Assessing the spatial variation of water poverty determinants in Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Abstract Water scarcity is an emerging multidimensional issue concerning not only the physical availability of resources but also is linked with poverty. The existing literature has established a relationship between income poverty and water poverty. In the Indian context, various studies have explored such issues using the Water Poverty Index (WPI), but only a few have analyzed downscale spatial units. This paper constructs district-level water poverty measures and maps its spatial heterogeneity for Maharashtra, India. Using an indicator-based approach, we aggregate various dimensions of water poverty into a single index. This composite index is formulated by normalizing the indicators and assigning weights using principal component analysis. After rescaling, the aggregate WPI score varies from 0 to 1, denoting lower to higher water poverty. The overall WPI estimate of Maharashtra is 0.47, implying high water stress. The study presents district-wise WPI information by combining the results with Geographic Information System (GIS). Our findings suggest that along with the physical abundance and accessibility to water, improvement in the determinants of capacity and environment is essential to tackle water poverty. Results highlight the intra-district variations among components of water poverty, indicating the importance of local-scale policy-making for better water resource management.