This past month, I’ve found myself revisiting the foundational principles we established back in 2019, when our team at GuruJal worked with the District Administration of Gurugram to build a more water-secure city. As I walk through the now-revived pond systems and engage with new community volunteers, I’m reminded that water governance in cities isn’t just about infrastructure; it’s about behaviour, lived experiences, and collective ownership. And as a woman in the sustainability space, I often find that the challenges and opportunities present themselves differently through a gendered lens.
Why Urban Water Insecurity Hurts Women First
Gurugram, like many fast-growing urban centers in India, sits on the fault line of a looming water crisis. With one of the fastest-depleting groundwater tables in the country (CGWB, 2022), and over 60% of its population dependent on groundwater for daily needs, the city is on borrowed time. Poorly maintained rainwater harvesting systems, encroached ponds, and unplanned urban sprawl have only accelerated the crisis.
This is not a problem that stays in the background. In informal settlements, women are often the first to feel the impact, spending long hours securing clean water, managing health risks from contaminated supplies, and losing out on paid work and educational opportunities in the process. I’ve seen this firsthand in my field visits: mothers carrying heavy buckets across colonies, adolescent girls skipping school during water shortages. These everyday struggles rarely make it to policy tables, but they shape urban resilience in profound ways.
How Community-Led Models Are Reclaiming Gurugram’s Water Commons
In 2019, we at GuruJal supported the Municipal Corporation and District Administration of Gurugram with ecosystem-level interventions: from reviving ponds with nature-based solutions to community mobilisation, from policy advisory to enforcement drives. One initiative I’m particularly proud of was the onboarding of “Water Ambassadors”, local women and youth who became torchbearers of awareness in their wards. Many of them are still active today, some even leading ward-level water audits independently.
We also developed and promoted open-access Rainwater Harvesting Calculators to demystify the science behind recharge structures. These tools have been critical in bridging the knowledge gap, particularly for women in informal housing clusters who are often left out of formal trainings. By making the information visual and multilingual, we ensured these women could assess their own homes and negotiate better with contractors and builders.
Data, Access, and the Quiet Power of Being Heard
We recognised early that data-backed decision-making was the key. We advocated for and supported the installation of AWLRs (Automated Water Level Recorders) across rejuvenated ponds. These help us monitor groundwater levels in real-time and strengthen accountability.
Just as importantly, we compiled a transparent vendor database and streamlined inter-departmental coordination. In the patriarchal governance structures I often navigate, simply being heard at the decision-making table, as a woman and as a non-profit leader, has been a quiet revolution of its own. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been deeply instructive.
Urban Water Is More Than a Resource; It’s a Mirror of Our Priorities
Water in our cities is not just a utility; it is a mirror of our priorities, our exclusions, and our interconnectedness. As I continue this journey, I carry with me not just technical blueprints, but the stories of resilience and leadership, especially from women who’ve turned scarcity into strength. My work is grounded in policy, but its impact, real, raw, and visible, is carried every day in the lives of the people I meet.
