Environment and Disaster Management › Environmental law and institutions
हिन्दी — Read in HindiRivers: sharing, linking and disputes
Disputes between States and how they are settled, river linking, and the rivers India shares with its other neighbours. It serves GS1 answers on resources and GS2 answers on federalism.
Foundation note: The Indus Waters Treaty
All 10 articles shown; the 2 that changed from 1 to 31 July 2026 are marked.Show only these
The Sone agreement
Copy link to The Sone agreementPrelims and Mains
The Sone agreement divides the water of the Sone, a right bank tributary that rises near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and joins the Ganga near Patna.
- Its water was first divided under the Bansagar Agreement of 1973 between Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and undivided Bihar.
Two routes to settle a river
- Article 262 of the Constitution lets Parliament provide by law for deciding disputes over interstate river waters, and keep the courts out of them.
- The Inter State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 is that law, under which the Centre constitutes a tribunal when a State asks.
- The other route is a negotiated agreement, which binds the States without any tribunal at all.
- Which route they take decides how long the water stays unshared.
What changed
1 Sep 2026
- Bihar and Jharkhand signed a memorandum of understanding dividing the Sone's water, ending a dispute open since Jharkhand was carved out in 2000.
- Bihar takes 5.75 million acre feet and Jharkhand 2, from the 7.75 that undivided Bihar held under the Bansagar Agreement.
River linking
Copy link to River linkingPrelims and Mains
River linking is the transfer of water from a basin in surplus to one in deficit, an inter basin transfer.
- It rests on the National Perspective Plan of 1980, worked up by the National Water Development Agency into 30 links.
- The objection is that a receiving region becomes a fresh claimant on water that already has users, and may demand its transferred water even in a distress year.
- The alternative is demand side management: conserving, rewarding efficient farm use and curbing groundwater drawn on free power.
- Ken Betwa is the first link being built; its Daudhan dam lies inside Panna Tiger Reserve, and ten villages are submerged.
What changed
18 Aug 2026BriefAdivasis in Chhatarpur say they do not want to leave, alleging eviction before compensation and irregular gram sabha consent for the Ken Betwa link. Madhya Pradesh has ordered an inquiry into compensation and gram sabha proceedings. Separately, the Kosi Mechi link within Bihar is due by March 2029 under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme. The Hindu, 18 Aug 2026: 'We don't want to leave': why Adivasis are resisting the Ken-Betwa river link (opens in a new tab) · The Indian Express, 22 Jul 2026: Madhya Pradesh orders an inquiry into rehabilitation under the Ken Betwa link project (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 27 Jul 2026: KOSI-MECHI INTRA-STATE LINK PROJECT (opens in a new tab)
The Brahmaputra and China
Copy link to The Brahmaputra and ChinaPrelims and Mains
The Brahmaputra is the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, so India and Bangladesh lie downstream of whatever China builds on it.
1997
UN Watercourses Convention; neither India nor China has joined
2002
Flood season memorandum on the Brahmaputra
2005
Flood season memorandum on the Sutlej
2017
China stops sharing Brahmaputra data during the Doklam standoff
No treaty
- There is no water treaty between India and China, only the Expert Level Mechanism of 2006.
- It is a consultative channel through which China passes flood season data, and it commits China to nothing.
- Neither country is party to the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention, which requires equitable use, no significant harm and prior notice of upstream works.
The dam at the Great Bend
- China began building a dam at the Great Bend in July 2025, which its analysts project at about 60 GW, three times the Three Gorges.
- Water may be diverted through a tunnel, so India cannot judge the effect downstream.
- More than 14,000 glacial lakes dot the Tibetan Plateau, so upstream data is part of a warning system rather than a courtesy.
What changed
6 Sep 2026
- The Hindu reported that the Nepal glacial collapse is unlikely to halt China's mega dam plan, though the plateau's glacial lakes are growing fastest near its southern borders.
The Hindu, 6 Sep 2026
Farakka and the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty
Copy link to Farakka and the 1996 Ganges Water TreatyPrelims and Mains
The Farakka Barrage, commissioned in 1975 on the Ganga in West Bengal, diverts water into the Bhagirathi Hooghly to keep Kolkata port navigable, a purpose inside India rather than at the border.
- On the Ganga India is the upstream State and Bangladesh the downstream one, the reverse of India's position on the Brahmaputra.
- The 1996 India Bangladesh Ganga Water Sharing Treaty shares the lean season flow at Farakka; Bangladesh gets half the flow when it is below 70,000 cusecs, and in March to May each side gets at least 35,000 cusecs in alternating ten day periods.
- The treaty expires in December 2026, and both countries say talks to extend it are under way.
- Reduced flow downstream has dried rivers, lowered groundwater, raised salinity and cut fresh water to the Sundarbans.
- Bihar, upstream of the barrage, blames it for trapping silt and worsening its floods, a contested claim.
The 1996 Ganges Water Treaty formula
| When | How the flow is shared |
|---|---|
| Flow below 70,000 cusecs | Half each |
| March to May | At least 35,000 cusecs to each side in alternating ten day periods |
What changed
15 Jun 2026
- Bangladesh approved a barrage on the Padma downstream of Farakka.
- A slower Padma drops silt on its bed and floods faster in the monsoon.
Mains: Experts argue big barrages rarely manage complex river systems and favour a series of smaller check dams, and note that Chinese involvement could weaken India's standing as the region's water actor.
The Hindu, 15 Jun 2026: Dhaka's new Padma barrage will reshape South Asia's water power map (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 1 Jun 2026: What is Bangladesh's Padma Barrage? (opens in a new tab)
Brahmaputra Board
Copy link to Brahmaputra BoardPrelims and Mains
The Brahmaputra Board is a body set up under the Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980 to prepare master plans for flood control, erosion and drainage, and it remains advisory.
What changed
4 Aug 2026Newnewly added
- Of 73 master plans identified across the Brahmaputra, Barak and related basins, only 52 had been approved up to 2025.
- A North East Water Management Authority was first proposed in 2004 and a draft Bill was listed in Parliament in 2022, but it has not been enacted.
- Assam flooded in a season with a rainfall deficit, so flooding is tracking the condition of channels and embankments and not the quantity of rain.
Mains: these rivers cross several States and countries, yet flood management follows State boundaries because water is a State subject.
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
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.
Show history (1 other update)
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)
Mahanadi water dispute
Copy link to Mahanadi water disputePrelims and Mains
The Mahanadi dispute between Chhattisgarh and Odisha went to a tribunal set up in 2018 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, and the States may instead settle it by negotiation.
What changed
30 Jul 2026BriefChhattisgarh and Odisha agreed to seek a negotiated settlement through a technical committee chaired by the Chairman of the Central Water Commission. PIB, 30 Jul 2026: UNION MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI CHAIRS MEETING WITH CHIEF MINISTERS OF CHHATTISGARH AND ODISHA TO FACILITATE AN AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OF THE MAHANADI WATER DISPUTE (opens in a new tab)
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)
The Teesta and China
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The Teesta is a river shared by India and Bangladesh, rising from Tso Lhamu lake in Sikkim.
- India uses it for hydropower in Sikkim and irrigation at the Gajoldoba barrage in West Bengal.
- Bangladesh's flows drop to a trickle from December to February when India holds water upstream, and the Teesta treaty remains unsigned.
- A lower riparian project cannot alter the river upstream in India.
What changed
27 Jun 2026BriefBangladesh's Prime Minister received China's assurance in Beijing in June on the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, under a 2016 memorandum of understanding with the Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA). The Hindu, 27 Jun 2026: Explained | China, Bangladesh in talks over Teesta project (opens in a new tab)
See also: Farakka and the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty
Yamuna sharing: Haryana to Rajasthan
Copy link to Yamuna sharing: Haryana to RajasthanPrelims
The 1994 Upper Yamuna agreement divides the river's water among the basin States.
- It also envisaged three storage dams, Renuka, Kishau and Lakhwar, which remain incomplete after three decades.
What changed
29 Jun 2026BriefHaryana and Rajasthan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to supply Yamuna canal water, July to October, from Hathinikund to Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu. Officials say it will speed the three dams. The Indian Express, 29 Jun 2026: Haryana to supply 580 million cubic metres of water to Rajasthan every year (opens in a new tab)