Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal gets extension till July 31, 2025

 NEW DELHI: Krishna  Water Disputes Tribunal , constituted for adjudicating dispute and  river water sharing between Maharashtra, Karnataka and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in April 2004, has got another extension till July 31, 2025 with effect from April 1.It is one of the five active Tribunals in the country which has kept on getting extension year-after-year with the oldest one being the Ravi & Beas Tribunal which was constituted 38 years ago.

Terms of reference of the 20-year-old Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal was amended last year to accommodate water-sharing concerns of the fourth state Telangana as well, factoring in issues under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
As part of its latest extension, the central govt on March 21 notified that the Tribunal may now submit its report on addressing the water-sharing disputes among four states by July 31next year. Its term was earlier scheduled to end on March 31.
"The central govt shall dissolve the Tribunal after it has forwarded its report and as soon as the central govt is satisfied that no further reference to the Tribunal in the matter would be necessary," said the notification.

Besides the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal and the oldest one Ravi & Beas Tribunal which was constituted in April, 1986 to adjudicate water-sharing disputes among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the remaining three active Tribunals are Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal for Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (constituted in February, 2010), Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal for Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka (November, 2010), and Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal for Odisha and Chhattisgarh (March, 2018).
In addition to these five, there are two more disputes but no Tribunal has, so far, been formed for it under the existing Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956. These two are the one raised by Bihar in respect of Tilaiya-Dhadhar diversion scheme concerning Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal; and the second raised by Tamil Nadu in respect of use, distribution and control of Pennaiyar river and its tributaries concerning Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and UT of Puducherry.