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- Lok Sabha has passed the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill,2019.
- The bill seeks to amend the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act,1956. The Act provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers and river valleys.
- The Bill requires the central government to set up a dispute Resolution Committee(DRC) for resolving any inter-state water dispute amicably. The DRC will get a period of one year extendable by six months to submit its report to the central government.
- The Bill proposes to set up an Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal for adjudication of water disputes if a dispute is not resolved through the DRC.
- This tribunal can have multiple benches.All existing tribunals will be dissolved and the water disputes pending adjudication before such existing tribunals will be transferred to this newly formed tribunal.
- The Tribunal will consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, three judicial members and three expert members.
- Under the Act, the central government maintains a data bank and information system at the national level for each river basin.The Bill provides that the central government will appoint or authorise an agency to maintain such data bank.
