No plan yet to bring water on concurrent list: Shekhawat

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, June 7

The government on Wednesday said there was no plan to bring water, currently a state subject, on the Concurrent List, though eight inter-state water disputes were pending in tribunals and courts at different stages.

Among pending disputes is the decades-old issue regarding construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal for river water sharing between Punjab and Haryana. The matter is pending before the Supreme Court, with the two states unable to reach a resolution despite the Centre’s interventions at the court’s behest.

“We sometimes see only disputes. It is a fact that seven to eight water disputes are pending in courts and tribunals at different stages. But 200 intra-state, inter-state and international water cooperation mechanisms have been working successfully for years,” Shekhawat said in response to a Tribune query about whether the Centre was considering bringing water on the concurrent list given wastages of water resources due to prolonged delays in inter-state water dispute redressals.

Shekhawat said there is “no plan yet to bring water on the concurrent list and the government will strengthen existing laws to address the issue”.

“Experience has shown that in respect of challenges between different states regarding division of river waters, tribunals are formed and take decades to deliver their decisions. We have decided to take the legislative route to fix this gap,” Shekhawat said, hoping that the Rajya Sabha would, in the upcoming Monsoon Session, pass the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which the Lok Sabha had earlier approved.

The Bill amends the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, for speedy resolution of lingering inter-state water disputes by establishing a single central tribunal with benches in place of the many existing ones.

The Bill assumes significance in context of the water stress situation which India is staring at, along with regional imbalances in river water availability.

A government assessment shows that by 2047, water requirements will exceed the total quantum of water available.

Today the harvestable component of water is around 1,180 billion cubic metres as against the 880 bcm requirement.

By 2047 the water demand will outstrip the total harvestable component.

Decline in over-exploited ground water units

Shekhawat, sharing data to mark nine years of PM Narendra Modi-led government, said there had been reversals in trends of over- exploitation of groundwater assessment units. Overexploited units had fallen from 1,186 in 2017 to 1,006 in 2022; critically exploited from 313 to 260 and safe units had risen from 4,310 to 4,780.