ABSTRACT
As seen in previous chapters of this book, water law is made up of a number of different elements comprising economic, environmental, agricultural as well as human rights dimensions. In that ‘[a]ccess to water for life is a basic human need and a fundamental human right’,1 the human rights dimension of water appears as one of the core concerns from a legal perspective.2 On the international level, the rising interest in entrenching water as a basic and self-standing human right has seemingly paralleled the trend towards what can be generally referred to as the ‘commodification’ of the water sector observed in many countries including India.3 Indeed, the water sector and water law reforms initiated by states in the face of perceived scarcity of water resources4 have typically aimed to attain efficiency and financial cost recovery while giving more marginal notice to social and human rights dimensions of water. In India, while the new water law and policy frameworks have resulted in sweeping reforms to domestic water provision, both in urban and rural areas, these frameworks have so far failed in ensuring access to safe and accessible water for all parts of the population.5 It has become necessary to determine more precisely what the human right to water says about the impacts of these reforms on access to safe drinking water since a rights-based approach is a fundamentally effective means to fulfil the water needs of populations as a whole, including the poorest and most marginalized groups. Emblematic of this renewed interest, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) held its first
session dedicated to the human right to water in September 2007. In her report, the High Commissioner for Human Rights declared:
It is now time to consider access to safe drinking water and sanitation6 as a human right, defined as the right to equal and non-discriminatory access to a sufficient amount of safe drinking water for personal and professional uses – drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation and personal and household hygiene – to sustain life and health.7
