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Water Resources and Environmental Engineering I pp 1–7Cite as

What Constitutes a Fair and Equitable Water Apportionment?

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Abstract

Water has been a source of conflict since time immemorial. Numerous mechanisms have been proposed for solving such conflicts but multiplicity of water uses and users along with self-serving definition of equitable, makes dispute resolution challenging. Doctrines advocating water appropriation based on the notion of equity and fairness are intuitively appealing. However, subjectivity of this concept impedes their translation to universal principles for water allocation as fairness quotient of any mechanism is determined unitedly by gamut of diverse factors. Thus, the present study critically reviews the connotations of equity and equality to arrive at a procedurally and distributionally just apportionment policy for real-world water conflicts. It seeks an equal opportunity paradigm for deservedness-based resource distribution that could be unanimously amenable to all stakeholders. The study is very apposite as there is a lurking fear of heightened water conflicts that could have bitter socio-political ramifications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Himanshu Tyagi, A. K. Gosain & Rakesh Khosa

Authors
  1. Himanshu Tyagi
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  2. A. K. Gosain
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  3. Rakesh Khosa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Himanshu Tyagi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Maharaj Vijayaram Gajapathi Raj College of Engineering, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Maheswaran Rathinasamy

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Maharaj Vijayaram Gajapathi Raj College of Engineering, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India

    S. Chandramouli

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    K.B.V.N. Phanindra

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Warangal, Telangana, India

    Uma Mahesh

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Tyagi, H., Gosain, A.K., Khosa, R. (2019). What Constitutes a Fair and Equitable Water Apportionment?. In: Rathinasamy, M., Chandramouli, S., Phanindra, K., Mahesh, U. (eds) Water Resources and Environmental Engineering I. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2044-6_1

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