Murky Waters

The London School of Economics and Political Science MURKY WATERS INFRASTRUCTURE, INFORMALITY AND REFORM IN DELHI Matt Birkinshaw A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography & Environment of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, June 2017 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 86,357 words. 2 ABSTRACT This thesis contributes a rich empirical analysis of urban water governance in Delhi, with particular attention to informality, groundwater and reforms. My research aims to develop understanding of the relationships between reforms, under both private sector management and a new progressive government, and existing informal water arrangements, particularly groundwater use, which households rely on in the absence of adequate public sector supply. I draw on interviews with 150 residents, as well as water suppliers, project officials, government staff, politicians and party workers over 18 months of multi-sited research in South Delhi’s unauthorised colonies and urban villages. I use the idea of ‘informal infrastructures’ or ‘infrastructural informality’ connects my empirical research across different sites and scales. Bringing ideas from the literature on informality and infrastructures together under this framing offers modifications to the ways that ‘informality’ and ‘infrastructures’ are often understood and used. I use informality in this way ‘as a method’ to focus on the contingently enacted, materially and socially constituted character of various infrastructure processes. I analyse the informal governance and politics of water supply at three difference sites and scales. Within Delhi’s government network at an all-city level I note the formally and informally differentiated nature of the network and the challenges of knowledge and control of it. Outside of the piped network, I examine the decentralised infrastructures of tubewells and water tankers, primarily in the South Delhi areas of Sangam Vihar and Deoli. These decentralised supply modes are socially embedded in systems of party politics, caste and land-ownership with a range of opportunities for discretion, patronage and misallocation. They illustrate the connection and contrasts between informality in different resources, such as land and water, and infrastructures. I then examine an additional layer of urban water governance, in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for urban water reform, in a zone around the Malviya Nagar area, also in South Delhi. I argue that the complexity of India’s urban social hydrology, even in wealthy areas, has been underestimated by this initiative, and that despite an evolution of the PPP model concerns over the project’s equity and viability remain. The high level of informality across different infrastructural systems in my research sites suggests the coexistence of a submerged ‘technopolitics’ operating through bureaucratic and technical modes of governance, with both overt and covert uses of intercession, personalisation and force. The study makes contributions to knowledge in the following areas: informal urban water supply in India, particularly in unauthorised colonies and urban villages, in a region of high groundwater use, its relationship to water supply reforms from both government and a multinational public-private partnership. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have helped with this work at different times. The Delhi research in particular relied on the kindness of strangers (and friends), many of whom will remain anonymous. I would like to thank the following people for their support and assistance. Responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies is mine. Supervision: After Sharad Chari left, Murray Low and Alan Mace provided rigorous, encouraging, and intellectually stimulating advice. Under their guidance, the PhD process has been inspirational, challenging, even (at times) enjoyable. Examiners: Lyla Mehta and Ayona Datta provided excellent feedback, generous comments, and critical insights that have substantially improved the project. London, UK: Sunil Kumar, Sharad Chari, Asher Ghertner, Gareth Jones, Alex Loftus, Mukulika Banerjee, Louis Moreno, Ryan Centner, Austin Zeiderman, Philippe Rode, Julia King, Fizzah Sajjid, Andrew Harris, Niranjana Ramesh, Dennis Rogers, Vic Harris, Anokhi Parikh, Silvia Massiero, Ruchika and Padma, Louise Tillin, Stuart Corbridge, Jenni Sato, Yaffa Truelove, Hyun Bang Shin, Claire Mercer, Sam Colegate, Elaine Gascoyne, Huma Yusuf, Amy Mollet, Sonali Campion, Lucy Dubochet, Ohemaa Nkansa-Dwamena, Jayaraj Sundaresan, Yimin Zhao, Harry Pettit, Jordana Ramhalo, Kate Dawson, Janna Miletzki, Pablo Navarette, Ulises Moreno, Mara Nogueira-Teixeira, Taneesha Mohan, Meredith Whitten, Tucker Landesman, Chris ‘Sababu’ Suckling, Dan Slee, Juli Perczel, Tom Cowan, Sol, Pete and London football crew, Zippy and Archa Tong Muay Thai, Paula and Anna at Solstar, Ian Streetz, Kurtis, Naveed, Mike and LSE Boxing Club, Rita, Dad, George and Kate Layli South Africa: Richard Pithouse, Richard Ballard, Sophie Oldfield, Sue Parnell, Marie Hutchzermeyer, Julien Migozzi, Suraya Scheba, Darlington Mushera, Alex Wafer, Barry Christianson, Amanda Dani, Pablo Pineda Boveda, Rosella, Camalita Naicker, Luis Giminez, Jared Sachs Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Lahore: Awadhendra Sharan, Ravi Sundaram, Alankar and team at CSDS; Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Rajath Kathuria, Deepak, Kanak Tiwari, Siddartha Ayyagari and team at ICRIER; Sangam Vihar NGO staff and volunteers; All AAP volunteers and party workers; Partho Mukhopadhyay, Shubagato Dasgupta, Persis Taraporevala, Mukta Naik, Sonal Sharma and the rest of the CPR team; Marie Hélène Zerah, Remi de Bercegol, Jayani Bonnerjee and team at CSH; Ali Taqi, Rachayta, Raza, Neha Tiwari, Christoph Dusenbery, Meena and all at Zabaan; Gautam Bhan, Somnath Sen, Kavita Wankhade, Chandni Singh, Neha Sami, Vikas and team at IIHS; Phillipe Cullett, Luvleen Bhullar, Sujith Koonan and team at IELRC; Suresh Kumar Rohilla, Anupam ‘The Brown Sahebs’ Srivastava and ‘Pom at CSE; Dunu Roy and Sunayana at Hazards Centre; Indranath Gupta at O. P. Jindal; Deepak Malghan, Ranjini Raghvendra and Sankalp Chhabra at IIM Bangalore; Vimlendu Jha, Neha and Suman at Swechha; Ruth Kattamuria at LSE India Observatory; Amita Baviskar, Vinay Gidwani, Ashima Sood and Nutal Patel at EPW; Khoj; Teen Murti; the Delhi Jal Board. 4 Katyayni Seth, Deepani Seth and family, Lata and family, Utsa Hazarika, Lisa Björkman, Malini Ranganathan, Phillipe, Solly Benjamin, Bhuvaneswari Raman, Karen Coelho, Rohit Negi, Augustin Maria, Medha Patkar, Meera, Maduresh, Amitabh Kundu, Ashutosh Bhardwaj, Aman Sethi, Kalyani Menon-Sen, Manisha Priyam, Thomas Crowley, Lalitha Kamath, Vinay Baindur, Renu Khosla, Anant Maringanti, Lalit Batra, Sohail Hashmi, Sachin Warghade, Michael Goldman, Shirin Madon, Rakesh Mehta, Priya Sangameswaran, Prakhar Jain, Altamash Nizzami, Javed Iqbal, Jyoti Sharma, Kiran Shaheen, Sundeep Narwani, Anish Vanaik and family, Niranjani Iyer, Laurent, Phil Sunil Urech, Barkat, Sibi Arasu, Amit, Ahmer Sadiq, Gaurav Jain, Ashok, Sahil, Kathyayini Chamaraj, Kalpana Gopalan, Arun Prashanth, Arun Mohan, Depinder Kapur, Peter Beyes, Piyu Talwar, Prakash, Professor A. K. Gosain, Prabhat and family, Shiv and family, Kanupriya Durve, Roman Gautam, Satish, Senjuti, Durga, Farhana, Devindra, Dinesh, Jani, Johnny Das, Manas Roshan, Nikhil Roshan, Laurent Beduneau-Wang, Ajay Gupta, Simpreet Singh, Chandana Das, Swastee Ranjan, Tarini Manchanda, Tushaar Nair, Vaibhav, Aloka, Deepak Dholakia, Luisa, Sanval Nasim and family, Susana, Shupriyo, Lexi, Pankaj, Anil, Ashwin, Daoud, Naveen, Santosh, Neha, Sadaf Hussein, Talat, Faizal, Caroline Bertram, Vikram and the Shaky Rays, ‘Baba’ Soheb, Kushi Seth, Joerg, Hussain Zaidi, Amartya, Andreas, Eric, Aashish Bhardwaj, Sarath Chandran, Hagen, Joel, Najeeb, Nithin and other Delhi football crew, anyone I’ve anonymised or missed. Thanks lastly to all Delhi residents who helped in ways both large and small – one day I hope to repay the debt. G. M. G. 1945-2014 ~ For Mum 5 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................................................................. 7 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 HINDI AND INDIAN ENGLISH WORDS .............................................................................................................................................. 8 LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................

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