Article 262 (Inter-state water disputes)

Background and evolution

Rivers do not follow state borders. As irrigation and urban demand grew after independence, states sharing rivers such as the Krishna, Godavari, Narmada and Cauvery came into conflict. The Constitution anticipated this. Article 262 allows Parliament to provide by law for adjudicating disputes over the use, distribution or control of waters of any inter-state river or river valley, and to exclude the Supreme Court and other courts from such disputes.

Under this power, Parliament passed the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act 1956, which allows the Union government to set up a tribunal when a state requests and negotiations fail, and the River Boards Act 1956, which was meant to create boards for joint management but has never been used to set up a board. The 2002 amendment to the disputes act introduced time limits for setting up tribunals and giving awards, after decades of delays.

Key features and provisions

• Tribunals: set up by the Union government at a state's request after negotiations fail, with a chairman and members drawn from Supreme Court or High Court judges.
• Awards: published in the Gazette and binding on the parties, with the same force as a decree of the Supreme Court.
• Court jurisdiction: the Act bars courts from hearing disputes referred to tribunals, but the Supreme Court has held that it can hear appeals against tribunal awards under Article 136.
• Implementation: schemes and authorities, such as the Cauvery Water Management Authority, implement awards.
• Federal balance: water is a state subject, but regulation of inter-state rivers is a Union subject to the extent declared by Parliament.