Krishna tribunal granted a year's extension, Jal Shakti minister meets CMs of Andhra, Telangana to resolve disputes

NEW DELHI: Days after granting an extension to the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal, the country’s oldest water disputes tribunal, the centre has extended the tenure of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal as well. Constituted in April 2004 to adjudicate the river water-sharing dispute among Maharashtra, Karnataka and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the Krishna tribunal has got an extension of another year, with effect from August 1.

The Krishna tribunal is one of the four active river-water tribunals in the country, which have got extensions year after year, as they have not managed to come up with an acceptable decision despite their extended tenures.

“The said tribunals were constituted to adjudicate disputes between two or more states and therefore need to work towards early resolution, particularly since such disputes involve public interest and public welfare. Given the wide-reaching implications of such adjudication, I believe the proceedings should be completed in a time-bound manner while also adhering to the procedural laws,” said Khushal Garg, a Delhi high court advocate who has been following the issue.

Noting that granting repeated extensions dilutes the essence of justice, he said, “The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act , 1956 may be amended to incorporate fixed timelines for final decisions, as it would expedite the resolution process”.

The terms of reference of the 21-year-old Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal were amended last year to accommodate the water-sharing concerns of a fourth state, Telangana, as well, factoring in issues arising out of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Meanwhile, Union Jal Shakti minister C R Patil on Wednesday convened a meeting with chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu and chief minister of Telangana A Revanth Reddy to address the prevailing water-related issues between the two states.

It was decided at the meeting to set up a committee in a week to resolve the dispute between the two states over the proposed Polavaram–Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP).

Both states agreed on the installation of telemetry devices for real-time monitoring of water flows in the Krishna Basin. It was also agreed that immediate measures would be taken to address maintenance issues to safeguard Srisailam dam. Further, the two states decided that the office of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) would be shifted to Vijayawada or Amravati.

Besides the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal and Ravi and Beas tribunal, the other two active tribunals are the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal for Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka (set up in Nov 2010), and Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal for Odisha and Chhattisgarh (Mar 2018).

Suggesting a way out to arrive at a certain decision in such long pending disputes, Garg said that the working of the Vansadhara Water Dispute Tribunal could also be referred to as how the Tribunal has given two decisions, one interim and the other as its final decision in the dispute.

"So far as the interim order was concerned, the same was challenged before the Supreme Court. Despite the pendency of the challenge before the apex court, the Tribunal proceeded with the matter as there was no stay order passed by the Supreme Court and passed the final order on the reference made. Consequently, the Tribunal was dissolved by the central government with effect from March 10, 2022," he said.