Urbanization, Peri-Urban Water (In)Security and Human Well-Being: a Perspective from Four South Asian Cities Vishal Naraina, M

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Water International Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rwin20 Urbanization, peri-urban water (in)security and human well-being: a perspective from four South Asian cities Vishal Naraina, M. Shah Alam Khanb, Rajesh Sadac, Sreoshi Singhd & Anjal Prakashd a School of Public Policy and Governance, Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India b Institute of Water and Flood Management, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh c Nepal Engineering College, Kathmandu, Nepal d South Asian Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Water Resources Studies, Secunderabad, India Published online: 25 Nov 2013.

To cite this article: Vishal Narain, M. Shah Alam Khan, Rajesh Sada, Sreoshi Singh & Anjal Prakash (2013) Urbanization, peri-urban water (in)security and human well-being: a perspective from four South Asian cities, Water International, 38:7, 930-940, DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2013.851930 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2013.851930

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Urbanization, peri-urban water (in)security and human well-being: a perspective from four South Asian cities Vishal Naraina*, M. Shah Alam Khanb, Rajesh Sadac, Sreoshi Singhd and Anjal Prakashd

aSchool of Public Policy and Governance, Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India; bInstitute of Water and Flood Management, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh; cNepal Engineering College, Kathmandu, Nepal; dSouth Asian Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Water Resources Studies, Secunderabad, India (Received 30 May 2013; accepted 2 October 2013)

This paper examines the implications of urbanization for water security and human health and well-being in four peri-urban South Asian locations, namely Khulna in Bangladesh, Kathmandu in Nepal, and Gurgaon and Hyderabad in India. It describes the implications of the urbanization process for water access in communities in the peripheral areas of cities. It further discusses the implications of this for the health and well-being of peri-urban residents. Keywords: urbanization; South Asia; climate change; water security

Introduction The urbanization process in South Asia has been slower than in the rest of the world; only one-third of South Asia was urbanized as of 2010. However, projections suggest an accelerated growth in urban areas in the next two decades. The share of urban population may go up to 40% by 2030 and 52% by 2050 (UN-DESA, 2002). However, South Asia’s urban significance in the global urban hierarchy, measured in terms of its share of the world’s total urban population, has progressively risen. In 1950, South Asia comprised close to 10% of the world’s total population; in 2010, it is estimated at 14% and is likely to increase to about 18–19% by 2050 (Mathur, 2011). The spread of urbanization is accompanied by the growth of peri-urban areas (Allen, Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 2003; Narain & Nischal, 2007; Tacoli, 2002). These are the spaces at the periphery of large cities that bear the brunt of urban expansion. They provide the land and water needed for the growth of cities, while receiving urban wastes. The growth of cities creates new demands for land at the periphery; with changes in land use, water-use patterns also undergo a change (Narain, 2009a, 2009b). This can take different forms. Peri-urban water bodies may be filled to build urban infrastructure (Prakash, Singh, & Narain, 2011). Water may be transferred through water tankers from rural to peri-urban areas (Meinzen-Dick, 2000). Urban wastewater is an important aspect of urban–rural water flow, which opens up new opportunities for peri-urban agriculture but often with adverse health impacts for both the producers and consumers of the produce (International Water Management Institute, 2006). There may also be new stresses on peri-urban groundwater sources, often creating a potential for conflict (Janakarajan, 2009). This compromises the water security of peri-urban locations and populations.

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

This paper describes the implications of urbanization for water security and human well-being in four peri-urban locations in South Asia. The paper does not work with a specific benchmark or indicator of water insecurity because it may not be possible to develop or use a uniform benchmark for all four locations, especially in peri-urban contexts where there are wide variations in water availability across time and space. Instead, this paper focuses on how urbanization processes lead to an appropriation of water resources at the periphery of growing cities, depriving peri-urban residents of their access to water in terms of both quality and quantity. It traces the implications of these processes for human well-being. The focus of this paper is thus on the process dimensions of peri-urban space, how processes of urbanization shape the flow of water between rural and urban areas, and how they impact human well-being.1 Human well-being is defined as the extent to which individuals have the ability to live the kind of lives that they value and opportunities to achieve that potential; improving human well-being and security is considered to be at the heart of development (UNEP, 2007).

Methods and case studies The paper focuses on four South Asian cities, namely Khulna (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), Hyderabad (India) and Gurgaon (India). The research used a mixed-methods approach, drawing on research tools from both positivist and interpretive traditions. Focus-group discussions and semi-structured interviews were done to assess peri-urban residents’ lived experience of water insecurity. A household-level survey was conducted to capture inter-household and intra-household variations in water use and collection practices. In the survey, both men and women were interviewed (separately). A gender-segregated survey was conducted among 125 households with 250 respondents in three selected peri-urban sites of Khulna, Bangladesh, namely Alutala, Chhoto Boyra and Labonchara, where 40, 36 and 49 households were surveyed, respectively.2 The purpose of this survey was to collect baseline information covering a wide range of issues including demography, socio-economic conditions, water-related vulnerabilities, and urbanization impacts.3 In Nepal, this study was conducted in four different peri- urban sites of Kathmandu valley viz. the Jhaukhel, Dadhikot, Lubhu and Matatirtha Village Development Committees (VDCs). A gender-segregated household survey com- prising a male and a female respondent from each household was conducted with 582

Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 households (1164 respondents) from these VDCs. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique with proportional allocation was adopted to ensure geographical repre- sentation from each of the VDCs. The administrative hierarchy in Nepal has divided each VDC into nine different wards. Considering these wards as first unit of classification, social stratification was done within each of the wards based on caste. Ten per cent of the total households of each caste group from each ward was identified as the appropriate sample. In India, this study was conducted in four villages, namely Sultanpur, Jhanjhrola Khera, Budheda and Sadhraana, located about 15 km from the city of Gurgaon in the north-western Indian state of Haryana. Two hundred eighty-eight households were interviewed using a stratified sampling technique. In the Hyderabad area, 333 households were interviewed across the villages Raviryala, Peerancheru, Aliyabad and Mallampet. Much insight was generated in all four locations from semi-structured interviews with households and focus-group discussions. An effort is made in the paper to contextualize the discussion on water-security issues with the available literature, especially in terms of the 932 V. Narain et al.

implications for human health. Other implications for human well-being are described in terms of implications for livelihood choices and quality of life.

Urbanization and water insecurity in the case studies The peri-urban populations in the four project sites are experiencing water insecurity on account of the effects of urbanization. This is mainly in terms of the changing flow of water from rural to urban areas, the use of wastewater in peri-urban agriculture, competition for groundwater among new and emerging uses and the use of peri-urban water sources as dumping grounds for industrial waste. These comprise the different elements of peri-urban water insecurity. They translate into implications for human health but also more widely for human well-being in terms of livelihood choices and changes in cropping patterns.

Khulna The study indicates that although urbanization is seen by the peri-urban residents as an opportunity for increased income and better quality of life, unplanned urban expansion has resulted in the loss of natural water bodies and drainage routes, causing drainage congestion, rainfall flooding and ecosystem damage. Land conversion in the peri-urban areas to support urban expansion has created conflicts over water access and depleted water resources. Urban wastewater is discharged to the peri-urban areas, which degrades surface-water quality. The most prevalent water-related challenges confronting peri-urban residents include water pollution, increased demand and encroachment of water bodies. Domestic wastes and salinity are the major reasons for water pollution (Figure 1). Analysis of the hydrochemistry of the Mayur River, a major water source in the area, indicates that the river is heavily polluted. Dissolved oxygen in the river water ranges from 0.9 to 4.8 mg/L (at least 5 mg/L is essential to maintain healthy aquatic life). Salinity in the river water varies from 5 to 14 ppt, with an average of 9 ppt.

60 Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013

Encroachment of the water body 40 Long queues to collect water Water pollution 20

Increased demand Percentage of of households Percentage

0 Alutala Labonchara Chhoto Boyra

Figure 1. Major water-related challenges in peri-urban Khulna as reported by the respondents of this study. Water International 933

Kathmandu In Kathmandu, the most important water-security concern relates to the physical flow of water from the peri-urban to the urban areas through commercial water tankers, compro- mising the water security of the peri-urban communities. The transfer of water through water tankers in the peri-urban research sites of Kathmandu is a widespread phenomenon. Estimates suggest that the value of water transacted in the city in this form is about five times the annual expenditure of the city’s public utility engaged in the provisioning of water (Shrestha & Shukla, 2014). This deprives the local residents of access to water. An effort was made to calculate or quantify the degree of water stress experienced in the research sites in Kathmandu. Water stress across all the VDCs was calculated by using five different indexes, i.e. primary water access stress index, secondary water access stress index, water quality index, water supply frequency index and water consumption index. Values for these indexes were calculated using five different indicators, scaling from very low to very high and assuming very low as 1 and very high as 5. Water stress was significantly different across the sites. Lubhu has the highest mean water stress index (0.61), followed by Jhaukhel (0.60) and Dadhikot (0.47), whereas Matatirtha has the lowest (0.42). Water stress was correlated with the caste of the household to understand the relation between caste group and water stress. Different caste groups have different levels of water stresses across all the sites. However, a significant difference in water stress index across different caste groups was found only in Jhaukhel. In Jhaukhel, the Newar have the highest mean water stress index (0.69), followed by Cheetri (0.61) and Brahmin (0.49) households. For the rest of the sites, though there are small differences in water stress index among different caste groups, caste does not have a significant relation to the water stress of the households. Similarly, the study also revealed a significant correlation between annual household income and water stress index in Jhaukhel. The group of households with the least income have the highest water stress index in Jhaukhel. However, there is no correlation between these two in the rest of the sites. The household survey found that the community-based private tap is the major primary source of water for all domestic purposes, followed by the community-based public tap, dug well, tubewell, spring and stone spout. Analysis of the water quality of the community-based public stand-post and its source in Lubhu showed high levels of contamination, ranging from 115 to too-numerous-to-count total coliform and E. coli per 100 ml. The analysis also found that the water in the source was more contaminated Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 than water from the tap (Table 1). This is similar to the findings of the study conducted in peri-urban areas of the Kathmandu Valley by Rainey and Harding (2005). However, when people were asked to rate the quality of their drinking water from excellent to very poor, most perceived the quality as excellent; none of the respondents stated that it was very poor. The survey also found that only 47% of the households were treating the water before drinking; 53% consumed the water without any treatment. This translates into increased vulnerability of the peri-urban residents to water-borne diseases. The study shows that 23% of the households practised wastewater irrigation, pre- dominantly by lifting wastewater from the river. However, farmers reported that the increasing pollution level in the river prevented them from using it during the dry period. Water quality analysis of the Hanumante River, a source of water for irrigation in Dadhikot, indicates that the river is highly polluted, suitable neither for aquatic life nor for agriculture. Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 934 .Narain V. tal. et

Table 1. Quality analysis of drinking water at Lubhu (sample collected from the field in 2011).

Parameter Unit Intake Tap water NDWQS** Test method pH (20 °C) – 7.8 7.7 6.5–8.5 pH meter Turbidity NTU <1 <1 5 (10) Spectrophotometry Total hardness as CaCO3 mg/L 102 90 500 EDTA titration Chloride mg/L 4 4 250 Argentometry Ammonia mg/L 0.1 ND (<0.05) 1.5 Spectrophotometry (Nesslerization) Nitrate mg/L 1.9 1.9 50 UV spectrophotometry (screening) Arsenic mg/L ND (<0.05) ND (<0.05) 0.05 Atomic absorption spectroscopy Manganese mg/L ND (<0.05) ND (<0.05) 0.2 Atomic absorption spectroscopy Iron mg/L 0.4 0.2 0.3 (3) Atomic absorption spectroscopy Total coliform CFU/100 mL TNTC* TNTC* 0 Membrane filtration E. coli CFU/100 mL TNTC* 115 0 Membrane filtration

*TNTC: Too numerous to count. **NDWQS: Nepal Drinking Water Quality Standard. Values in parentheses in the NDWQS column refer to acceptable values only when an alternative is not available. Source of NDWQS values: Government of Nepal (2005). Water International 935

Gurgaon Gurgaon’s steady population growth is exerting stress on both surface water and groundwater. The water table is reported to have descended at a rate of about two metres per year since 2006 as a result of the needs of the growing urban population, much of which has migrated from the neighbouring states in the National Capital Region. Urban-planning authorities have responded with supply-augmentation approaches focusing on building up the water-supply infrastructure. New water-treatment plants have been built on land acquired from the peripheral villages. With this acquisition of land, peri-urban populations have lost access to the water sources located on those lands. In one of the villages studied in this project (Budheda), a vast proportion of the village’s grazing lands were acquired, along with the private agricultural lands, to build a water-treatment plant to provide water to the city. The city has expanded by acquiring the land and water resources of the peripheral areas, stressing particularly the groundwater. There are new demands on groundwater from new residential areas, golf courses, shopping malls, complexes and the farm-houses of the urban elite. In one of the villages studied (Sadhraana), an important claimant on local groundwater sources is the farm-houses of the urban elite, who acquire small plots of land in the peripheral areas of the city and extract groundwater using expensive technol- ogies that the local populations cannot afford. These farm-houses maintain vast lawns and orchards. Thus, the local populations are left behind in the race to extract groundwater. However, water insecurity is not just about deficit water but also about excess water. In semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions, farmers reported 2010 to be a year of very high rainfall. Farmers with their lands in low-lying tracts suffered from flooding; they lost the kharif (monsoon) crop, as well as the sowing season for wheat. Most vulnerable were farmers with lands in low-lying areas or over clayey soils and those who had most of their lands concentrated in one location, with little alternative plots of land to serve as a cushion. As in the other project locations, an important aspect of emerging rural–urban water flow is the use of urban wastewater. This was noticed in one of the villages selected for the study, namely Budheda. The use of urban wastewater is widespread and organized and is an important factor shaping farmers’ cropping choices in this village, allowing them to cultivate paddy and wheat. However, an important aspect of its use is that virtually all of the wastewater-irrigated produce is sold to the wholesale market, transferring significant health risks to the consumers of the produce. The research team also noted conflicts Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 around wastewater; for instance, if a farmer using wastewater forgets to seal the outlet from which wastewater flows, the wastewater may spill over to the neighbouring farmers’ fields, when their crops do not need it, causing harm to them or even destroying them completely.

Hyderabad Hyderabad is located in an area whose hard-rock aquifer has very limited percolation, and the water drawn from the aquifer far exceeds the amount that is recharged. Historical data show that there were 932 tanks in 1973 in and around Hyderabad, falling to 834 in 1996 (Ramachandraiah & Prasad, 2008). Consequently, the area under water bodies was reduced from 118 km2 to 110 km2. About 18 water bodies over 10 ha in area and 80 tanks below 10 ha were lost during the period when urbanization was at its peak (International Institute of Information Technology, 2011). Besides the large water bodies, 936 V. Narain et al.

numerous small water bodies in the peri-urban zones also shrank as the city underwent a wave of real estate growth, disrupting the natural gradient of the catchment area that feeds water into these tanks or water bodies (locally known as cheruvus and kuntas). Hyderabad has been traditionally served by the Musi River as a source of irrigation apart from smaller streams and surface-water bodies. The rapid urbanization process has degraded the Musi River. The deterioration in water quality renders some tanks close to the city unfit for aquaculture or rice cultivation. The crops grown in these peri-urban zones are otherwise tolerant of high nitrate levels. Therefore, the cropping pattern has shifted from exclusively rice to a mix of fodder grass and rice, or a complete monoculture of fodder grass in some places. Farmers attribute the 30% reduction in rice yields to poor water quality in general and high salinity in particular. In Raviryala, one of the villages studied by the project team, the lack of systematic sewage disposal resulted in the flushing of wastes into the Raviryala cheruvu4 from the nearby settlement of Thukkuguda during the monsoon season. About 100 households dependent on the lake for washing clothes were affected by sand mining, which destroyed the basic contours of the lake. The washerfolk complain that sewage from Mankhala, Srinagar, Sardarnagar and Thukkuguda was flushed into the tank through its feeder channels, making the water unsuitable for use, causing the spread of infectious diseases and polluting the groundwater. Another aspect which has affected the peri-urban communities and made them water insecure is the presence of industries in the peri-urban zones. The three most important industrial areas thus affected are the Patancheru industrial zone, the Bollarum industrial area, and the Jeedimetla industrial area. The industrial estates in Bollaram and Patancheru generate a combined 8 million litres of effluent every day, which is directly discharged to the surrounding land, irrigation fields and surface-water bodies. This initially affected crop yield in the surrounding villages along the nearby Nakkavagu River, where effluent discharge affected fish yield and access to freshwater by the communities. Pollution of this stream by over 100 industrial units has destroyed approximately 2000 acres of farmland, besides contaminating well water to a depth of 140 feet. During field visits to Mallampet and Bachupally, near the Bollarum industrial area, communities identified the impact of industrial pollution on the groundwater, which affected the agriculture in the area initially. This forced them to sell their lands for real estate development and engage in casual daily labour. Thus we can see here the different ways in which peri-urban water insecurity

Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 manifests itself. They include the encroachment or acquisition of peri-urban water bodies or common property resources for urban expansion, the physical flow of water from peri- urban to urban areas exemplified by water tankers, the pollution of peri-urban water sources by industrial waste, the use of urban wastewater for peri-urban agriculture and the appropriation of local groundwater sources for alternative and competing uses.

Impacts of peri-urban water use: implications for health and human well-being As cities grow, the ecological footprint of urban expansion spills over into the peripheral areas. Ecological footprint is a measure of resource consumption and provides a con- ceptual lens with which to look at rural–urban relations (Rees, 1992). In the context of this study, this may refer to the different ways in which the peripheral areas bear the costs of urban expansion. As elaborated above, this is in the form of increasing competition for local groundwater sources, the physical flow of water from rural to urban areas, the contamination of peri-urban water sources and the acquisition of village Water International 937

common property sources for urban expansion. These compromise the water security of peri-urban communities. This translates into different kinds of implications for human health and well-being. In Kathmandu, the most common health problems resulting from exposure to wastewater irrigation identified during this research were skin diseases, followed by headache, cough and cold, fever, diarrhoea and eye infection. The study results indicate that the prevalence of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera, and other diseases caused by chemical or microbial contamination such as skin and eye infections, is also quite high in peri-urban Khulna (Figure 2). This is believed to be caused by the use of contaminated surface water and saline groundwater. The occurrence of water-borne and vector-borne diseases generally increases in summer, when temperature and humidity are high, and in the rainy season, when rainfall flooding and the ensuing waterlogging are frequent. Wastewater pollution and groundwater depletion add stress to drinking-water availability and sanitation. These also limit irrigation-water availability, and thereby crop yield, which in turn affects financial return and nutrition. The long-term health risks associated with wastewater irrigation are often ignored by farmers who irrigate using wastewater. Crop yields and fish catches are likely to decrease further due to the direct and indirect effects of climate change, while pest attacks in agricultural fields are likely to increase. Increasing temperature and humidity, together with the increasing heat island effects, are likely to stress the comfort level and working conditions in the peri-urban areas. Peri-urban residents are more vulnerable to these impacts than urban residents; and they gradually lose adaptive capacity and resilience as their rights and access to resources are lost in the urbanization process. Cheepi (2012) identified the common health impacts amongst communities living in peri-urban villages of Hyderabad who were consuming or using wastewater directly or indirectly. Cheepi’s study reported that most of the people were suffering from arthritis (68.29%) and skin diseases (68.29%). Fifty per cent of the sample households were suffering from diarrhoea. Other problems were stomach pain (48.3%) and malaria (45.1%). The remaining problems identified were paediatric problems and eye diseases. In Cheepi’s study, a significant proportion of sampled households in Enkirayala Village

Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 100 Alutala Labonchara Chhoto Boyra

25 Percentage of households

0 Diarrhoea Cholera Typhoid Jaundice Skin diseases

Figure 2. Prevalence of water-borne diseases in peri-urban Khulna as reported by the respondents of this study. 938 V. Narain et al.

were suffering from arthritis (66.3%) and skin diseases (62.3%). Sample households in Enkirayala Village were also suffering from stomach pain (46.3%) and diarrhoea (42.6%). The other problems were eye diseases (13.6%), paediatric problems (27.1%) and jaundice (5.2%). The health of the people in the villages of Bachupally and Mallampet studied by this team has been affected by the degradation of surface-water bodies. The fishing community in this village complained that surrounding industries pollute the waters of the Khatua cheruvu, Bowrampet cheruvu and several other, smaller cheruvus in the vicinity. In 1990, it was officially declared by the Union Minister of State for Planning (also later revealed by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board Board (2010)) that the people around Patancheru were suffering from a variety of mysterious diseases caused by water and air pollution (Greenpeace, 2004). According to Sahu (2007), indiscriminate dumping of toxic chemicals by industry and heavy use of pesticides have resulted in heavy metal poisoning that has indirectly altered the quality of water, soil, fodder and animal milk. The report of a health survey in the villages of Sultanpur, Gandiguda and Dayeraa revealed symptoms of heavy metal poisoning found by the District Medical Office of Medak (Greenpeace, 2004). The research team identified several implications of the peri-urban water insecurity engendered by the processes of urbanization for the peri-urban communities studied in Gurgaon. These were mainly in terms of restricted livelihood choices and opportunities and increased drudgery in water and fodder collection. As noted above, in one of the villages (Budheda), the village’s common grazing lands were acquired to build a water- treatment plant to supply water to the city. This village has a large livestock-dependent population that depended on the grazing lands. Once the grazing lands were acquired, households had to switch from grazing to stall-feeding. While taking the livestock out to graze is seen as a man’s domain, fodder collection is seen as the responsibility of women. Thus, the ecological footprint of the city is indirectly borne by rural women in terms of the increased work load around fodder collection. In the village of Sadhraana, the falling water tables on account of competing pressure from the farm-houses in the vicinity mean that many locals have lost the race for groundwater. The farm-house owners extract groundwater using high-powered submersible pump sets that the locals cannot afford. The latter have responded by switching to rainfed farming, or growing one irrigated crop instead of two. They have also cut down on the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. Similar changes in cropping choices were noted in the other two villages (Sultanpur and

Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 Jhanhjrola Khera). In all these villages, the falling water table has increased the cost of water extraction. Thus, the implications of peri-urban water insecurity are not only for human health but more widely for human well-being in terms of restricted livelihood opportunities and increased drudgery around natural resource collection.

Conclusion Focusing on four South Asian locations, this paper has described how urbanization impacts water security and human well-being. Urbanization creates new demands for water, which is moved out from agriculture and rural domestic needs to meet urban, residential, industrial and recreation needs. At the same time, urban and industrial wastes are dumped into peri-urban water sources. Thus, peri-urban residents lose access to water in terms of both quality and quantity. This translates into a wide range of impacts for human health and well-being, in terms of not only water-borne diseases but also reduced agricultural productivity and incomes and limited livelihood opportunities. Water International 939

From a public-policy and governance perspective, these issues arise from the links between land tenure and water (in)security, the peri-urban blindness of policy makers and the fragmentation of rural development and urban planning that precludes considering the impacts of one on the other. In the IDRC-supported project on water security in peri-urban South Asia, a range of interventions were made to improve peri-urban water security. These included: lobbying with service providers to be more responsive to the needs of peri-urban water users and providing a forum for dialogue and interaction between the two to develop relationships of mutual accountability between them (Gurgaon); forming water-management committees to improve local management and distribution of water (Hyderabad, Kathmandu); and policy advocacy to prevent the encroachment, deterioration and contamination of peri-urban water bodies (Khulna, Hyderabad). In the long run, a mix of local mobilization and high-level advocacy will be needed to improve peri-urban water security and build peri-urban resilience to the impacts of rapid urbanization.

Acknowledgement This paper draws on research carried out under an IDRC-supported project, Water Security in Peri- urban South Asia: Adapting to Climate Change and Urbanization. Thanks are expressed to IDRC, Canada, for the financial support provided.

Notes 1. For discussion and debate on the various connotations of the term, see Narain and Nischal (2007) and Iaquinta and Drescher (2000). 2. Alutala and Labonchara are peri-urban villages, while Chhoto Boyra is a neighbourhood. 3. The male–female ratio in these three sites is 1.14 on average. Most of the households are of the nuclear type, with an average household size of 3.5, which is similar across the three sites. Over 80% of the respondents have attained some level of formal education, while 16% are illiterate. The rate of attainment of higher education level is low, particularly among the female respondents. The occupations of the respondents vary across sites and include agriculture-based occupations, local labour, private service and small business. In most households, males have the direct income-generating occupation. Using USD 2 purchasing power parity as the poverty line, 45% of the total households are living below this level. 4. Cheruvu is a local term for a lake in Telugu, the spoken language in Hyderabad. Downloaded by [14.99.151.156] at 08:15 27 November 2013 References Allen, A. (2003). Environmental planning and management of the peri-urban interface. Environment and Urbanization, 15(1), 135–147. Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board. (2010). Final action plan for Improvement of Environmental Parameters in Critically Polluted Areas of Patancheru-Bollaram Cluster- Andhra Pradesh [online]. Retrieved from http://www.cpcb.nic.in/divisionsofheadoffice/ess/ Patancheru-Bollaram.pdf Cheepi, P. (2012). Musi River pollution its impact on health and economic conditions of down stream villages – a study. IOSR Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology [online], 1(4). Retrieved from http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jestft/papers/vol1-issue4/ H0144051.pdf Government of Nepal. (2005). Nepal drinking water quality standard 2005, implementation direc- tives for water quality standard. SinghaDarbar, Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Government of Nepal. Greenpeace. (2004). State of community health at Medak district [online]. Study undertaken with support of LTM Medical College, Occupational Health Safety Centre, Mumbai, Community Health Cell, Bangalore, St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore and NIMHANS, Bangalore. 940 V. Narain et al.

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