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With increasing threat of climate change aggravated by the issue of rapid urbanization, population growth and ineffective water supply management, the Eastern Himalayan foothills of India have been grappling with acute water shortage, especially for drinking water purpose, which has been jeopardizing the day-to-day activities of local communities in the region. To address this crisis, it is crucial to find out the actual problem faced by the households of the region, that is, the cost that the household bears due to the rising water scarcity in the region. This study applied the methodology of Household Production Function to find out the coping behavior adopted, such as collecting, storing, drawing, treating and purchasing water and coping costs incurred by the households to meet their essential needs. The calculation has been performed on monthly basis. From the results it has been found that the lower income households and marginalized community incurred higher coping cost compared to the middle income and higher income too. The main contribution to the higher coping cost was mainly the collection time and collection cost, hampering the time for other income-generating or productive activities. The higher income household mostly engaged in purchasing water which was more cost- efficient for them. Additionally, treatment and drawing of water was mostly observed only in fewer households. The perception about climate change also turns out to be a significant factor contributing to the coping cost. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into various coping behavior adopted by the households. Based on the results, the study suggests important policy implications for improving water access in rural areas that can help in lowering coping cost of the poorer households and be applied to various regions across the world.
Keywords: Households, Household Production Function, Eastern Himalayan Foothills, Coping Behaviour and Cost.
