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Mahadayi tribunal for early notification of award

Last Updated 15 August 2018, 19:42 IST

The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal has suggested to the Union Ministry of Water Resources to notify the final award early to enable the river basin states to take up the projects immediately.

Since the tribunal award says that all Madadayi basin states should implement projects under the supervision of the Mahadayi Water Management Authority (MWMA), immediate notification of the award will help the states start further activities for the execution of projects to provide drinking water or for irrigation needs. Any delay in notifying the award will inconvenience and cause hardship to the parties, says the tribunal. According to the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, the award comes into force once the Union Ministry of Water Resources notifies it. However, the Act does not specify the time frame for notification after the final award is submitted to the Ministry.

“Once the tribunal has communicated the decision to the Central government and contestant parties, the decision of the tribunal must be published in the official gazette as early as possible so that its implementation is not delayed”, the tribunal headed by Justice
J M Panchal said in its award.

However, the officials also said that the notification of the final award will not hamper any basin states’ claim of their additional water share from the Mahadayi river. Even after notification, the states can approach the Supreme Court seeking more water, said an official in the Union Water Resources Ministry.

Once the Centre notifies the award, the process of setting up the Mahadayi Water Management Authority will start. Soon after the authority is constituted, the states can submit the detailed project report. After getting the authority’s clearance, the states can seek the other statutory approvals like that from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

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(Published 15 August 2018, 18:45 IST)

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