Users having a common goal of water usage, e.g. agriculture or industry, readily
accept and live with competition for long periods.
Social, political and even legal battles ensue because of the domain of allocations made possible through quantitative estimation of stock and flow of surface
water (Kulkarni and Patil). Surface water is commonly sourced, accessed and
distributed through ‘public’ systems of water supply. Hence, conflict and contestation take on the shape of a variety of responses ranging from protests to protracted
legal battles over such water. Administrative (land) boundaries complicate matters
further, leading to a variety of transboundary disputes. On the other hand,
groundwater in India, and perhaps from many other parts of the world, is sourced in
a dispersed and fragmented manner. Boundaries, quantities and interdependencies
are less visible or measurable as compared to surface water resources, resulting in
Fig. 1 Generalized aquifer settings in India (a)—modified after COMMAN, 2005 and updated
significantly by ACWADAM recently—and the distribution of rural and urban habitations based
on these aquifer settings (b). Note Himalayan and sub-Himalayan region has been consolidated as
‘Mountain’ in Fig. 1b
Catalysing Groundwater Governance Through People’s …
5
accept and live with competition for long periods.
Social, political and even legal battles ensue because of the domain of allocations made possible through quantitative estimation of stock and flow of surface
water (Kulkarni and Patil). Surface water is commonly sourced, accessed and
distributed through ‘public’ systems of water supply. Hence, conflict and contestation take on the shape of a variety of responses ranging from protests to protracted
legal battles over such water. Administrative (land) boundaries complicate matters
further, leading to a variety of transboundary disputes. On the other hand,
groundwater in India, and perhaps from many other parts of the world, is sourced in
a dispersed and fragmented manner. Boundaries, quantities and interdependencies
are less visible or measurable as compared to surface water resources, resulting in
Fig. 1 Generalized aquifer settings in India (a)—modified after COMMAN, 2005 and updated
significantly by ACWADAM recently—and the distribution of rural and urban habitations based
on these aquifer settings (b). Note Himalayan and sub-Himalayan region has been consolidated as
‘Mountain’ in Fig. 1b
Catalysing Groundwater Governance Through People’s …
5