The World Health Organization estimates that contaminated drinking water causes 502,000 diarrheal deaths each year and that by 2025, half of the world's population will be living in water-stressed areas. Rapid growth of urban population has serious repercussions on water safety and security in the cities. Maharashtra witnessed water being delivered through trains in 2016. Over the years, more and more cities have become dependent on water being fetched or delivered from far off-regions. This creates ecological imbalance and huge public cost, leading to inequitable distribution of competing resource- water. A paradigm shift in urban water management and planning is needed to avoid reaching day zero and securing the resources for future generation Municipalities and Urban Development Department planning and policies need to be influenced and informed to the impending water threats and responsive planning framework need to be developed. Interventions needs to be undertaken at government as well as community level. Participatory tools and citizen-led planning and framework shall pave the way for accountability, transparency and ownership for sustainable water use and
