Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)

The fundamental right to water in rural areas is well-established in India, but the actual content of this right has not been elaborated upon in judicial decisions. There is no general drinking water legislation that would provide this missing content.

It argues that while the consequences of negative groundwater draft have mostly been viewed as an ecological disaster, the externalities of groundwater depletion pose greater concern for socio-economic equity in the access to this resource.