wl-6883- Social Class Matters for Household Water Well-being in Sub-Himalayan West Bengal

In India, significant disparities in access to sustainable clean water reflect wider societal inequalities. India, as a heterogeneous country with a wide range of geographies, uneven socio-economic development, and complex water management obstacles, it is imperative to recognize the delicate relationship between sustainable water access, availability, consumption, and overall well-being at the household level. So, the aim of this article is to explore the complex links between the dynamics of water well-being for sustainable development across different social groups, namely, Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and non-SC/ST, and to explain the underlying reasons for inequalities in water accessibility and availability in the Sub-Himalayan ‘Dooars’ region. To assess caste-based water well-being in this region, we constructed household-scale indices, including the water availability index (WAvLI), water accessibility index (WAcLI), and composite water well-being index (CWwBI), utilizing a Principal Component Analysis-based weighted average methodology. The study highlights that SC and ST communities encounter significant obstacles in accessing sustainable water resources. Both groups demonstrate lower sustainability in water accessibility indices, illustrating challenges in accessing water for their daily requirements as compared to the non-SC/ST populace. The results indicate that the sustainability of the water accessibility index is at its lowest for 17.42% of households belonging to the SC category. Compared to SC and ST communities, non-SC/ST households have a water accessibility index of 37.88%, suggesting superior access to water resources.