groundwater resources being subjected to intense and intricate competition between
users and uses before conflicts become open (Kulkarni and Vijay Shankar 2014).
Moreover, individual access and complex distribution systems from multiple
sources lead to failure of sources that in turn causes severe water stress. Social and
economic drivers often lead to haphazard access and distribution patterns of
groundwater in India’s large agrarian landscape. Often, understanding of groundwater—particularly aquifers—is neglected in creating improved access and distribution. In pursuing improved access, the number of sources (wells) increases at the
expense of an intense competition between users and types of usage over a common
resource (aquifer). On the other hand, competitive extraction and falling water
levels leads to a marginalization and shutting out of the lower castes, typically
marginal farmers and the landless, from well-ownership altogether (Dubash 2002).
Groundwater overexploitation maybe defined as a situation in which, for some
years, average abstraction rate from aquifers is greater than of closer to the average
Fig. 1 (continued)
6
H. Kulkarni et al.
users and uses before conflicts become open (Kulkarni and Vijay Shankar 2014).
Moreover, individual access and complex distribution systems from multiple
sources lead to failure of sources that in turn causes severe water stress. Social and
economic drivers often lead to haphazard access and distribution patterns of
groundwater in India’s large agrarian landscape. Often, understanding of groundwater—particularly aquifers—is neglected in creating improved access and distribution. In pursuing improved access, the number of sources (wells) increases at the
expense of an intense competition between users and types of usage over a common
resource (aquifer). On the other hand, competitive extraction and falling water
levels leads to a marginalization and shutting out of the lower castes, typically
marginal farmers and the landless, from well-ownership altogether (Dubash 2002).
Groundwater overexploitation maybe defined as a situation in which, for some
years, average abstraction rate from aquifers is greater than of closer to the average
Fig. 1 (continued)
6
H. Kulkarni et al.