Historically, communities in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) have relied on indigenous water-conservation practices and infrastructures relying on springs, such as naulaas and guls, also categorized as Heritage Water Architecture (HWA) for water access. Fresh water availability in the IHR has reduced over the past two decades. This brings into focus the need for maintaining and developing HWA alongside the piped water-based modern systems. Evidence from Indian water-related policy analysis shows that modern policy interventions undertaken between 1970 and 2000 often marginalized these systems, prioritizing large-scale infrastructure projects. This paper investigates the interplay between HWA and emerging water-sharing regimes in the IHR, focusing on their inclusion and exclusion within state policy-frameworks. Employing theoretical perspectives on environmental justice, participatory governance and adaptive management, the study analyses empirical data and case studies from Uttarakhand, an IHR state, using policy analysis to evaluate governance gaps and assess the integration of traditional water systems into contemporary frameworks through the devised Policy-Heritage Integration Matrix (PHIM). The paper shifts the analytical lens from water scarcity to water security, emphasizing access, entitlements and institutional coordination. The findings highlight the need for inclusive, adaptive and context-specific frameworks that bridge institutional silos. The study also underscores the gendered dimensions of water burden and shows how HWA reduce labor for some groups, offering actionable entry points for equity-based policy design as well. This study contributes to the discourse on sustainable water governance and demonstrates the potential for reconciling heritage and modernity to address the socio-ecological complexities of the IHR.
Shruti Dhaundiyal (Wed,) studied this question.