Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Apex Court Orders Centre to Form Vansadhara Water Dispute Tribunal


WIO Advocacy Update V

Form Tribunal to Look into Orissa-Andhra River Dispute, orders the Apex Court

- It also orders formation of an expert committee to look into scientific solution to water woes


Supreme Court orders Centre to form ‘Vansadhara River Dispute Tribunal’ and orders scientific solution to water woes.

- Sweeping orders came on a Writ Petition filed by Orissa since 2006 regarding Vansadhara water dispute.

Orissa is no water rich
The Supreme Court of India’s direction to form an expert committee to resolve water crisis is a snub to those who believe that Orissa is a water surplus state. Moved by the plight of exhausted housewives waiting in serpentine queues for hours to fill their water pitchers, the apex court on Tuesday asked the government to form a panel of scientists to suggest ways to tackle the malady of water woes. This order came on a long-pending dispute between the central government and Orissa on river water sharing.
While pronouncing judgment on a Writ Petition filed by the Government of Orissa against the Government of India regarding dispute arising out of Vansadhara river water sharing between Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, the Court order that these kind of cases depict grave water scenario in India. This order pronounced by the Apex Court on February 6, 2009 is unique and landmark in many counts. On one hand it termed the present dispute between Orissa and Andhra Pradesh – pending since year 2006 - as a ‘water dispute’ within the meaning of Section 2(c) (i) of the 1956 Act, which refers to any dispute between two or more State Governments with regard to the use, distribution or control of the waters of or/in any inter-State river or river valley. The Court directed the Central Government to constitute a water dispute tribunal within six months.


Science has played with water.. Science to find solutions

Going beyond, Honourable Markandeya Katju, in a separate concurring judgment observed that given the complicities and total dependence on water, Courts or laws can do very little to quell disputes arising out of water. “Experience has shown that while Tribunals have played a role in resolving such disputes to a certain extent, but they have not, and cannot resolve the water shortage problem permanently”, observed Honourable Katju. He pointed out that we have no right to play with water. He quoted from earlier judgements,

“Water is a gift of nature. Human hand cannot be permitted to convert this bounty into a curse, an oppression. The primary use to which water is put being drinking, it would be mocking nature to force the people who live on the bank of a river to remain thirsty”

"..........Right to live guaranteed in any civilized society implies the right to food, water, decent environment, education, medical care and shelter. These are basic human rights known to any civilized society. All civil, political, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention or under the Constitution of India cannot be exercised without these basic human rights."...........

The apex Court then pronounced the following orders,
- I recommend to the Central Government to immediately constitute a body of eminent scientists in the field who should be requested to do scientific research in this area on a war footing to find out scientific ways and means of solving the water shortage problem in the country.
- This body of scientists should be given all the financial, technical and administrative help by the Central and State Governments for this purpose.
- The Central Government should constitute such a body of scientists immediately and give them all the help… The problem brooks no delay for being addressed not even for a day.

The court suggested formation of scientists' panel headed by the Secretary in the Ministry for Science and Technology, with the Secretary of the Water Resources Ministry being one of its members. Other members of the committee will be picked up by the chairman, it advised.

Clearly, the judgment is a pointer that we can escape from water scarcity and no state or no province is water surplus in any manner.

For details of the judgment please visit our blog at: http://climatechangecrusaders.blogspot.com/

==============================================
For further information please contact us at:

Ranjan K Panda
Convener, Water Initiatives Orissa (+91-9437050103)

Bimal Prasad Pandia
Coordinator, Water Initiatives Orissa (+91-9438488563)

For details of the SC judgement, please visit: http://www.climatechangecrusaders.blogspot.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment