Inter-State River Disputes

Inter-State River  Disputes

States Involved

Cauvery Water Dispute

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala

The Krishna Water Dispute

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

Tungabhadra Water Dispute

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

The Aliyar And Bhivani River Water Dispute

Tamil Nadu and Kerala

The Godavari River Water Dispute

Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Karnataka

The Narmada Water Dispute

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

The Mahi River Dispute

Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh

The Ravi And Beas River Water Dispute

Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi

The Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal Dispute

Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan

The Yamuna River Water Dispute

Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi

The Karmanasa River Water Dispute

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

The Barak River Water Dispute

Assam and Manipur

Two important constitutional articles related the water disputes

Article 262

  • Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys
  • Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter State river or river valley
  • Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such disputes

Article 263

Provisions with respect to an inter-State Council: If any time it appears to the President that the public interests would be served by the establishment of a Council charged with the duty of

  1. inquiring into and advising upon disputes which may have arisen between States;
  2. investigating and discussing subjects in which some or all of the States, or the Union and one or more of the States, have a common interest; or
  3. making recommendations upon any such subject and, in particular, recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action with respect to that subject, in shall be lawful for the President by order to establish such a Council, and to define the nature of the duties to be performed by it and its organisation and procedure

Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956

  • The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted under Article 262 of Constitution of India on the eve of reorganization of states on linguistic basis to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use, control and distribution of an interstate river or river valley.
  • Whenever the riparian states are not able to reach amicable agreements on their own in sharing of interstate river water, section 4 of IRWD Act provides dispute resolution process in the form of Tribunal.

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