Inter-state river water disputes
Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "Water Resources"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"
Meaning
These are quarrels between Indian states over how to share a river that flows through more than one of them. They grow as water becomes scarcer. Article 262 of the Constitution lets Parliament set up a system to settle such disputes and keep the courts out of them. Tribunals (special dispute-settling bodies) are set up under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act 1956, which was amended in 2002 to add time limits. Common problems are long delays, states ignoring the awards, and politics.
Example
The Kaveri dispute involves Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. The tribunal gave its award in 2007. On 16 February 2018 the Supreme Court fixed normal-year shares: Tamil Nadu 404.25 tmcft, Karnataka 284.75, Kerala 30 and Puducherry 7. It also set up the Cauvery Water Management Authority.
Don't confuse with
- Transboundary river disputes: these are between countries, such as India and Pakistan over the Indus. Treaties handle them, not tribunals under the 1956 Act.