The groundwater crisis: Approaching overexploitation of groundwater in rural India as a legal problem in need of a legal reform
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2024
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Economics
Language
en
Pages
52
Series
Abstract
The groundwater crisis in this master’s thesis refers to depletion of aquifers across India. What causes depletion is voluminous human abstraction for agricultural needs. I argue that overexploitation of groundwater is analogous to famous social dilemma known as the tragedy of the commons, and that it takes place because of inadequate legal framework over groundwater rights. This master’s thesis explores how should the legal framework be updated. To do this I investigate groundwater, property rights, and institutional history of India. I find that groundwater should be regulated as common property of those who share access to an aquifer. This would affect hundreds of millions of people’s lives – but I argue that the severity of the situation and the inadequacy of present legal framework demand such a change. My conclusion applies solely to rural villages and does not concern urban water management.Description
Thesis advisor
Reinikka, RitvaLiski, Matti
Keywords
groundwater, the tragedy of the commons, property rights, irrigation agriculture, social dilemmas, institutions, common-pool resources, externalities