Essay on water disputes between states (300 words)
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Answer:
Rivers, often regarded as the lifeline of India, are its national assets. Geography has blessed India with a very large number of rivers. The country has substantial water resources but their distribution over the land is uneven. Such uneven distribution is a result of the large variation in a seasonal and regional distribution of the rainfall. Most of the rainfall occurs in the summer monsoon months, the precipitation during the remainder of the year being insignificant. The large areas of India are relatively arid, mechanisms for allocating scarce water is critically important to the welfare of the country’s citizens.
Because India is a federal democracy, and because rivers cross state boundaries, constructing efficient and equitable mechanisms for allocating river flows has long been an important legal and constitutional issue. And as rivers cross states, disputes are inevitable. Numerous inter-state river-water disputes have erupted since independence
Answer:
Rivers, often regarded as the lifeline of India, are its national assets. Geography has blessed India with a very large number of rivers. The country has substantial water resources but their distribution over the land is uneven. Such uneven distribution is a result of the large variation in a seasonal and regional distribution of the rainfall. Most of the rainfall occurs in the summer monsoon months, the precipitation during the remainder of the year being insignificant. The large areas of India are relatively arid, mechanisms for allocating scarce water is critically important to the welfare of the country’s citizens.
Because India is a federal democracy, and because rivers cross state boundaries, constructing efficient and equitable mechanisms for allocating river flows has long been an important legal and constitutional issue. And as rivers cross states, disputes are inevitable. Numerous inter-state river-water disputes have erupted since independence.
On the face of it, inter-state water disputes involve issues of:
(i) Allocation of waters among different states;
(ii) Apportionment of construction costs and benefits if a project is developed jointly by more than one state;
(iii) Compensation to the states prejudicially affected by the implementation of a project by another state;
(iv) Interference in the usage of water of one or more state due to activity of other state ( mostly upper riparian states)
(v) Dispute settlement relating to interpretation of agreements and;
Krishna Godavari Water Dispute – The Krishna-Godavari water dispute among Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa could not be resolved through negotiations. Here Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are the lower riparian states on the river Krishna, and Maharashtra is the upper riparian state. The dispute was mainly about the inter-state utilization of untapped surplus water. The Krishna Tribunal reached its decision in 1973, and the award was published in 1976. The Tribunal relied on the principle of “equitable apportionment” for the actual allocation of the water. It addressed three issues- The extent to which the existing uses should be protected as opposed to future or contemplated uses, Diversion of water to another watershed and rules governing the preferential uses of water.
The Cauvery dispute – The core of the Cauvery dispute relates to the re-sharing of waters that are already being fully utilized. Here the two parties to the dispute are Karnataka (old Mysore) and Tamil Nadu (the old Madras Presidency). Between 1968 and 1990, 26 meetings were held at the ministerial level but no consensus could be reached. The Cauvery Water Dispute tribunal was constituted on June 2, 1990 under the ISWD Act, 1956.