Aarti Kelkar Khambete

Environmental regulation in India: The need to move beyond procedural lacunae

The paper questions the EIA process and says that unless the issues are resolved, it could erode the very legitimacy of the government to regulate and deliver dignity and equality to all citizens. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 8 months ago

Environmental regulation and citizen participation (Source: India Water Portal)

Is safe drinking water for all an elusive goal for rural India?

The slipbacks in rural drinking water coverage have to do with poor acceptance of reforms to encourage community participation, and the traditional approach of funding targets for asset creation. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 8 months ago

A hand pump in Madhya Pradesh (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)

Should we look beyond 'jobs' to 'livelihoods' this World Water Day?

The theme for 2016 is 'Water and Jobs'. With water resources declining at a rapid rate, this theme brings to the forefront concerns related to water and livelihoods in India. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 9 months ago

Theme of World Water Day 2016: Water and Jobs (Source: UN Water)

Can India meet its target of 100GW of solar power by 2022?

Issues relating to land, manufacturing and technology among others need to be dealt with if India is to make any progress towards this ambitious target. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 9 months ago

Solar power use in a Tamil Nadu farm (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

More than 90% of Bangalore's lakes are polluted or encroached

A study by IISc on the city's water bodies argues that poor governance, lack of a sense of belonging, and poor implementation of regulatory norms has caused this situation. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 9 months ago

Rachenahalli Lake in Bengaluru (Source: Sumetee Pahwa Gajjar)

Toilets can work!

This study provides first time evidence that the provision of hygienic latrines and piped water supply in rural villages can lead to significant reduction in the spread of diarrhoeal diseases. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 9 months ago

Hygienic latrines and diarrhoea (Source: Sourabh Phadke)

The new Indian middle class and water use in Calcutta

Greater insight into consumer behaviour can help replace blanket notions of an ‘average consumer’ with closely observed knowledge of the diversity of water use practices in domestic spaces. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 9 months ago

Water use in urban cities (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Gender and water use: Looking beyond pure data

While generating gender disaggregated data, it is important to explore how to represent the gendered worlds and experiences of men and women at the smallest geographical unit--the household. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 10 months ago

Gender and water use (Source: India Water Portal)

The paradox of poor sanitation in India

Scholars of development are puzzled that other regions where people are poorer, literacy rates lower, and drinking water more scarce, are better off that India when it comes to open defecation. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 10 months ago

The open defecation puzzle in India (Source: Sourabh Phadke)

Can recurring droughts in Maharashtra be offset by participatory groundwater management (PGWM)?

Three different methods using PGWM that resulted in better water management demonstrate that hydrogeology can become a catalyst for villages to come together to plan and achieve water security. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 11 months ago

The role of PGWM to deal with droughts in Maharashtra (Source: IWP Flickr photos)

Informal water markets in Chennai

A significant number of the urban poor purchase water from tankers and those that deliver water in plastic cans, bottles, sachets, etc, incurring a sizeable monthly expenditure on water purchases. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 11 months ago

Water scarcity and informal water markets in urban India (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Why do farmers commit suicide in Marathwada?

Poor land holding capacity, lack of irrigation facilities and inability to repay loans taken for agricultural and personal use are some reasons for the pitiful state of many farmers. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 11 months ago

Droughts in Marathwada (Source: India Water Portal)

Sanitation interventions: A threat to drinking water supplies in rural India?

A study argues that increasing faecal contamination of groundwater-derived potable supplies is inevitable as the uptake of on-site sanitation intensifies in India. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 11 months ago

Sanitation and groundwater contamination (Source: Sourabh Phadke)

Indigenous knowledge helps fisherfolk cope with floods

Observations based on changes in animal behaviour and the position of celestial bodies among others have helped Dhemaji's fisherfolk in the early prediction of rains and floods. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 8 years 11 months ago

Fisherfolk, traditional knowledge, and coping with disasters (Source: India Water Portal)

Reminiscence by the riverside

The river Muthai, once the pride of Pune city, is in a diseased state. The Muthai River Walk hopes to reconnect people to the forgotten river and understand her importance for their own existence. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 9 years ago

A view of the river Mutha, as she flows through Pune (Source: India Water Portal)

The importance of women in natural resources management

A study among the hill women in Uttarakhand found that they showed a high inclination to participate in water and forest management programmes through Informal communities. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 9 years ago

Hill women and natural resources management (Source: India Water Portal)

How will India's growing thirst for water impact regional relations?

India's growing water security requirements can threaten to test regional relations over the next ten years. Cooperation, not competition, is needed to maintain the stability of the region. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 9 years ago

The Brahmaputra river (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Understanding the connect between caste and sanitation

De-linking the relationship between the two and not acknowledging the contribution of sanitation workers can limit the goal of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to clean India and achieve total sanitation. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 9 years ago

Factors affecting sanitation outcomes (Source: Sourabh Phadke)

Water filter use in India: Safety, luxury or a threat to the environment?

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) share the findings of a study on water filter use in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and discuss its implications in India's overall context. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 9 years ago

Safe drinking water, a scarce resource (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Why do people choose to defecate in the open than use toilets in rural coastal Odisha?

Maybe beliefs that faeces were impure also caused people to look at the practice of containing faeces in the latrine pit in the house as a ‘sin’ is one reason but there are so many others. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 9 years 1 month ago

Sociocultural factors affecting toilet use (Source: Sourabh Phadke)