Final Order of the Cauvery River - A Review Report

Abstract

Water as a natural resource is a crucial requirement both for mankind and by and large progress of a nation. In 1992, the International Conference on Water and Environment at Dublin upheld its significance asserting 'fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource essential to sustain life, development and the environment'. The current problem faced by the worldwide population is inadequate water supply exceeding the demand requirement. According to official source of UNICEF, about 50% of the world population lack access to clean water. The constant initiatives of sustainable water conservation unfortunately falls short taking into consideration extraneous factors like-population explosion, climate change, ever expanding industrialization and politicization of water. Similarly, in India which is crisscrossed by innumerable rivers of which chiefly fourteen being inter-state ones, water access and scarcity is an important concern. The river water, bone of contention, between the co-riparian states witnessed post Independence era, innumerable inter-state disputes like - Cauvery river conflict mainly between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Godavari water dispute between Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, Yamuna river dispute among Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Narmada river conflict between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, Ravi-Beas River dispute between Punjab and Haryana etc .However, the concerned paper will only confine its study to the Cauvery river dispute and critical review of the Final Award (2007) by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal established in 1990 thereby excluding from its purview other inter-state river water conflicts. Following are few reasons for writing this particular problem: The Cauvery, lifeline of the Indian Peninsula, is a monsoon fed river unlike the North Indian rivers. The agriculture and economic life of people of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka turn around the river. Water shortage in the area unfavorably affects the food security of paddy cultivable areas. Further more, distress years often strike a death knell to quantum of water release by the upper riparian State like Karnataka to the lower riparian state like Tamil Nadu. In this perspective, it is a very serious socio-environmental issue characterized by failure of political negotiations and interference of central governments.The Cauvery river issue is an age old problem and still continuing for more than 120 years; whereas most inter-state river disputes is more or less settled. Till now, the legal path of the Cauvery disputes is not a smooth sail. Non observance with the award given by the tribunal (Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal) is not backed by strict sanctions and by rendering apology the political officials had taken the escapist route. Even after the final order, the petitions filed by the rival states are pending for hearing before the Supreme Court. Thus, the issue demands attraction undeniably due to its legal regulatory gaps. In this relevance, the present article will deal with the extent of future promise hold by the order in encouraging peaceful settlement among all the stakeholders. For convenience, the whole paper is divided into various parts. The First Part deals with the water jurisprudence of the inter-state river disputes. The Second Part will focus on the legal framework in India in relation to inter-state river disputes. The Third Part deals with a brief genesis of Cauvery river issue and significance of the Final Order. The Fourth and the Fifth Parts deal with the optimistic impact and critical analysis of the Final Order respectively. Finally, the last Part ends with suggestion and conclusion.