Loss of livelihood and displacement has become a recurring feature for the people of Singrauli, on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, due to the construction of dams and power and mining projects over the last five decades. These communities are again in the process of being displaced with private players setting up five super thermal power and three mining projects in the area.

Supply-led water deprivation prevails in major cities in India. The per capita water availability in these cities is nowhere near the standards laid down by the World Health Organisation or the Bureau of Indian Standards (1993), and it is also far lower than that in other large cities in the world. The availability of water in Indian cities varies with socio-economic groups and areas.

Mumbai’s Slum Sanitation Programme that seeks community responsibility and its involvement in the setting up of sanitation facilities in living areas holds out important lessons for similar collaborative endeavours between the government, funding agencies, civil society organisations and the affected community.