The BJP government’s poor water policy is breeding increasingly fierce water wars.
UPDATED – 12:32AM, SUNDAY – 1/15/23
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Hyderabad: Four of India’s seven holy rivers have water dispute tribunals in their names, some dating back to 1969. The millennium itself saw the establishment of four water dispute tribunals. There are at least 15 countries involved in inter-country river issues, accounting for more than half of the countries in the country.
In a union of states in which cooperative federalism is the glue that holds the states together, this situation can only mean one thing: a succession of weak, indecisive federal government and persistently bad water policy has bred a growing crisis. The more intense the water battle. Political dynamics have long been brewing for these water battles, and things have gotten worse recently.
twin engine failure
While the BJP-led central government has been touting “twin-engine” governance under the pretext that issues will be resolved amicably if the BJP is in power in both the states and the centre, the facts show that this is a flawed claim. The ongoing standoff between Karnataka and Goa over the Mahadayi River (also known as the Mhadei) is a prime example of how twin-engine governance is all but talk.
First, many states like Tamil Nadu-Karnataka, Telangana-Andhra Pradesh, Telangana-Maharashtra and Karnataka-Goa are embroiled in water disputes. The states of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Pondicherry and Chhattisgarh are also locked in a similar, long and complex water battle. The ambiguity of federal jurisdiction and the political equation have kept these battles going for decades, even though the Constitution’s Schedule 7 gives the Center the power to create laws and mechanisms to regulate interstate rivers while states retain autonomy over water use.
However, despite the crucial role of the Centre, successive governments at the Center have failed to develop plans to address these issues, and as Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has repeatedly pointed out, poor water policies lead to water utilization Even 75 years after independence, this water abundance has in turn caused an agricultural crisis and deprived people of their basic right to drinking water.
The Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal dispute dates back to 1966, when Haryana was separated from Punjab. SYL is a 214 km long canal used to share the waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers
Aam Aadmi Party chairman Arvind Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal crisis between Punjab and Haryana. He said it was the center’s responsibility to ensure water supply in Punjab and Haryana and get them to stop fighting. But the crisis continues. The standoff between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the waters of the Kavli and Godavari began in 1969 in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Between Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, embers still remain.
Karnataka-Goa Battle
The water battle in the news is the Karnataka-Goa standoff over the Mahai River diversion project. Although a contentious issue since the late 2000s, the leaders of the two countries are now engaged in a bitter verbal duel since the Karnataka government announced its decision to proceed with the Kalasa-Banduri project. Despite strong objections from the Goa state government, Karnataka said the project would soon be tendered. This is when both states are governed by the BJP, which is also in power at the center, again reinforcing the weak water policy angle.
Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, citing the ruling of the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal, reportedly said that Karnataka does not need permission from Goa to use the water. He said the court had allocated 13.42 tmcft of water from the Mahadyi River to Karnataka. This comes after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Savant decided to send an all-party delegation to protest Prime Minister Modi’s approval of the project by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
The standoff between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Kavli and Godavari waters began before 1969 in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Central Standoff between Pang and Odisha still burning
For some history and background, the Mahai River originates within the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in the Belagavi district of Karnataka state and flows into the Arabian Sea in Goa. The Karnataka State Government aims to implement the Kalasa Banduri Nala project to divert water from Mahadyi to meet the drinking water needs of Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Gadag districts. The project was first proposed in the 80s but was shelved due to opposition from the state of Goa. Then Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna put relentless pressure on the center to clean up the Kalasa-Banduri project.
Noting the ongoing pressure, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government agreed in principle to the project in 2002. Things took a turn after a party-wide delegation led by BJP Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar forced the Vajpayee government to withdraw its approval. The Yi River issue is referred to adjudication.
With all these factors in mind, the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh established the Mahadyi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2010, but proceedings did not begin until 2013. The first ruling was passed on 14 August 2018, allocating 13.7 TMC to Karnataka, including the controversial transfer of 3.9 TMC from Kalasa and Banduri to Malaprabha. The Goa government, challenging the allotted amount, filed a special leave application with the Supreme Court in 2019.
Although the case is pending before the Supreme Court, CWC has given its nod to the project proposed by the Karnataka government. The CWC’s decision was criticized by the Congress Party, which said it was announced when elections in Karnataka were due. The recent mission from Goa to the Center also failed to make much headway, except for the typically politically time-buying statement by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat that “a solution will be worked out soon”.
Approving Kalasa-Banduri project in Karnataka, ignoring Goa’s plea, just because Karnataka is heading to the polls smacks of political opportunism
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh
The first Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal was established in 1969 when the states of Maharashtra, erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka claimed sovereignty over the waters of the river. The issue has not been closed since Telangana was formed in 2014, 10 years after the establishment of the second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.
Despite the Telangana government’s repeated pleas to resolve the Krishna River water sharing issue under the AP Restructuring Act, the center has been dilly-dallying and not acting in a way that suits the Union government. Again, there are political reasons.
The Telangana government has been armed for failing to resolve the dispute, although the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal on the Krishna River was set up to resolve the issue. Pointing out that the Krishna River mainly flows through Telangana, the state government has been demanding a 50 percent share in the guaranteed river waters of 811 tmcft against an allotment of 299 tmcft and Andhra Pradesh’s allocation of 511 tmcft. But the Krishna River Management Board issued directions to also share the river water at a ratio of 66:34 in the 2022-23 water year, continuing the interim water ratio agreed by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments in 2014.
Although Telangana appealed to the BJP government to empower the court to issue an early ruling, it did not acknowledge the plea. As a result, the war between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continues. It’s not just about water sharing. Excessive federal delays in approving irrigation projects are also adversely affecting state interests, especially as project costs rise.
Telangana proposed the Godavari River project and thus sought approval from the Central Water Commission (CWC). However, delays in the federal government’s approval of these projects pushed up the cost from 18% to 25%. To make matters worse, the increase in GST on irrigation works from 2% to 18% has also significantly increased the cost of the project.
Telangana Special Principal Secretary (Irrigation) Rajat Kumar raised the issue again at the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) meeting last week. He said delays in granting permits for projects on the Godavari River in Telangana were raising project costs and putting additional burden on the state.
Only after intervention and relentless pressure from the Telangana government did the Jal Shakti Ministry’s Technical Advisory Committee finally approve three irrigation projects in November – the Mukteshwara (Chinna Kaleshwaram) Uplift Irrigation Project in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally, the Chanaka Korata Barrage and Choutupally Hamantha Reddy to enhance Nizamabad’s irrigation project. But the Sitarama, Samakka Sagar and Mondikunta Vagu projects are still awaiting CWC approval, re-emphasizing the need for better water policy and the Centre’s proactive approach.
what went wrong
The lack of commitment and proper planning by the federal government in resolving water disputes between states is a key factor. Both the Congress at the center and the BJP government have successively put the water war on the political agenda, never digging deep enough to lay a solid foundation for resolving long-standing issues.
The BJP-led coalition government has shied away from taking a tough stance in negotiations on these issues. In the absence of a strong coalition government and central leadership, the courts have continued their practice of delaying cases for decades. A handful of cases have delivered decisions without legal binding force, forcing states to turn to the Supreme Court.
There are at least 15 states involved in interstate river problems, more than half of the states in the country
solution
As the states continued to fight bitter wars, the federal government appeared to be in blatant disregard for believing in and following the basic tenets of cooperative federalism. Not that there is no way out. To this end, Telangana itself has set an example of how such issues can be resolved through dialogue and graciousness. This is how Telangana completed the world’s largest jack-up irrigation system, the Kaleshwaram jack-up irrigation system, on the Godavari River.
The government of Telangana approached the governments of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh with clear intent and no hidden agenda to implement the Kaleshwaram project. Issues were discussed on the table and every effort was made to avoid bloodshed. In fact, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is doing so well that he has even invited his Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh counterparts Devendra Fadnavis and YS Jaganmohan Reddy respectively to attend the inauguration of the Medigadda barrage in 2019. Rao also thanked Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh for supporting the Andhra Pradesh government. Kaleshwaram is now up and running, in fact, with pioneering irrigation schemes like Mission Kakatiya changing the course of the state’s agricultural history.
On the other hand, beyond the literal juggling, one finds the federal government repeatedly wanting to adopt the Cooperative Federal approach, and even respecting it. Approving the Kalasa-Banduri project in Karnataka, ignoring Goa’s plea, just because of the upcoming polls in Karnataka, smacks of political opportunism and ignorance or total disregard for the spirit of federation.
