The manufacture of popular perceptions of scarcity: Dams and water-related narratives in Gujarat, India

In: World development: the multi-disciplinary international journal devoted to the study and promotion of world development, Band 29, Heft 12, S. 2025-2041

Abstract

This paper critically examines some narratives of water scarcity in Kutch, western India. It argues that images of dwindling rainfall and increasing drought largely serve to legitimize the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam and manufacture dominant perceptions concerning scarcity. This manufacture has naturalized scarcity in the region and largely benefits powerful actors such as politicians, industrialists and large farmers. But the needs of the poor in water-limited areas are neglected. By exploring the various connotations of scarcity, the paper argues that scarcity is both a biophysical phenomenon as well as a powerful discursive construct. (DSE/DÜI)