India's oldest water tribunal gets yet another extension after 39 years of unresolved dispute

Nearly four decades after it was constituted, the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal — India’s oldest active inter-state water dispute tribunal — has been granted yet another one-year extension, effective from August 5. The extension was notified by the Union government and made public on Friday.

Formed in April 1986 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956, the tribunal was tasked with adjudicating water-sharing disputes over the Ravi and Beas rivers among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Despite forwarding a report in 1987, the tribunal has yet to deliver a final resolution, as the concerned states sought clarifications on several issues, keeping the matter pending for over 39 years.

“The central government, after considering the exigencies of the work involved as pointed out by the tribunal, is of the opinion that it is necessary to extend the period for submission of the further report of the Ravi and Beas Waters Tribunal by one year,” read the official notification.

The prolonged delay holds significance not only because of the sheer passage of time but also due to the pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute between Punjab and Haryana. The outcome of the tribunal’s final report is expected to play a crucial role in resolving the decades-long SYL impasse, as the canal pertains directly to the sharing of Ravi-Beas waters.

The Ravi and Beas tribunal is one of five such tribunals in India that continue to function far beyond their initial mandates. Others include:

• Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (constituted in November 2010) for disputes among Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka;
• Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (constituted in April 2004), the second-oldest, involving Maharashtra, Karnataka and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh;
• Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (February 2010) between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh; and
• Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (March 2018) between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

(With inputs from ToI)