The Big Picture - Single Tribunal for River Water Disputes

India has seen protracted river water sharing disputes in recent years. Depleting groundwater, drying rivers and increasing demand for water have led to long legal wrangles between warring states. But very soon, India might have a single national tribunal — the Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal — to arbitrate inter-state water disputes. Its recommendations will be binding on the competing parties. Over the years, there have been several tribunals hearing disputes between states on river water sharing, but they have not been effective in resolving disputes in a time-bound manner. While there are suggestions for reconsidering and reviewing the structuring and functioning of the tribunals, there is also a need to look for an alternative mechanism, based on environmental thinking, to resolve such disputes effectively, amicably and sustainably. On this edition of The Big Picture we analyse the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and how the setting up of a single tribunal will help in resolving river water sharing issues.

Guests:

J. Sai Deepak, Advocate, Supreme Court

Srinivas Chokkakula, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research

S. Masood Husain, Former Chairman, Central Water Commission

Ashok Bagariya, Legal Editor, Hindustan Times

Anchor: Frank Rausan Pereira