River Rejuvenation and River Rights: Evolving Debates in India

This book draws on interdisciplinary research deploying ‘river rights’ and ‘water justice’ as conceptual frameworks to engage with laws and politics around waterbodies. It underlines the simultaneity of micro and macro aspects to make sense of the complexities around ‘river rejuvenation’ in India.

This book engages with different ideas of rejuvenation, illuminating what goes under the name of rejuvenation, its impacts on the environment and communities dependent on rivers for their livelihood. At the micro level, several case studies offer a framework for understanding the reasons behind dying/degenerating small rivers across the country. At the macro-level, several chapters engage with the impact of laws, policies and role of community in river conservation. The volume also highlights the ongoing programmes such as Namami Mission for Clean Ganga and riverfront development projects.

The book will be useful to students, researchers, and teachers in the field of Water Resources, Water Supply, Management of Climate-Induced Disasters, Development Studies, Law, Politics and Ecology. It will also be an invaluable companion to policy makers, general administrators, civil society organizations, media persons, and bilateral agencies like WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, World Bank and Gates Foundation.

Philippe Cullet is Professor of international and environmental law at SOAS University of London, Visiting Professor at the National Law University Delhi and Professor in residence at the National Law University Meghalaya, Shillong. His work focuses on law and policy related to water and sanitation, as well as law and policy related to the environment, natural resources, climate change, development, justice and socio-economic rights. He was a member of the Government of India, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation’s Committee drafting the Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016. He is the recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant (2025-2003) focusing on multi-scalar dimensions of sectoral water conflicts in South Asia (WATCON). He is the chair of the IUCN/World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) task force on rights of nature.

Ruchi Shree pursued her MA, MPhil and PhD from the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. From 2012 to 2019, she taught at Janki Devi Memorial College (University of Delhi). She currently teaches at the University Department of Political Science, Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur (Bihar). Her research addresses the interplay of perspectives on water (commons, entitlement and commodity) and its ramifications on social movements, policies and everyday life. Her publications include chapters on sanitation and state planning and on mapping water disputes in India. As a research fellow at SOAS University of London, she worked on ‘Fostering Ecocentric Community-led River Restoration and Conservation in the Ganga Basin (India)’ supported by the British Academy (2021-2023). Her research focused on the significance of small rivers and the role of community participation in river rejuvenation of Champa River in Bihar, a small tributary of Ganga.