A stronger river referee:
Red Book
Red Book

Pre-cum-Mains GS Foundation Program for UPSC 2026 | Starting from 5th Dec. 2024 Click Here for more information

A stronger river referee: (Indian Express, Editorial) Inter-State River Water Disputes gets a new Bill Context:

  • The government introduced the long-awaited Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill 2017.

Introduction:

  • The Interstate Water Disputes Act 1956, has been amended about half a dozen times.
  • The amendments have stuck to a template, which relies exclusively on tribunals for expeditious resolution of river disputes.
  • Disputes have recurred, there have been long delays in adjudication and states have not complied with verdicts of the court.
  • But the current bill has provisions solve the disputes.

Solutions:

  1. The bill proposes a permanent Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal (ISRWDT).
  • In the current arrangement, tribunals are formed when a river water dispute arises which are dispute-specific.
  • The ISRWDT will be an eight-member body comprising serving Supreme Court and high court judges.
  • It will have a chairperson and a vice-chairperson.
  • The members will retire when they are 70 — there was no such limit earlier.
  • Each dispute will be referred to a three-member bench and resolution will be time bound.
  • At least on paper, the entire process is restricted to five-and-half years, taking into account all extensions.
  • There is almost no limit on extensions in the current arrangement.
  1. The bill provides for a DRC (Disputes Resolution Committee) to enable ex-ante negotiated settlements, in place of earlier mediation by the Centre.

Challenges:

  • The benefits of the bill depends on the mechanism’s efficiency.
  • But the government is ill-equipped to offer competent and resilient mechanisms.
  • The bill doesn’t fully recognize the need to plug holes in the larger ecosystem of interstate river water sharing, development and governance.
  • In any case, the challenge is not about gathering data and information, but more about states agreeing over a particular piece of data.
  • The challenge is also about tapping the data to produce knowledge that can be used for decision-making.

Conclusion:

  • The bill no doubt holds promise for tightening and improving adjudication.

Discover more from Free UPSC IAS Preparation For Aspirants

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Print Friendly and PDF
Blog
Academy
Community