dug wells in the
Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh increased by one and a half times, while the
number of deep tube wells increased by thirteen times (Kulkarni et al. 2015), clearly
indicating that not only has the well-density significantly risen, but the competition
over chasing groundwater from greater depths has also gone up significantly. In
other words, groundwater users are competing for water in different aquifers, both
through putting more sources on their lands but also ensuring that the deepest wells
in a region are also on their land.
India’s average landholding is estimated to be of the order of just over a hectare.
The highly granular nature of groundwater usage across India’s diverse aquifer
typology creates a variety of tensions. The mismatch of hydrogeological boundaries
(aquifers) and political–administrative boundaries (e.g. land-holds, villages, talukas
or blocks, districts, states) is evident in myriad forms. However, this mismatch has
resulted in tensions across the entire typology of India’s aquifer systems, many
examples of which are available in Kulkarni and Patil (2017). Conflicts over
groundwater are a result of early competition (Kulkarni and Vijay Shankar 2014).
4
H. Kulkarni et al.