This paper discusses the prevailing water sharing institutions in the Deccan region. By contrasting the situation with when the Baliraja movement began in the 1980s, in the hope of ensuring an equitable share and sustainable use of water for irrigation, this paper also attempts to understand the feasibility of institutional arrangements for sharing water on an equitable, efficient and sustainable basis. At the present juncture, it does not appear feasible to address all three issues simultaneously. The need rather is to address either the equity-sustainability or equity-efficiency solution. Both require institutional arrangements different from what the Baliraja movement envisioned.
