Polity and Governance › Federalism
हिन्दी — Read in HindiInterstate relations, councils, border and water disputes
The States among themselves: the councils where they meet, their border and water disputes, and the reorganisation of States under Articles 3 and 4.
Showing 3 of 6 articles, those that changed from 1 to 30 June 2026.Show all
Assam and Nagaland oil exploration pact
Copy link to Assam and Nagaland oil exploration pactPrelims and Mains
The Assam and Nagaland oil exploration pact is a tripartite agreement with the Centre for joint exploration of hydrocarbons in the disputed belt on the two States' border.
What changed
11 Jun 2026Briefnewly addedIt covers more than 1,000 sq km of the disputed belt, with output shared 50:50. The boundary itself stays before the Supreme Court in Assam's suit of 1988 under Article 131, the Court's original jurisdiction over disputes between States. Mains: Sharing revenue while a territorial dispute stays in court is a way of cooperating without settling the boundary. Swarajya, 11 Jun 2026: Northeast oil exploration gets major push as Assam, Nagaland and Centre ink tripartite pact in New Delhi (opens in a new tab)
Cauvery and Mekedatu
Copy link to Cauvery and MekedatuPrelims and Mains
The Cauvery Water Management Authority implements the sharing of the river between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry as fixed by the tribunal and modified by the Supreme Court in 2018.
- Mekedatu is a dam Karnataka proposes on the river inside its own territory.
Appraisal in the Cauvery basin
State report
The State submits a preliminary report
CWC scrutiny
The Central Water Commission checks hydrology and inter State aspects
Project report
Preparation of the detailed project report is approved
Technical note
The CWC sends a technical note to the Cauvery Water Management Authority
Authority's view
The authority gives its view, or is presumed to concur after six months
Other clearances
Environmental and tribal clearances follow
What changed
25 Jun 2026
- The Tamil Nadu Assembly on 19 June unanimously opposed Mekedatu and sought a tribunal.
- The Supreme Court had dismissed Tamil Nadu's review of a November 2025 decision calling its challenge premature.
- Karnataka is preparing a revised project report.
- Tamil Nadu also opposes new Central Water Commission (CWC) guidelines whose presumptive concurrence clause treats the authority as agreeing if it gives no view within six months.
Mains: The dispute is driven by a trust deficit between the riparian States rather than the project's stated drinking water purpose.
The Hindu, 25 Jun 2026: Furore over the Mekedatu project (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 26 Jun 2026: Why is Tamil Nadu opposing the Centre's latest guidelines on Cauvery basin? | Explained (opens in a new tab)
Show history (1 other update)
30 Jul 2026
- The Cauvery Water Management Authority upheld a direction that Karnataka release 3,500 cusecs a day to Tamil Nadu.
- On Mekedatu the Centre told Parliament that the 2018 Supreme Court judgment does not require Karnataka to obtain other States' permission.
- But any revised project report needs appraisal by the Central Water Commission and the Authority's views.
Mains: Karnataka often meets the annual quantity but not the monthly schedule, so compliance figures and distress can both be true.
The Tungabhadra and the Krishna award
Copy link to The Tungabhadra and the Krishna awardPrelims and Mains
The Tungabhadra is a tributary of the Krishna, formed where the Tunga and Bhadra, which rise in the Western Ghats, join near Shivamogga. Its dam of 1955 irrigates land in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- The Tungabhadra Board regulates supplies under the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, which in 1976 fixed a 65:35 Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh share; the fixed formula and the Board have kept the project largely free of disputes.
What changed
25 Jun 2026BriefThe three Chief Ministers and the Jal Shakti Minister inaugurated new steel spillway gates after a crest gate was washed away in August 2024. Siltation has cut the dam's storage, and Telangana asks that the Board be strengthened under the Central Water Commission. The Hindu, 25 Jun 2026: Tungabhadra river: Origin, course, dam project and inter-State water sharing explained (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 29 Jun 2026: Sharing waters: On the Tungabhadra model (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 26 Jun 2026: What is the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme | Explained (opens in a new tab)