Bill to set up single water disputes panel introduced in LS

A Bill that proposes to set up an Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal to resolve water disputes in a time-bound manner was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was introduced by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Some Opposition members opposed the introduction of the Bill saying states had not been consulted.

However, Shekhawat said the Bill, which seeks to amend the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, has been brought after consultations.

He said, of the nine tribunals set up to resolve water disputes, four had given awards and it took between 10 to 28 years for the process.

The minister said that the Bill was brought to Parliament in 2017 and went to a standing committee.

The Bill seeks to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes and make the present institutional architecture robust.

It provides for dissolution of existing tribunals and the water disputes pending adjudication before such existing tribunals will be transferred to the new tribunal.

The single tribunal can have different benches and the decision on a dispute will be made in two years.