“Disputes between the riparian on sharing of river waters In post-Independence India are becoming increasingly common’’. Objectively analyse the major disputes in this connection, with special reference to the southern states.

Rivers are natural geographical features which does not follow the man made boundaries. In India which is a ‘nation of nations’ having different provincial boundaries, (28 states and 7 U.T.S) it is but natural that disputes arises a lot . There are 16 river basins in Northern India and 14 in southern India. All of them originate in one state, flows through the boundary of different states and its mouth is in another state., This is the root course for the dispute.

Some of them which are currently brewing and making inter-state relation vicious are as follows;

1. Cauvery: Karnataka & Tamilnadu
2. Krishna-Godavari: Karnataka, Maharashtra & Andhra Pradesh.
3. Yamuna: Uttar Pradesh, Haryana & Delhi
4. Raavi - Beas: Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan.

In the southern states the inter-riverine disputes takes a more complex from because rivers have a steep change in their yearly regimen. Southern states are also the kernel of paddy cultivation which requires standing water, for which they requires a lot of water. All this makes matter worse and vitiates the political as well as the social milieu between the states.

Prominent among them is the Cauvery water disputes. Originating from Tala Cauvery in Karnataka Cauvery flows through mostly dry area. Which also happens to be the rice bowl thus it is considered the most dammed river of the world.

This makes the upper riparian state Karnataka as alleged by Tamilnadu that is exploits the river to such an extent that Tamilnadu gets nothing in return. Scarcity of water affects the farmers of this region. Another issue is with the Mullaperiya dam that is widely disputed between Tamilnadu and Kerala. The problem is with the height of the dam on river Periyar. Though based in Kerala the benefits are given to Tamil nadu as per the agreement. Further North river Krishna experiences the same inter-state dispute between Andhra and Karnataka while still further north river Godavari sees the same type of dispute between the inter-riparian states that are Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Although Northern riparian states has glacially charged rivers. The periodic regimen of flow still alters but not to the extent as it happens in the rivers of southern states. So most disputes deals with the extra utilization from the binding legal contracts (through tribunals – Article 262 of constitution).

Main problem for the increasing complexities in the inter-state river dispute is the data that have become independable as they are based on old parameters. Thus the upper riparian states say they do not have the water for their own needs then how can they allocate it to other states.