"Bihar and Jharkhand Sign MoU Resolving 25-Year Sone River Water Dispute"
Entry 17, State List
constitutional provision making water primarily a state subject under the Seventh Schedule.
Entry 56, Union List
empowers Parliament to regulate inter-state rivers in the public interest.
Inter-state river water disputes are among the most persistent governance challenges in India's federal structure. Water is listed under Entry 17 of the State List (Seventh Schedule), making it primarily a state subject. However, Entry 56 of the Union List empowers Parliament to regulate inter-state rivers to the extent declared expedient in the public interest. This constitutional tension — state sovereignty over water versus Union oversight of shared rivers — is the structural root cause of most inter-state disputes.
Article 262 of the Constitution specifically addresses this tension. It empowers Parliament to provide for the adjudication of disputes relating to the use, distribution, or control of inter-state river waters, and crucially bars the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and other courts in such matters. Parliament enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act (ISRWDA), 1956 under this authority. Tribunal awards, once published in the Official Gazette, carry the force of a decree of the Supreme Court. Article 263 separately provides for an Inter-State Council to coordinate between states and the Centre, and has emerged as a preferred forum for negotiated settlements over adversarial tribunal proceedings — reflecting the broader principle of cooperative federalism.
The ISRWDA, 1956 lays down a structured procedure for dispute resolution. A state government may request the Union Government to refer a dispute to a tribunal. The Union Government must first attempt resolution through negotiation; only if negotiations fail does it constitute a tribunal. Tribunal proceedings are notoriously slow: the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal took 17 years to deliver its award. This chronic delay has pushed states and the Centre toward negotiated, MoU-based settlements as a faster and less adversarial alternative.
The constitutional design reflects a deliberate federal balance. …
'While the national political parties in India favour centralisation, the regional parties are in favour of State autonomy.' Comment.
The Indian Constitution has provisions for holding joint session of the two Houses of the Parliament. Enumerate the occasions when this would normally happen and also the occasions when it cannot, with reason thereof.
Consider the following statements regarding inter-state river water disputes in India:
1.Article 262 empowers Parliament to adjudicate inter-state river water disputes and bars the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in such matters.
2.Water is listed under Entry 56 of the Union List, making it primarily a Union subject.
3.Tribunal awards under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, once published in the Official Gazette, have the force of a decree of the Supreme Court.
4.The Inter-State Council is established under Article 263 and is chaired by the Prime Minister.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Match the following inter-state water agreements with the states/rivers involved:
List I (Agreement/Project) — List II (States/River)
I.Sone River MoU — A. Rajasthan, Haryana
II.Yamuna Water Project — B. Bihar, Jharkhand
III.Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project — C. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
IV.Narmada Award settlement — D. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan
Select the correct answer:
With reference to the Yamuna Water Project agreement signed between Rajasthan and Haryana in 2026, consider the following statements:
1.Approximately 580 MCM of water will be conveyed from the Yamuna Canal to Rajasthan via three underground pipelines.
2.The agreement enables Rajasthan to utilise its water allocation under the 1994 Upper Yamuna Basin agreement.
3.The project is funded entirely by the Central Government under the cooperative federalism framework.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project MoU signed in 2026:
1.Six states — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan — are parties to the MoU.
2.The Central Government will provide 90% of the funding for the water component as central assistance.
3.Himachal Pradesh's water allocation under the project will be transferred to Delhi and Rajasthan in exchange for cost-sharing of the power component.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following correctly distinguishes between Article 262 and Article 263 of the Indian Constitution?
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