In contentious policy arenas where planning has traditionally been driven by the triad of expert knowledge, bureaucrats and public representatives, often public involvement is understood as a panacea that is used to legitimise decisions, reduce conflict and enhance public acceptance. This paper, based on evidence of public involvement in environmental planning over hydropower projects in India, argues that quite contrary to the expectation, there could be a mismatch between the legality and legitimacy of the public involvement exercise which may possibly then transform into situations that exacerbate rather than reduce conflicts.
Setting up water users' associations (WUAs) and involving them in the management of delivery systems is an important innovation in improving the performance of public irrigation systems. Most Indian states are in a great hurry to turn over management of "below-the outlet" systems to WUAs. Yet the crucial link between the work done by the institutional organizers who set up these WUAs, the efficacy of the WUAs and the eventual performance of the irrigation systems remains unexplored. This paper attempts to explore this link. It shows that overdrive in the formation of WUAs may reduce their institutional sustainability.
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