Inter-State Water Issues in India: Root causes and guiding principles for conflict resolutions
(2010) In IIIEE Master thesis IMEN56 20101The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
- Abstract
- India has a composite federal structure comprising of 28 States with a strong unitary bias. A majority of rivers in India crisscross the political boundaries of two or more States. The river waters often give rise to inter-State water conflicts. Most of the conflicts are normally resolved by way of mutually agreeable water sharing agreements. However, in the cases of intransigence, the Constitution of India has made some provisions for adjudication.
This explorative study was conducted with an aim to delve into the root causes of inter-State water conflicts in India and the effectiveness of associated legal and institutional frameworks for the subsequent optimal apportionment and utilisation of waters. By dissecting the various cases of... (More) - India has a composite federal structure comprising of 28 States with a strong unitary bias. A majority of rivers in India crisscross the political boundaries of two or more States. The river waters often give rise to inter-State water conflicts. Most of the conflicts are normally resolved by way of mutually agreeable water sharing agreements. However, in the cases of intransigence, the Constitution of India has made some provisions for adjudication.
This explorative study was conducted with an aim to delve into the root causes of inter-State water conflicts in India and the effectiveness of associated legal and institutional frameworks for the subsequent optimal apportionment and utilisation of waters. By dissecting the various cases of adjudication on inter-State waters for analysis, the study has looked into what fundamental guiding principles are followed in apportioning the river waters between the States. The applicability of a joint EIA in a transboundary context as laid out in Espoo Convention and the interlinking of rivers as ways of facilitating in the resolving the inter-State water issues, have also been included in the study.
The study found that water conflicts in India are heavily influenced by both political and regional factors, and there are still some lacunae in the legal frameworks for resolving the inter-State water disputes. The principle of equitable apportionment of waters, as enshrined in the Helsinki Rules of 1966, has been extensively relied upon for apportioning the waters in the cases of disputes. The concept of a joint EIA found much relevance with regard to the inter-State waters. On the issue of interlinking of rivers in India, the opinions of the professionals are divided. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1784794
- author
- Ashraf, Vaseem LU
- supervisor
-
- Naoko Tojo LU
- organization
- course
- IMEN56 20101
- year
- 2010
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- publication/series
- IIIEE Master thesis
- report number
- 2010:02
- ISSN
- 1401-9191
- language
- English
- id
- 1784794
- date added to LUP
- 2011-02-07 17:39:30
- date last changed
- 2011-04-19 14:04:50
@misc{1784794, abstract = {{India has a composite federal structure comprising of 28 States with a strong unitary bias. A majority of rivers in India crisscross the political boundaries of two or more States. The river waters often give rise to inter-State water conflicts. Most of the conflicts are normally resolved by way of mutually agreeable water sharing agreements. However, in the cases of intransigence, the Constitution of India has made some provisions for adjudication. This explorative study was conducted with an aim to delve into the root causes of inter-State water conflicts in India and the effectiveness of associated legal and institutional frameworks for the subsequent optimal apportionment and utilisation of waters. By dissecting the various cases of adjudication on inter-State waters for analysis, the study has looked into what fundamental guiding principles are followed in apportioning the river waters between the States. The applicability of a joint EIA in a transboundary context as laid out in Espoo Convention and the interlinking of rivers as ways of facilitating in the resolving the inter-State water issues, have also been included in the study. The study found that water conflicts in India are heavily influenced by both political and regional factors, and there are still some lacunae in the legal frameworks for resolving the inter-State water disputes. The principle of equitable apportionment of waters, as enshrined in the Helsinki Rules of 1966, has been extensively relied upon for apportioning the waters in the cases of disputes. The concept of a joint EIA found much relevance with regard to the inter-State waters. On the issue of interlinking of rivers in India, the opinions of the professionals are divided.}}, author = {{Ashraf, Vaseem}}, issn = {{1401-9191}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, series = {{IIIEE Master thesis}}, title = {{Inter-State Water Issues in India: Root causes and guiding principles for conflict resolutions}}, year = {{2010}}, }