Private appropriation of resource: Impact of peri-urban farmers selling water to Chennai Metropolitan Water Board

Ruet, Joël; Gambiez, Marie; Lacour, Emilie

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2006.10.001

Cited by 39 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…More than 200 private water tankers were parked in protest on the road (The HINDU Magazine 2010) http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/15/stories/2010041559670300.htm. The villages of Palayaseevaram and Magaral, on the western periphery of Chennai, experienced a decline in agricultural activities, depletion of the water table, and related conflicts between the sellers and the non-sellers due to the groundwater market (Ruet et al 2007;Janakarajan et al 2007). Janakarajan et al (2007) assessed the magnitude of the water market-related social destruction and conflict in Valliur village, located in the AK basin (northern periphery).…”

Section: Conflicts Associated With the Groundwater Marketmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The laws are violated not only by the private individuals but also by the government itself ). During the peak summer or periods of scarcity, the Metro Water Board of Chennai (CMWSSB) purchases the peri-urban groundwater by placing agreements with the well owners, which leads to serious implications in the northern coastal peri-urban villages (Ruet et al 2007). At present, most of the waterbodies in and around Chennai are destroyed and converted as built-up areas due to a flawed demarcation of the concerned agencies (Janakarajan et al 2006).…”

Section: Groundwater Act and Governance Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Groundwater market and its implications on water resources and agriculture in the southern peri-urban interface, Chennai, India

Shanmugam

Ambujam

Nelliyat

2010

Environ Dev Sustain

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This paper describes the informal groundwater market existing in the urbanperi-urban interface of Chennai. The private water tanker suppliers and packaged water industries utilize the land and water resources of the peri-urban villages. Thus, the groundwater sources in peri-urban areas play a significant role in meeting the growing urban demand. The villages that are experiencing the groundwater market are highly influenced by the urbanization and its related activities, due to their proximity to the city. The transfer of groundwater from the peri-urban villages not only deprives the peri-urban areas of their water rights but also leads to environmental damage. Agriculture declined in the water marketed villages in the range of 20-95 per cent during 1990-2007. The premonsoon and post-monsoon groundwater level fluctuation varied from 2-6 m to 0-5 m, respectively, during 1971-2007. The declining trend of the groundwater table and agriculture is highly significant in the water marketing villages. Moreover, the present groundwater quality is also in a susceptible state due to over extraction. Hence, strengthening the legal and institutional framework to ensure an equitable access to water for both urban and peri-urban areas is urgently required. This paper also describes the characteristics of the groundwater transfer, quantification of the marketed water, the role of the existing regulatory framework, and the institutional mechanisms. Many stakeholder's meeting and focus group discussions have been conducted in the villages under study for understanding the socio-economic implications of the water market. The study ultimately emphasized a sustainable groundwater extraction/market which will safeguard the interests of the peri-urban and urban communities.Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

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Section: Conflicts Associated With the Groundwater Marketmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Groundwater Act and Governance Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater market and its implications on water resources and agriculture in the southern peri-urban interface, Chennai, India

Shanmugam

Ambujam

Nelliyat

2010

Environ Dev Sustain

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“…Households access groundwater directly through their own private wells as well as indirectly through the private tanker market. The conflicts between tankers and peri-urban villages are well documented and well addressed elsewhere (Janakarajan, 1999;Ruet, Gambiez, & Lacour, 2007). However, because tanker water is expensive, it typically accounts for only a small fraction of the urban water demand.…”

Section: Case Study Of Chennai Indiamentioning

confidence: 97%

Examining the emerging role of groundwater in water inequity in India

Srinivasan

Kulkarni

2014

Water International

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This article addresses a gap in the water equity literature arising from the simultaneous use of surface water and groundwater in India. Using two diverse case studies -one agricultural (Kukdi) and one urban (Chennai) -we demonstrate how gaps in planning, design and policy exacerbate inequity. Groundwater abstraction from user wells allows wealthier users to both free-ride and capture a greater share of the resource. By converting a public resource to a private one, it worsens inequity and jeopardizes the sustainability of water projects. The article suggests that better monitoring, inter-agency coordination and rethinking water entitlements and norms are needed for going forward.

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“…The studies suggest that this results in resource misallocation and substantial welfare losses. Other scholars (Gilbert 2003, Ruet et al 2007, having investigated the external impacts of rural-urban water markets on peri-urban agriculture, have argued that tanker markets have unfortunate external consequences. They claim that while landowners who sell water profit from informal water markets, non-selling farmers suffer from falling groundwater levels, and landless labourers suffer from a loss of livelihood due to the elimination of agriculture.…”

Section: Context and Significance Of Informal Tanker Water Markets Fomentioning

confidence: 98%

Factors determining informal tanker water markets in Chennai, India

Srinivasan

Gorelick

Goulder

2010

Water International

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Many developing world cities have seen the emergence of informal markets where private tanker truck operators transport water extracted from peri-urban wells to urban consumers. This study adopted a systems-modelling approach to analyzing the informal tanker market in India. The results indicate that the demand for tanker supply was caused by lack of groundwater availability in private wells as well as unreliable piped supply. The study shows that two groundwater factors are relevant: depth to water and aquifer productivity. Together, these could explain the difference in spatial, temporal and consumer-specific variations in tanker dependence.

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Private appropriation of resource: Impact of peri-urban farmers selling water to Chennai Metropolitan Water Board

Cited by 39 publications

References 6 publications

Groundwater market and its implications on water resources and agriculture in the southern peri-urban interface, Chennai, India

Groundwater market and its implications on water resources and agriculture in the southern peri-urban interface, Chennai, India

Examining the emerging role of groundwater in water inequity in India

Factors determining informal tanker water markets in Chennai, India

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