Need for Conceptual Shift in the Indian Legal and Policy Outlook for Protecting the Water Resource Commons from Commodification

Abstract

"The water resources in India are increasingly being perceived as a commodity, rather than a common property resource, and are on the verge of being completely taken over by private control. Privatisation of water involves the private control over the supply and irrigational use of water amongst the control over other uses of water resources. Further it is also important to note that the privatisation of water shall lead to increased cost and tariff for the water, leading to exclusion of the poor and large section of Indian population from accessing water for their daily and livelihood needs. At a different level the over exploitation of ground water resources had even led to an instance of a local-self government unit retorting against a water intensive industry. The Indian water policy and laws increasingly perceive water as mere economic commodity that has to be put to use for maximum economic gain, rather than a common resource that need to be held in public trust which has to be made available for everyone’s reasonable use. The Constitutional courts in India have accepted the importance of water as an inalienable need for human life and have interpreted it to be a part of right to life as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This situation has created a dichotomy between water as a commons and water as a commodity. Moreover, the additional dimension of considering water as a resource and water-based resource also needs to analysed from legal and policy perspective. This paper intends to explore the current status of legal and policy outlook towards the water resources in India and emphasis on the need for conceptual shift in the legal and policy perspective towards protection of water resource commons."