ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the eastern lowlands of the Indus–Ganges Basin (IGB), commonly referred to as the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGPs), covering Nepal, Bihar and West Bengal. In the EGPs, groundwater is the critical common pool resource because the livelihoods of at least three-fourths of the rural population depend on groundwater as their main source of irrigation, particularly at a time of increasingly erratic monsoons. The EGPs are facing the challenge of increasing food production to cater to the demands of an ever-growing population. The chapter attempts to unravel key constraints and opportunities for socially sustainable groundwater use, then looks at the ways in which farmers shape the informal groundwater market and outcome of collective action among stakeholders. Groundwater availability is not an issue in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, but its use for irrigation in an energy-efficient manner is critical. One of key features of groundwater governance is the presence of a pump rental market, an informal groundwater market.
