Institutional Design and the Geography of Rural-Urban Water Conflict in Mumbai

Water security in metropolitan cities is increasingly important in the developing world. In Mumbai, for example, rapid urban growth has dramatically increased the demand for water, which has resulted in serious consequences for the water entitlements of rural communities located near the sources of water. This presentation focused on the regional dimensions of water delivery and looked at the role of institutions and the impact of local laws, agencies, and governance on how water is shared between rural and urban areas.

SPEAKER

Bharat Punjabi is the IMFG Post-Doctoral Fellow for 2014-15 and is completing his Ph.D. in Geography from Western University in London. His dissertation is on “Canal Bureaucracy: Institutions and the Politics of Inter-Sectoral Water Competition in the Mumbai Region.” His research interests include urban governance and water management in large city-regions in India and Canada.