Water water everywhere, not a drop to drink

We have seen water wars in this country go to such an extent that States are willing to disobey the SC's orders directing them to release the water the to neighboring states. They say, their first duty is to provide water to their people. These disputes raise federal issues, where the Center has a role to play in mediating and stinting the dispute. In the event that the dispute is not settled, the Center can refer the dispute to a Tribunal. Delays in the tribunals have been proverbial. In an attempt to speed up settlement of disputes, the Central Government has amended the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act (Amendment) Bill of 2017

In this article, Mohan Katarki, our contributing editor who has argued more than 31 original suites and references in the Supreme Court of India, argues that the amendment does not go far enough and proposes solutions.

The Bill No. 46 of 2017 introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (Act of 1956) proposes structural reforms in the adjudicatory mechanism, but these reforms do not fulfill the essential correctional measures required to deal with increasing demand for water in India. The rivers can come from the waters of snow fed Himalayan rivers; Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Ganga, Brahmaputra or Teesta, seasonal peninsular rivers; Mahanadi, Narmada, Cauvery, Godavary or Krishna, Eastern Ghat rivers; Vansadhara, Pennar, Palar or Nagavalli and Western Ghat rivers; Mahaday/Mandovi, Pamba or Periyar.

Federal constitutionalism requires not only division of political powers between the Central Government and the State Governments, but also sharing of natural resources between the States. The differences, conflicts or disputes are bound to arise, if they are not already a regular affair in the functioning of the federal system.

Colonial history

Accordingly, an independent adjudicatory mechanism is necessary to resolve these federal disputes. Prior to independence, the colonial system in India had provided for an independent adjudicators mechanism. The Government of India Act of 1935 (Act of 1935) invented federalism, with a Federal Court for resolution of federal disputes under Section 204 of the Act of 1935. However, with regard to the sharing of waters of inter-provincial rivers, this Act of 1935, contemplated in Section 130 and 131, a separate body, namely the Commission, appointed by the Governor-General of India. The Constitution of India, which has been broadly modeled on the Act of 1935, adopted the said system in the 1935 act along with the commission model.