Urban Governance and Water Conservation: Action Coherence by the Judicial Water Commission in Lahore

Abstract

This study attempts to highlight the efforts made by the Judicial Water Commission (JWC) to combat the water crisis in Lahore, striking the knell of existential peril to urban sustainability owing to incessant aquifer depletion and continuous groundwater contamination. The inefficient urban governance model, unable to deter the burgeoning water issue in the provincial capital, paved the way for the inception of the JWC. Aligned with the Qualitative Methodology for data collection and analysis, while structured by the Social-Ecological Systems (SES) Framework, this research unearths the results that Lahore, despite the unprecedented intervention of the JWC, is on the brink of catastrophe of water scarcity and requires unwavering popular support in the water conversation drive. Ergo, to deter this mounting danger, this paper recommends the overhauling and expansion of the policy framework of JWC with the inculcation of water conservation strategies for domestic, agricultural, industrial, commercial, and planning entities.