Despite the decision on the dispute delivered nearly a year ago by the adjudicating tribunal constituted under the Inter State Water Disputes Act of 1956, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are knocking at the doors of the Supreme Court disregarding the tribunal’s verdict.

Tamil Nadu has moved a petition in the Supreme Court to prevent Karnataka from restoring the old tanks constructed on minor diversions across the streams within its territory mainly for irrigation purposes. The court in turn has asked Karnataka to provide a rejoinder, meeting the objections of Tamil Nadu. On hearing both the parties, the court is supposed to give a decision.

History

The disturbing situation is that the two major riparian states are opposing each other in utilising the waters flowing within their territories. This has led to a never-ending wrangling that does not do well to either except intensifying the existing animosities. The result is that Cauvery continues to flow to the ocean with sub-optimal utilisation.

In the past, when Tamil Nadu planned to modernise its tanks and canal systems during the 1980’s with the assistance of World Bank, Karnataka objected. Likewise, when the World Bank intended to assist Karnataka in the 1990s to restore its tank systems to original capacity under the Jala Samvardhana Yojana scheme, Tamil Nadu opposed. Karnataka was forced to rest content to restore tank systems leaving those in the Cauvery basin.

With regard to both, the Centre did not intervene – apparently due to the generally accepted notion that “water is a state subject”. Considering that Cauvery is an inter-state river, it would have been appropriate for the Centre to invoke “Entry 56 of the Union List” under the Constitution and allow both the states to carry out restoration of the old tank systems in their respective jurisdictions.

After the Centre regulates such a river by apportioning the quantum of use for each riparian state, the state has full powers to use the quantum as it deems fit. Since water is locally used, it is with such an understanding, it appears, that the founding fathers of the Constitution put the subject of water in the State list of the Seventh schedule but with a rider of Entry 56 of Union list on waters of the interstate rivers.

If this wrangling and bickering by the states continues, it could be that even the Supreme Court’s decision on the current issue may not be acceptable to the major states, in the same way as the decision of the tribunal, which was specially constituted and whose decision has the same force as that of the Supreme Court.

It is wiser for both states, at least now, to stop this wrangling and come to a mutual understanding through meaningful dialogue based on give and take for joint action in the basin within their respective territories simultaneously and to take up such minor works to conserve as much water as possible towards optimum utilisation.

It is all the more emergent in the background of the looming climate change when positive indications for it are clearly observed. In the next 20-25 years, the whole hydrology of the river system is expected to drastically change with increasing floods and corresponding decreased post-monsoon flows in the river system. More water will go unutilised during floods and there will be rising shortage of harnessed waters – leading to widespread severe drought conditions.

Future

Neither state will have the benefit of decreased water availability while the demands will increase due to population growth and for better quality of life. When the cake reduces in size, more fights will ensue leading to avoidable violence and possibly blood shed apart from mass migrations in search of water.

Last year and the year before, there were very good rains. Lot of water was allowed to flow into the sea without being trapped by either state. What is in store in the coming monsoons is not known.

Visualising an unpleasant future, both the states should take up immediately such minor works as restoration of tanks, construction of feeder channels to carry the excess water to fill up existing ponds and depressions and recharge the ground aquifers after exactly delineating their boundaries. This will lead to holding back the excess waters in case there is a good monsoon.