Krishna River Water Dispute
Context: Dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was in the news. Both the government submitted in the Supreme Court that there is no information forthcoming from Karnataka for the past 14 years about how much Krishna river water it has diverted.
India is a Federal democracy consisting of various rivers that cross interstate boundaries. It is thus, essential to evolve a mechanism that is efficient and effective in resolving disputes over river water between the states. Water disputes are not uncommon in India; numerous disputes have taken place in India since Independence.
The allocation of water has always been a controversial issue. The primary reason for the increase in demand for water is due to the uncontrollable growth of population along with irrigation-based agriculture, rapid industrialization, and the rise of thermal power.
Although the Constitution does not have many provisions with respect to water disputes, it does, however, provide the Parliament with the power to make laws on this subject.
The politicization of interstate water disputes in India inevitably leads to the ineffectiveness of the dispute resolution structure.One such dispute is the Krishna Water Dispute between the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.
About the Krishna River Dispute
The Krishna is an east-flowing river that originates at Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and merges with the Bay of Bengal, flowing through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Together with its tributaries, it forms a vast basin that covers 33% of the total area of the four states.
A dispute over the sharing of Krishna waters has been ongoing for many decades, beginning with the erstwhile Hyderabad and Mysore states, and later continuing between successors Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The river rises in western Maharashtra state in the Western Ghats range near the town of Mahabaleshwar, not far from the coast of the Arabian Sea.
It flows east to Wai and then in a generally southeasterly direction past Sangli to the border of Karnataka state.
There the river turns east and flows in an irregular course across north-central Karnataka and then to the southeast and into southwestern Telangana state.
It then veers southeast and then northeast, forming a portion of the border with Andhra Pradesh state.
Turning east it flows into Andhra Pradesh to its delta head at Vijayawada, and from there flows southeast and then south until it enters the Bay of Bengal.
The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Musi.
Major Water Disputes in India
Krishna water dispute between states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
Godavari water dispute between states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa.
Narmada water dispute between states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra.
Cauvery water dispute between states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Mahadayi / Mandovi water dispute between states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Vansadhara water dispute between states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa.