Pilot restoration of a pocket park in Bakkarwala with the community. Photo by Prathna TC/WRI.

By Prathna TC and Ashwathy Anand

In bustling cities like Delhi, master plans provide a blueprint for shaping healthier, more sustainable and livable environments through measures like conserving rivers, lakes and drainage systems. A crucial part of this vision is shifting our cities towards water sensitivity and making water management a core element of urban planning. However, vulnerable communities in these cities face multi-layered challenges in accessing basic resources. For many, large-scale plans feel distant in the face of immediate and urgent needs.

But what if the voices of these communities could become an integral part of the larger solutions?

The Australia India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI) has stepped in with a novel approach: blending community-driven aspirations and actions with top-down planning. AIWASI’s community demonstration project empowers residents from two disadvantaged communities in Delhi – Bakkarwala Resettlement Colony and Mubarakpur Dabas – to collaboratively design water-sensitive solutions.

Building a robust understanding of the community about their risks, uncertainties and solutioning. Photo by Prathna TC/WRI.

Understanding Local Water Challenges

Both of these communities face issues with water access and quality, waterlogging and poor living conditions. Through AIWASI, we engaged with residents to identify problems and develop actionable steps, which helped create a technical master plan with water-sensitive solutions.

Figure 2: Transition from water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) planning to implementation in AIWASI. Illustration by Ashwathy Anand/WRI.

Bridging the Gap Between Top-Down and Bottom-Up Strategies

Traditionally in the Indian context, master plans and development strategies/plans are implemented in a top-down model where government priorities and budgets dictate which projects move forward, often with little input from the affected communities. AIWASI bridged this gap by adopting a hybrid approach that blends top-down and bottom-up strategies, using a joint accountability mechanism where the government and community come together to plan, implement and maintain solutions, by focusing on three key modalities (Figure 2), explained in the sections below.

• Empowering Communities

  In many cases, marginalized residents don’t have the information they need to navigate the complex web of urban bureaucracy. AIWASI bridged this knowledge gap by providing sensitization training and building the capacity of community members to lead development activities and approach government officials.

  In our previous blog, we shared how Sakina Begum, a resident of Bakkarwala, would face daily uncertainty and an endless wait for water tankers to arrive. She joined a few hundred women in the neighborhood who took matters into their own hands and successfully petitioned for new water supply pipelines. At 70 years old, Rekha Devi had learnt to use the municipal corporation’s mobile app to directly report clogged drains in Mubarakpur Dabas.

   

• Leveraging Government Support

  AIWASI recognized the importance of aligning community efforts with government schemes and missions. This ensured that water-sensitive solutions were integrated into broader urban planning and water-related infrastructure initiatives. The community was equipped to conduct vector-borne disease surveillance and shared the results with local civic authorities, who took preventive action. Local bodies also provided saplings of native species for a greening initiative in Bakkarwala.

  The four priority areas (Figure 2), identified through AIWASI, align with city and national-level schemes. For instance, providing basic services (water supply or sewerage) and amenities to households in cities to improve the quality of life is a national priority being actioned through central government schemes like AMRUT 2.0 and Swachh Bharat Mission. Complementary schemes at the state level, like the 20 kL (approx. 5283 US gal) free water scheme, aim to remains available and affordable to all residents of Delhi.

• Pilot Demonstration

  Underserved communities often lack access to functional public spaces for recreation and overall well-being. Recognizing this, AIWASI launched a week-long pilot demonstration of low-cost, water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) solutions to transform an underutilized space in Bakkarwala into a vibrant pocket park made it universally accessible, especially for those with disabilities in November 2022.

  The park was cleaned and play elements were added for children, helping us engage and sensitize the community; and build trust and support for the larger water-sensitive urban design project. Furthermore, we instilled a sense of ownership over the broader vision of a water-sensitive community amongst more than 150 children.

  Besides the park, interventions like rainwater harvesting have been implemented at household level, gradually building a foundation for a water-sensitive community. Residents participated in workshops on transforming waste into wealth, including composting and preparing bioenzymes. They have learned to repurpose plastic waste compacted within plastic bottles to create eco-bricks and are embracing more opportunities to learn skills.

(L) Restoration of a pocket park as a trust building exercise and (R) implementation of household level rainwater harvesting. Photo by Prathna TC/WRI.

By empowering communities, engaging with the government and implementing pilot solutions, AIWASI is building a model for water-sensitive cities. The initiative demonstrates how approaches that are led by and centered in the community are crucial to creating localized impact, strengthening resilience and driving sustainable development.

The first blog in this two-part series anchors the core principles and pillars of AIWASI within the Water Sensitive Cities framework.

Bakkarwala residents map water solutions for their neighborhood. Photo by Prathna TC/WRI.

By Ashwathy Anand and Prathna TC

In the bustling lanes of Delhi’s Bakkarwala resettlement colony, Sakina Begum wakes up each morning dreading the long wait for the water tanker and the rationing of every drop until the next tanker arrives. Meanwhile, in Mubarakpur Dabas, 70-year-old Rekha Devi bemoans the overflowing drains that clog the streets during the monsoons. Their stories mirror the struggles of millions who face the brunt of water insecurity and urban flooding.

Water insecurity doesn’t just affect health and safety but also disrupts livelihoods. This largely impacts girls and women who are compelled to fetch water and miss out on opportunities and education.

A World Bank study from 2016 underscores these realities: gaps in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are being compounded by climate change and social inequities. Women like Sakina often shoulder the burden of fetching water and managing households, while elderly residents like Rekha Devi are left vulnerable to health risks. Addressing these challenges is critical to creating future-ready, inclusive cities.

Figure 1: Impact of population growth and climate change on water availability. Illustration by Ashwathy Anand/WRI.

AIWASI’s Vision of Water Security and Livability

The Australia India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI) began in 2021 with support from the Australian government to transition two disadvantaged communities — Bakkarwala and Mubarakpur Dabas in Delhi — towards water security and improved livability by 2025. This goal marks a step towards a water-sensitive city, in line with Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles. Working with community-based organizations, AIWASI integrates resilience, equity and innovation into urban planning and governance to ensure that marginalized voices are heard and prioritized.

UN-Water defines water security as the ability of communities to safeguard sustainable access to safe and sufficient water for livelihoods, well-being, socio-economic development, disaster protection, and ecosystem preservation in a stable and peaceful environment. For Sakina, water security means knowing there will be enough water for her family tomorrow so that her children do not have to stand in line for the unreliable water tankers. For Rekha Devi, it means walking without the fear of slipping due to flooded drains.

Figure 2: Reimagining water security through the lens of AIWASI. Illustration by: Ashwathy Anand/WRI.

AIWASI has adapted the global definition of water security into six actionable components (refer Figure 2) for the Indian context, focusing on vulnerable settlements. AIWASI aspires to demonstrate pathways that enable access to reliable, quality WASH services and systems, resilient communities and more livable environments for all.

The shift towards a water-sensitive city hinges on the state of WASH services in neighborhoods like Sakina’s resettlement colony and Rekha’s urban village; AIWASI believes that these communities are the heart of the transformation. Women and the elderly, who often manage water for their households and hold valuable local knowledge, are key stakeholders in building resilient water systems.

Figure 3: AIWASI’s tiered approach to transition towards a water-sensitive Delhi through the creation of water-sensitive communities. Illustration by Ashwathy Anand/WRI.

The Three Pillars of Action

Creating water-sensitive cities that prioritize the needs of communities like Bakkarwala and Mubarakpur Dabas requires a focused approach.

AIWASI’s strategy is anchored in three pillars (Figure 3):

1. Empowering Communities: Building Social Infrastructure for Physical Infrastructure

Skill-building has enhanced resilience among residents, and the training employs toolkits such as the Community-Based Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CBVAT) and Community-Based Resilience Action Planning (CBRAP). In Bakkarwala, women like Sakina are engaging in workshops to co-design local water solutions, such as rainwater harvesting systems. Similarly, in Mubarakpur Dabas, senior citizens like Rekha Devi are part of awareness campaigns emphasizing the importance of maintaining community drains. The residents have been trained in vector-borne surveillance, conducting a tree census, composting, repurposing plastic into eco-bricks and pouches, and producing organic bio enzymes. Moreover, they are better equipped to participate in water governance.

2. Collaborative Governance

AIWASI facilitates dialogue between government agencies, community leaders and service providers, ensuring that governance structures are inclusive and responsive. For instance, Bakkarwala’s women community action groups have been taught to monitor water quality and report issues directly to municipal authorities using gamification and modules on governance structures. In addition to workshops by local government experts on safe waste management and circular approaches, the women are taught to lead dialogue and negotiations to improve the delivery of services and utilities.

3. Innovative, Bottom-Up Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)

Top-down approaches often overlook community-specific challenges. AIWASI promotes solutions created with residents, like a barrier-free park that reduce stormwater run-off, support water augmentation and provide green spaces for all residents to interact. Vulnerable neighborhood blocks, along with women-headed households and those with Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), are prioritized for WSUD implementation. are prioritized for WSUD implementation.

For Rekha, Sakina and their communities, the journey toward water security is personal and urgent. AIWASI’s approach — combining community empowerment, collaborative governance and innovative design — offers a pathway to transform their daily realities. With initiatives like AIWASI, which places women, PwDs and older residents at the center of water-sensitive city planning, we can create climate-resilient urban spaces and ensure that no one is left behind in the quest for water security.

Figure 4: An aspirational example of WSUD implementation to enable a water-sensitive community. Illustration by WRI India.

The second blog in this two-part series will capture the AIWASI process after the WSUD plan-to-action for these two communities.