EGU25-20566, updated on 15 Mar 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-20566
EGU General Assembly 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Institutional Challenges and Social Production of Water in Rural Water Supply: A Hydrosocial Analysis of the Jal Jeevan Mission in India
prashant kumar
prashant kumar
  • Madras Institute of Development Studies

This study contributes to the understanding of complex human-water interactions by examining how entrenched institutional arrangements and historical power dynamics shape the governance and access to water in different hydrological contexts.

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) initiative focusing on universal household water supply in India supports decentralization of water governance. However, the sectoral reforms advocated in the late 90s, along with the demand-responsive approach (DRA), have been more limited than expected, with path dependency in institutional arrangements presenting significant challenges. Despite ongoing efforts toward decentralization, institutional inertia continues to impede substantial change. This research examines how entrenched social, political, and historical power dynamics shape water governance across three districts with distinct hydrological sources for water supply in Uttar Pradesh: Agra (surface water), Banda (mixed surface-groundwater), and Prayagraj (groundwater). The study draws on the hydro-social framework and new institutional economics (NIE) to explore how formal institutional structures (under JJM) are influenced by social and political power relations, affecting water governance. By analysing stakeholder interviews, government documents, and institutional arrangements, the research focuses on the social production of water, emphasizing how water access and control are constructed through various institutional processes. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how institutional frameworks shape the production and distribution of water.

How to cite: kumar, P.: Institutional Challenges and Social Production of Water in Rural Water Supply: A Hydrosocial Analysis of the Jal Jeevan Mission in India, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-20566, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-20566, 2025.

Corresponding supplementary materials formerly uploaded have been withdrawn.