Bombay HC directs Maharashtra govt to prepare 'Integrated State Water Plan' within 4 months

The Bombay high court today passed a 199 page judgement looking into the water woes of the people of Marathwada and asked the Maharashtra government to draft a Integrated State Water Plan within four months.

There were a bunch of petitions that had been including a PIL which had been filed by the Marathwada Janta Vikas Parishad praying that a writ of mandamus be directed to the State Government and the Regulatory Authority to make available and release at least 27 TMC water for the benefit of Jayakwadi Reservoir at Paithan in Marathwada Region from upstream dams so as to ensure equitable distribution of water in Marathwada.

During the recording of the judgement the court noted that essentially the dispute is about the sharing and distribution of water from the upstream dams and river water in Godavari subbasin.

The river Godavari originates near Trimbakeshwar in Nasik District in Sayadri Hill ranges. It further flows through Ahmednagar, Aurangabad and Nanded Districts into the State of Andhra Pradesh.

STRONGLY WORDED JUDGEMENT

In 1975 the state government had built the Jayakwadi Project to irrigate about 2.77 lakhs Hectares of area from Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed and Parbhani Districts. However from then till 213 when the petitions were filed, the Dam has been filled to its full designed live storage capacity only five times which led to fights between various districts asking for maximum water.

In a strongly worded judgement the division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice G S Kulkarni quoted the Cauvery water disputes tribunals order over water distribution over different territories.

"The same principle should apply to the territories within a State. Merely because a river flows from a particular region, or a reservoir or a dam is in a particular region, the residents of that region cannot claim exclusive ownership over the flowing water or the stored water," read the order.

The order noted that "as far as the water flowing through the rivers and the water which is stored in the reservoirs/dams is concerned, it must be held that the State is the trustee of the same and the public at large is the beneficiary of the same. It follows that as the State is a trustee of the water, no citizen or entity is entitled to claim any preferential right in respect of the supply of water in a particular manner and of a particular quantity. No one can claim a vested or preferential right to get water from a particular reservoir or river or source of water."

The court was of the view that the State must secure that the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to serve the common good and it must act fairly in the interests of all the beneficiaries. This can be achieved only by equitable distribution of the water.

INCREASE WATER USAGE EFFICIENCY

In the order the court also noted that it was being bogged down with "various figures of rainfall, capacity of various dams, location maps etc. Submissions are made as to what should be the proper period to release the water from upstream dams. The submissions made in many matters indicate that the some of the parties expect the Court to do the job of experts in the field. We do not possess any such expertise."

The bench also noted that it was on September 6, 2004 the State Government communicated its decision of imposing ban on undertaking of any new projects in the upstream of Jayakwadi dam.

However, Bham and other irrigation projects, the work of which commenced prior to 6th September 2004, shall be completed by the State Government as expeditiously as possible.

The court upheld the direction of Committee of experts, which sought implementation of the strict practice of drip irrigation for agriculture to increase water usage efficiency . Subsequently, court ordered the state to exercise rigorous control on the unauthorized pumping of water from Jayakwadi backwaters.

The court also looked into the National Water Policy of 2012 which clearly spelled that mismanagement of water resources has led to a critical situation in many parts of the country. Saying this, the court noted in case of the State is not entitled to release water from the reservoirs for the purpose of Kumbhmela in Nashik or any other religious purposes.

The court directed the State Water Board to prepare a Draft Integrated State Water Plan within a period of four months from today. It also directed the State Government to take appropriate decision within a period of six months from today on the proposal of diverting the water from the west flowing rivers to Godavari and Tapi sub-basin.

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