Reimagining Urban Water Governance: Integrating Community Participation in the Management of Urban Water Bodies

On 10 June 2026, PRIA organised the inaugural session of its Dialogue Series, "Reimagining Urban Water Governance: Integrating Community Participation in the Management of Urban Water Bodies," bringing together experts and practitioners for an online discussion on strengthening community-led approaches to urban water governance.

The dialogue explored the critical role of community participation in improving the management, sustainability, and stewardship of urban water bodies in the face of rapid urbanisation, pollution, and fragmented governance. Discussions focused on participatory models, enabling policy and institutional frameworks, and strategies for integrating community engagement into urban water governance and city planning processes.

The session featured perspectives from experts representing SEEDS India, PRIA, Water Forum Mysuru, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Rajasthan. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Anshuman Karol, with concluding remarks by Dr. Rajesh Tandon, who highlighted the importance of collaborative and community-centred approaches to urban water management.

The dialogue marked the beginning of PRIA's Dialogue Series, creating a platform for knowledge exchange and advancing discussions on participatory and sustainable urban water governance.

Click here to read the background note and here to watch the video.