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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | River Sutra -R Selvam

River Sutra -R Selvam

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published Published on May 30, 2018   modified Modified on May 30, 2018
-The Indian Express

International treaties hold lessons for the Cauvery dispute.

More than 80 per cent of Indian rivers are inter-state rivers. According to the Central Water Commission, there are 125 inter-state water agreements in India. Many of these agreements are more than 100 years old and had been executed without seriously considering socio-economic, political and geographical factors. These treaties have now become permanent sources of problems for many states. Continuous redrawing of state boundaries during the British regime and after Independence have kept the disputes alive.

For effective settlement of these disputes, equitable sharing of benefits is more important than equitable distribution of water. The principle of downstream benefit-sharing is crucial for the successful implementation of these treaties. Further, water-sharing principles will have be based on the size of the river basin, population growth, historical claims, efforts taken by the state governments for water conservation, rainfall and changes in cropping patterns, scientific use of water, priority for agriculture, allocation for industry and power generation, flood control and domestic uses. These issues should be given due importance in negotiations. Therefore, it may be necessary to have independent or mutually agreed third parties revisit disputed treaties; bi/multilateral negotiations hold the key.

The water distribution agreement proposed by the World Bank in 1960 continues to be the basis of the Indus Water Treaty. The permanent Indus Commission regularly exchanges information and ensures cooperation between India and Pakistan on the use of river waters amicably. The US-Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission has been successfully implemented since 1884 with the changing course of the rivers, the Rio Grande and Colorado. This treaty has been amended more than seven times since its inception, based on the changes in irrigation uses, river boundaries, flood control, population growth, urbanisation, etc. The sharing of water during surplus and drought years is based on a five-year cycle of water flow data.

The 1996 Indo-Bangladesh Treaty on Water Sharing is based on lean season water availability. In 1972, the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission (JRC) was established for flood forecasting, control, warning and managing the Ganga during the dry season at Farakka. An interim agreement was signed for water sharing in 1977. The lean season was defined for 150 days from January 1 to May 31. A Joint Committee of Experts (JCE) headed by the irrigation secretaries of the two countries was constituted in 1985.

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The Indian Express, 29 May, 2018, http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/cauvery-water-dispute-central-water-commission-tamil-nadu-karnataka-5194754/


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