ABSTRACT
Over the last 30 years, not just in India but all over the globe, reform has acquired a very specific meaning. It is generally used to connote a policy shift in the direction of privatization and reducing the role of the state in the economy. The tragic fallout of this blind and dogmatic change in policy has been to further worsen access to basic services to the large mass of the population. This chapter focuses on governance reform in the water sector. It emphasizes that each sector of the economy has some very specific features and reform needs to be defined with reference to these differentia specifica of each sector.
Why has it become necessary to focus on reforming water governance in India today? What is it about the nature of the water crisis facing the country that necessitates such an emphasis? What are the dimensions that water governance reform needs to cover? And in which broad direction must this change occur? These are the questions addressed in the chapter.
