The Human Right to Water in India: In search for an alternative commons-based approach in the context of climate change

Ohdedar, Birsha

Abstract

This chapter looks at the opportunities for reframing the human right to water (HRW) in the way in India. It analyses the development of the HRW and common-based principles by the judiciary and legislature and the prospects of reframing the HRW. The dominant interpretation of the HRW both in legal and political discourse has been centred upon a fixed relationship between the rights-bearing subject and a particular quantity and quality of water. Participation can also be an important element to the HRW and, depending on the form it takes, a way to respond to the concerns about the individualism of rights. The HRW would be closer to being recognised as a right to transform the hydro-social conditions out of which water is accessed. The pronouncements of the Court over the years, through invoking the HRW and several common-based principles have been significant in giving legal authority to rights and principles.

Citation

Ohdedar, B. (2019). The Human Right to Water in India: In search for an alternative commons-based approach in the context of climate change. In T. Haller, T. Breu, T. de Moor, C. Rohr, & H. P. Znoj (Eds.), The Commons in a Glocal World: Global Connections and Local Responses (475-493). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351050982-29

• Publication Date: May 9, 2019
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 3, 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 475-493
• Series Title: Earthscan Studies in Natural Resource Management
• Book Title: The Commons in a Glocal World: Global Connections and Local Responses
• ISBN: 9781138484818
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351050982-29