Talk on "Sector Reforms and the Right to Water" held in Bangalore

Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development (CISED) and Collaborative for the Advancement of Study of Urbanism through Mixed Media (CASUMM) invite you to Sector Reforms and Right to Water A talk by Priya Sangameswaran, Fellow, CISED at 4 PM, Thursday, December 20th at Lecture Classroom, St Joseph's PG & Research Centre 36, Langford Road, Shanthi Nagar, Bangalore 560027 (Limited parking is available) All are welcome. Tea will be served prior to the talk. CASUMM promotes and undertakes projects to understand the 'development' of contemporary cities. Our work is rooted in analysis of the politics and contestation of everyday life. We contribute to forums for academics, activists, policymakers, professionals and students across a range of disciplines to engage and conceptualize the city in creative and varied ways. CISED is an autonomous centre promoted by Institute for Social and Economic Change for bridging the social and natural sciences. The Centre does research and dialogue on issues at the interface of environment and development. The concept of rights in general, and right to water in particular, has acquired a great deal of importance since the 1990s, and this is reflected in the introduction of new international human rights instruments along with legislative and policy changes in a number of countries. In the same period, reforms have also been undertaken in the water sector in many parts of the world; these include, among other things, an emphasis on water as an economic good. This talk focuses on the water sector reforms currently being undertaken in a number of states in India and the implications of different aspects of these reforms for a right to water. The working of three aspects of the reform process are especially focused on , the role of private players, the emphasis on cost-recovery, and the concept of water rights or entitlements in irrigation.