Law Audit on Violation of Fundamental Right in Context of Water Shortage in Bengaluru

This research paper presents a comprehensive legal audit investigating the systemic water shortage in Bengaluru and its direct implications on fundamental rights, particularly the right to life, dignity, and livelihood under the Constitution of India. With a population exceeding 13 million heavily reliant on distant river supplies and rapidly depleting groundwater, Bengaluru faces a recurring structural deficit, marked by a documented official shortfall of over 500 million liters per day and widespread drying of borewells. Employing a doctrinal and vulnerability-focused approach, the audit evaluates the roles, statutory powers, and accountability mechanisms of key municipal and state institutions. While Indian jurisprudence ties the right to clean water and livelihood to Article 21, alongside supporting directive principles and fundamental duties, the study identifies a critical legislative lacuna: the complete absence of a statutory right to water or enforceable minimum service standards in state law. Furthermore, the paper highlights pervasive governance gaps, including fragmented institutional responsibilities, weak enforcement of groundwater and tanker regulations, high distribution losses, and inadequate protections for vulnerable communities, informal workers, and peripheral urban areas. To bridge these gaps, the author proposes practical legal and structural reforms, including codifying water as a statutory right, establishing an independent regulatory framework, deploying digital monitoring systems for groundwater and tankers, enforcing mandatory wastewater reuse, and streamlining multi-agency institutional coordination.