Single tribunal to end all water disputes

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday said the Centre will adopt the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amend­ment) Bill, paving way for the constitution of a single tribunal, in the post-budget session of Parliament which begins on March 5.

Speaking to media-persons after a one-day Southern States Irrigation Ministers’ conference here, the Union minister said the Centre was committed to resolving all river water disputes among the states through single tribunal at national-level by ending the decades-old practice of constituting tribunal whenever water disputes take place between two states. He felt a single tribunal will be more effective to resolve water disputes in a time bound manner. The bill has been introduced in Parliament last year.

Once the new tribunal comes into force, Meghwal said that all the existing tribunals will be dissolved and the water disputes pending adjudication before such existing tribunals will be transferred to this newly-formed tribunal. He said basin-wise approach will be followed in future to address river water disputes. The Centre has decided to hold region-wise meetings to resolve water issues, and the move was welcomed by all states.

All the state representatives supported the Centre’s move to form the tribunal, Meghwal said, adding that all the issues discussed in the conference will be called as ‘Hyderabad Declaration’.

On the request of the states particularly from Telangana, the minister said the Centre will make efforts to provide more funds through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and World Bank for the speedy completion of the irrigation projects. The proposal for increase in allocations to the states under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was under active consideration,he said.