Contested Urban Waterscape of Udaipur

Abstract

In recent years, the discourse regarding the relationship between urban growth and environment/nature has come to the forefront, raising critical questions pertaining to the challenges of ecological limits and the governance paradigms. Unavailability, scarcity, and shrinking of resources like water, jeopardize urban life and processes resulting in contestations and conflicts which are complex in nature. In this background, we use qualitative methods to examine the case of rapidly urbanizing Udaipur to map the contours of contestations embedded in the urban waterscape. This paper dwells on the everyday water practices and negotiations to examine the terrains of access and allocation of water within the city focusing on the old city area.