TY - BOOK AU - Gupta, Joyeeta AU - 2024 AU - Bosch, Hilmer TI - Water Property Rights in India PB - Economic and Political Weekly KW - Groundwater Laws KW - Hindu Water Law KW - Surface Water and Groundwater KW - Water Access and Allocation KW - Water Property Rights N2 - As Indian states continue to revise and reform their water laws in response to the escalating water crises, property rights in water instruments and their effect on water governance gain importance. Based on the examination of 153 law and policy documents shortlisted to 64, it is found that (i) India has a plural governance model with provincial water statutes; (ii) these laws avoid addressing the underlying landownership-related groundwater and riparian rights, and instead perpetuate water rights linked to the land through a registration process; (iii) new state-issued permits provide quasi-property rights to permit holders but how this relates to point (ii) is unclear; and (iv) as most water is over-allocated, reallocating water will be challenging, given the above property rights system UR - https://www.epw.in/journal/2024/29/special-articles/water-property-rights-india.html ER -