Dynamics of rural water supply in coastal Kerala : a sustainable development view

This paper examines empirically within sustainable development \nframework the dynamics of coverage in rural drinking water supply of \n180 demand-driven schemes from Malappuram, predominantly a coastal \ndistrict of Kerala State. The methodology for the analysis comprised (i) \nmultidimensional specification of sustainability in terms of attributes \nrelating to source, technology, quality, finance, institution and hygiene \nbehaviour and (ii) estimation of the degree of sustainability using models \nof vagueness. Two methods of ‘vagueness’ viz. ‘supervaluationism’ and \n‘fuzzy inference system’ were applied to identify systems that are at or \nbelow the sustainability line. Results show that sustainability due to source \nand quality is lower in schemes from non-costal regions, whereas \nsustainability in dimensions of finance, institution, and hygiene behaviour \nis lower in coastal regions. Empirical analysis of ‘marginal systems’ \nindicates that gender participation; female education and income have \nfavourable impact on sustainability of schemes in rural areas. \nKey words: Sustainable development, Vagueness, Supervaluationism, \nDegree theory, Fuzzy inference, Rural drinking water \nsupply. \nJEL Classification: Q56.