Lok Sabha Question No. 2980 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-08-06
Subject: Inter-State River Water Sharing Disputes
Ministry: WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANAGA REJUVENATION
Asked by: RAHUL KASWAN, RAMSINH PATALYABHAI RATHWA, HARISH CHANDRA MEENA, BAHADUR SINGH KOLI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES,

## RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2980

## ANSWERED ON 06.08.2015

## 

**Inter-State River Water Sharing Disputes**

†2980. 	SHRI RAHUL KASWAN 		SHRI RAMSINH RATHWA

SHRI HARISH MEENA		SHRI BAHADUR SINGH KOLI

Will the Minister of WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION be pleased to state:

(a) the details and the current status of each of the inter-State river water sharing dispute in the country including Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and National Capital Territory of Delhi along with agreements signed between the States for the purpose;

(b) the quantum of water demanded by the States and being supplied to each State in the country at present from each of the rivers involved in such disputes;

(c) the details/names of the Committees/ Boards/Authorities/Tribunals constituted/ to be constituted for resolving the disputes along with the progress achieved in regard to water sharing, if any, so far; and

(d) the steps taken/to be taken by the Government to resolve all the inter-State river water sharing disputes along with efforts made to ensure that due share of water from the rivers involved in disputes is released to the concerned States without any hurdle?

## 

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION

(PROF. SANWAR LAL JAT)

(a) to (c)  On the complaint made by the State Governments, the Central Government has, so far, set up 08 Tribunals to settle water disputes among the States under the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956. The present status of various Inter -State water disputes over the sharing of river water is at **Annexure** .

In the past, some of the States had resolved their disputes on water sharing or joint projects through mutual discussions and agreements with/without the direct intervention of the Central Government. As such this Ministry does not maintain relevant record. However, as per information available in Central Water Commission publication “Agreements on Inter-State Rivers”, Vol. III of Legal Instruments on Rivers in India, about  114 inter-State agreements have been reached so far (A substantive number of these agreements, reached before and after independence, have become obsolete/superseded by fresh agreements/decision of Tribunals).

Contd…p/2

//2//

Agreements involving Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and National Capital Territory of Delhi are:

- The agreement between Rajasthan and Gujarat regarding sharing of Mahi waters (1966),
- Memorandum of Understanding among U.P, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi in 1994 on the issue of sharing of Yamuna waters,
- Agreement of 1981 on allocation of surplus Ravi Beas water among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and
- Agreement of 1959 between Rajasthan and erstwhile Punjab on Bhakra Nangal project.

Besides share of basin states in Narmada, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery basins have been determined by the concerned Tribunals.

Parties to Agreements/decision of Tribunals are entitled to their share of water in concerned river basin as per provisions of such Agreements/decision of Tribunals. This Ministry does not maintain such records. However, supply of water to concerned States varies on year to year basis depending mainly on availability of water in the basin/reservoirs in a particular year and other relevant factors and is monitored by the concerned Board/Authority/regulatory body functioning in a particular river basin project.

(d)	The mechanism for settlement of water disputes is already available in the form of ISRWD Act, 1956. The ISRWD Act-1956 has been last amended in 2002 whereby adjudication of the water disputes by tribunals has been made time bound after consultation with all state governments. Further, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation adopted a revised National Water Policy (NWP) in 2012. As per Clause 12.2 of the Policy, a permanent Water Disputes Tribunal at the Centre should be established to resolve the disputes expeditiously in an equitable manner. However, the proposal to set up a standing tribunal to adjudicate interstate river water disputes is still at a conceptual stage.

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**ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2980 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2015 IN LOK SABHA REGARDING INTER-STATE RIVER WATER SHARING DISPUTES**

**A.** **Status of Inter-State water disputes over the sharing of river water under  to Tribunal**

|   **S.**  **No** | **Name of Tribunal**                | **States concerned**                                           | **Date of constitution**   | **Present Status**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|------------------|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|               1. | Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal    | Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh &Odisha | April, 1969                | Award given on July, 1980                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|               2. | Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal -I  | Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,                        | April, 1969                | Award given on May, 1976                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|               3. | Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal     | Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra             | October, 1969              | Award given on December, 1979                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|               4. | Ravi & Beas Water Tribunal          | Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan                                  | April, 1986                | Report and decision under section 5(2) given in April, 1987. Clarification/explanation sought from the Tribunal under Section 5(3) of the said Act by the party States. Also,a Presidential Reference in the matter is before Supreme Court and as such the matter is sub-judice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|               5. | Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal     | Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puduchery                    | June, 1990                 | Report and decision given on 5.2.2007 which was published vide Notification dated 19.2.2013. Further, report of CWDT u/s 5(3) of the Act is awaited. Also, Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by party States in Hon’ble Supreme Court, as such the matter is sub-judice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|               6. | Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal -II | Karnataka, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra           | April, 2004                | Report and decision given on 30.12. 2010. Further report given by the Tribunal on 29.11.2013.  However, as per Supreme Court Order dated 16.9.2011, till further order, decision taken by the Tribunal on references filed by States and Central Government shall not be published in the official Gazette. As such, matter is sub-judice. Term of the Tribunal has been extended for a further period of two year w.e.f. 1  st  August, 2014 to address the terms of reference as contained in section 89 of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The matter is under adjudication in the Tribunal. The Government of Telengana has filed a SLP 33623-26 of 2014 in the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter. The matter is sub-judice. |
|               7. | VansadharaWater Disputes Tribunal   | Andhra Pradesh &Odisha                                         | February, 2010             | Report and decision not given by the Tribunal. State of Odisha has filed an SLP in Supreme Court against the appointment of one of the Members of the Tribunal. The SLP in the matter filed by the State of Odisha in the Supreme Court is pending. The matter is sub-judice. Besides, Hon’bleVansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal in its Order dated 17.12.2013 has directed to constitute a 3-member Protem Supervisory Flow Management and Regulation Committee on River Vansadhara to implement its Order. State Govt. of Odisha has filed Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No.3392 of 2014 with regard to the Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal Judgement dated 17.12.2013. The matter is sub-judice.                                    |
|               8. | MahadayiWater Disputes Tribunal     | Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra                                 | November, 2010             | Report and Decision not given by the Tribunal.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |

**B.** **Status of other Inter-State water disputes over the sharing of river water**

1. 	Further, the Central Government has constituted a 3-member Supervisory Committee on;

i. Mullaperiyar Dam for implementing the order dated 7.5.2014 of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

ii. Babhali Barrage on 24.10.2013 for implementation of the Order dated 28.2.2013 of Hon’ble Supreme Court.

2. 	Action of negotiated settlement with the party States has also been initiated by the Central Government as per the provisions of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on the request of Government of Bihar, on river Sone. After two meetings each taken by Chairman, Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) and by Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC) in 2014 and 2015, it was agreed that the situation can be watched for one year regularly and instead of analysing Joint Operation Committee (JOC) recommendations at the end of season, it would be better to have analysis carried out during the lean period, so that corrective measures could be taken timely. It was further agreed that the two states U.P. & Bihar would meet periodically every two months to analyse the release pattern vis-a-vis the JOC recommendations from Rihand dam and try to solve the issues bilaterally.

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