Inter-State River Water Dispute
- Inter-State River Water Disputes play a crucial role in the evolution of federalism in Indian politics.
- There are a large number of such disputes in our country.
- The Cauvery dispute involving Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry Union Territory
- Vamsadara River dispute involving Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
- Sutlej dispute involving Punjab, Haryana
- Mahadayi river disputes involving Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka are the major ones.
Constitution and Inter-State River
Water Disputes
- Article 262 of the Constitution empowers the parliament to enact a law providing for the adjudication of any dispute, or complaint relating to the use, distribution and control of any inter-State river or river valley.
- It also provides that parliament can exclude the Supreme Court or any other court from exercising any jurisdiction over inter-State river water disputes.
- Parliament is empowered to enact a law overriding any provision of the Constitution.
- The logic of this provision is that inter-State river water disputes contain emotional and economic implications affecting the lives and livelihood of millions of people.
- Judicial adjudication of disputes may create social and economic problems.
- Therefore, the national legislature must have the competence to evolve a mechanism for the resolution of these disputes through negotiations and direct dialogue.
Inter-State River
- Water Disputes Act, 1956 Empowered by article 262 of the Constitution the parliament enacted the interstate river water dispute act, 1956.
- This act enables the Union Government to establish a tribunal for the adjudication of an inter-State river water dispute.
- The Indian Constitutional and legal consensus is that all inter-State river water disputes must be resolved through peaceful negotiations.
- If no fruitful decisions can be reached through negotiations, the States concerned can approach the union for the Constitution of a tribunal on ad hoc basis for resolving that issue.
- When the Union Government decides to constitute a tribunal, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India will nominate a person to head it.
- Earlier, the tribunal always used to consist of one person only but later on this provision was amended to include more members.
- The Chief Justice will choose a person (nominee?) from the sitting or retired Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
- The decision of the Tribunal shall be published in the Official Gazette and thereafter that decision shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
- Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall have jurisdiction over any inter-State water dispute referred to a tribunal under the Act.
- No tribunal can be constituted for any dispute that has been placed for arbitration under the River Water Board Act, 1956.
- In short, we can say that our Constitutional, legal and political strategy advocates a dual strategy to resolve interstate river water disputes.
- It advocates negotiated settlement as the first choice if negotiations fail to resolve the issues, an ad hoc tribunal-based adjudication should be established.