A desert journey, from a pool where both humans and camels drank, to a bavadi then to a water tap in Khaba village has some valuable lessons about the ground realities of the social forces around water.

Decentralizing authority to democratically elected local government is advised for reasons of efficiency and good governance, but equity may suffer if elites capture decision making at the local level. What safeguards can help promote equitable and participatory decentralization? This question...