Sushanta Kumar Mahapatra is a Research Scholars, under Malcolm Elizabeth Adiseshiah Ph.D Merit fellowship at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai-600 020, India. His Ph.D thesis is on “Intricacies of Canal Irrigation Management and Water Governance in Orissa : The Case of Hirakud Command Area (HCA) ” He holds an M.A. and M.Phil. in Economics from Sambalpur University, Orissa. His M. Phil thesis was on “ Trend in wage rate and Livelihood pattern of Rural Labour household in Orissa” Submitted to Department of Economics, Sambalpur University, Orissa. His current research interests include Water Governance, Participatory Irrigation Management, Labour and Rural Development. He has participated in and presented papers at national and international conferences. A part of his Ph,D work on Water management issues titled “Water Governance: A Historical Understanding of Mahanadi River Basin Orissa”, has been published as a MIDS working paper (MIDS Working Paper, No193 June, 2005). He has reviewed on water issues and participatory workshops for Development and Change, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Review of Development and Change.