Q. With reference to the River Boards Act, 1956 and ‘River Boards’ in India, consider the following statements:
1. The River Boards Act, 1956 was enacted under the provisions of Article 262 of the Constitution.
2. A River Board can be established by the state government after obtaining the permission from the President.
3. One of the objectives of the boards is to prepare schemes for the purpose of regulating an inter-state river.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer
In India, River Boards are statutory bodies established to manage and develop the water resources of inter-state rivers and river basins. These bodies are established under the River Boards Act, 1956.
Statement 1 is correct: Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of inter-state water disputes. It makes two provisions:
(i) Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution and control of waters of any inter-state river and river valley.
(ii) Parliament may also provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint. Under this provision, the Parliament has enacted two laws-The River Boards Act (1956) and the Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956)].
Statement 2 is incorrect: A river board is established by the Central government on the request of the state governments concerned to advise them.
Statement 3 is correct: The main objective of River Boards is to promote integrated and coordinated development of inter-state river systems and to regulate and develop water resources in an equitable and sustainable manner. They are also entrusted with the task of preparing schemes, including multi-purpose schemes, for the purpose of regulating or developing the inter-State River or river valley and advising the Governments interested to undertake measures for executing the scheme prepared by the Board
