Lyla Mehta is a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. She is currently team leader of the Environment Group and also convenes the M.Phil course on Sociology and Anthropology of Development. She has conducted research on the politics of water and large dams for nearly a decade. Her doctoral research focused on dryland dynamics in western India and contrasts between state and local perceptions of water scarcity. Her current research addresses the gendered dimensions of forced displacement and resistance in the context of the Narmada dams and conceptual work on the public/ private nature of water. She uses the case of water to explore questions concerning constructions, contestations, rights, and institutions in natural resource management. Dr. Mehta has extensive field experience in rural India and has recently conducted research in South Africa on the free and basic water policy. She has also been involved in advocacy work around water, dams, and development issues with NGOs and social movements in India, Austria, and the UK. She has worked as a consultant for the World Commission on Dams for which she co-authored the paper “Balancing Pains and Gains. A Perspective Paper on Gender and Dams”. Dr. Mehta received her master’s degree in sociology from the University of Vienna and a doctorate in development studies from the University of Sussex.