Inter-state river water dispute  

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Context: From Padayatras to court battles, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu water-sharing disputes intensifies.

Details:

• After the century-old Cauvery water-sharing dispute was settled by a tribunal, now the Mekedatu Project became the cause of conflict between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• The opposition political party in Karnataka launched a 100-km-long Padayatra (foot march) demanding the implementation of the Mekedatu project.

Mekedatu Project:

• Karnataka plans to construct a storage dam to capture excess water that flows out over the river Cauvery.
• The project will actually come up at the convergence of Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers, about 90 km southwest of Bangalore and 4 km from the Tamil Nadu border.
• The project was previously estimated to cost Rs 5,000 crore, the cost has now increased to Rs 9,000 crore.
• The State Government of Karnataka believes that the project would resolve their drinking water shortage and also generate hydroelectricity to meet the power needs of the state.

Concern over Mekedatu Project:

• The project requires a total of 5,252 hectares of land. Of this, about 4,996 hectares will be submerged.
• Of the total land required, 3,181 hectares fall in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, 1,869 hectares in a reserve forest.
• The State Government of Tamil Nadu fears that Karnataka will hoard water in the dam, thereby affecting their share of the Cauvery water. The Tamil Nadu government has argued that as per the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, Karnataka cannot build the dam without the consent of the lower riparian state, which is Tamil Nadu in this case.
• Environmental activists have questioned the environmental price of the project, as the large portion of Cauvery wildlife sanctuary area will be submerged by the dam.
  • The sanctuary is also home to many endangered wildlife species. Activists fear that the loss of this space will only lead to more man-animal conflict. 

What's Karnataka's argument? 

• The state government of Karnataka has maintained that it is within its rights to construct the dam as long as it makes sure that Tamil Nadu gets its annual share of water as prescribed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

Cauvery River:

• The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is an Indian river flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In ancient times, it was also called ‘Ponni’ in Tamil literature.
• The Kaveri River rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Karnataka.
• Some of its tributaries are Arkavathi, Hemavathi, Lakshmana Theertha, Shimsa, Kabini and Harangi.
• It is the 3rd largest river after Godavari and Krishna in southern India and the largest in the State of Tamil Nadu, it bisects the state into North and South.
• The Kaveri is a sacred river to the people of South India and is worshiped as the Goddess Kaveriamma.
• The river basin covers; Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.
• It forms Shivanasamudra Falls that descend about 100 meters (330 ft).
• The river is the source for an extensive irrigation system and for hydroelectric power.

Cauvery River Water Dispute:

• The sharing of waters of the Kaveri River has been the source of a serious conflict between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• The History of this conflict rests in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the Madras Presidency and Kingdom of Mysore.
• Karnataka states that the pre-independence agreements are invalid and are angled heavily in the favour of the Madras Presidency, and has demanded a renegotiated settlement based on "equitable sharing of the waters".
• Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, says that it has already developed almost 3,000,000 acres of land and as a result has come to depend very heavily on the existing pattern of usage. Any change in this pattern will adversely affect the livelihood of millions of farmers in the state.
• The Government of India constituted a tribunal in 1990 to look into the matter. After hearing arguments of all the parties involved for the next 16 years, the tribunal delivered its final verdict in 2007.
  • In its verdict, the tribunal allocated 419 TMC of water annually to Tamil Nadu and 282 TMC to Karnataka; 30 TMC of Cauvery river water to Kerala and 7 TMC to Puducherry.
  • All four have decided to file review petitions seeking clarifications and possible renegotiation of the order.
• In response to the Special Leave Petition (SLP) lodged by Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court in 2013 issued an interim direction to the Government of India to establish an Interim Supervisory Committee to implement the Cauvery tribunal order till the constitution of "Cauvery Management Board" as stated in the tribunal order.
• In 2018, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) was created by the Union Government.

About Inter-State Water Disputes:

• Article 262 of the Indian Constitution provides for the adjudication of interstate water disputes. It makes two provisions:
  • Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution and control of waters of any inter-state river and river valley.
  • Parliament may also provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.
• The Parliament has enacted two laws; the River Boards Act (1956) and the Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956).
• The River Boards Act provides for the establishment of river boards for the regulation and development of inter-state river and river valleys.
  • A river board is established by the Central government on the request of the state governments concerned to advise them.
• The Inter-State Water Disputes Act empowers the Central government to set up a tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute between two or more states in relation to the waters of an inter-state river or river valley.
  • The decision of the tribunal would be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
  • Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to such a tribunal under this Act.

About Interstate River Water Governance in India:

• Interstate River Water Disputes are a continuing challenge to federal water governance in India.
• In India, legislative powers concerning water were distributed between the Center and the states to ensure optimum utilization while balancing the interests of the states.
• Schedule 7 of the Constitution distinguishes between the use of water within a state and the purpose of regulating interstate waters. It gives the Union Parliament the power to formulate laws and mechanisms for regulating interstate rivers (Union list), while the states retain autonomy regarding water utilization for purposes such as water supply, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power (State List).
• The States Reorganization Act 1956 resulted in 14 states and 6 union territories. Thereafter, the boundaries of Indian states have continued to evolve. The changing borders complicate the existing jurisdictional and resource-sharing agreements.

Way Forward:

• Federal cooperation and Institutional trust must be developed for a positive solution, and need to focus on dispute resolution and consensus-building.
• India has 25 major river basins, with most rivers flowing across states. As river basins are shared resources, a coordinated approach between the states, with adequate involvement of the Center, is necessary for the preservation, equitable distribution and sustainable utilization of river water.
• The current condition of interstate river water governance in India warrants a new approach for cooperative federalism and interstate water governance

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/congress-promises-mekedatu-project-when-voted-to-power/article65187835.ece