Centre bats for single tribunal to settle inter-state water woes

Kolkata: The Centre is in favour of setting up a single tribunal to settle inter-state water disputes, to ensure that the issues get resolved faster.

Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, said: "The Centre feels that instead of several tribunals in states, a single tribunal should come up and the decision of the single tribunal has to be mandatory. It will help in fast settlement of disputes."

Meghwal was speaking at a Press conference after the regional conference of Eastern States on Water Resources in Kolkata on Monday. This is the second regional conference in the country to settle inter-state water disputes, after the one that was held in Hyderabad for 6 South Indian states.

Besides the top brass of the Ministry of Water Resources and other related Central government organisations, ministers and senior officials of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Odisha were also present in the meeting.

"After the directions of the Supreme Court over the setting up of the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Basin, the situation is such that disputes of the states over water sharing have to be resolved and it has to take place faster. The Centre feels that instead of separate tribunals in different states, a single tribunal should come up, the decision of which has to be mandatory. It will help in fast settlement of disputes," Meghwal said, adding that fast settlement of issues will be helpful for both people and better governance. He said that the eastern part of the country is weaker in terms of irrigation facility and it has also been discussed in Monday's meeting.