What a River Board Would Have Done
Chapter Fifteen
Syllabus topic 1, "Water"
Pages 59 to 62 of 885
In one line
A Board would have planned the whole basin as one unit, prepared the schemes, divided the cost, and watched whether the States did what they had agreed.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: section 13 lists the functions for which a Board may be empowered, which are advice on conservation and optimum utilisation, irrigation, water supply and drainage, hydro-electric power, flood control, navigation, afforestation and soil erosion, and prevention of pollution; section 14 empowers it by notification and requires it to consult the Governments interested at all stages and to endeavour to secure agreement; section 15 provides for the preparation, confirmation and cost-allocation of a scheme; and section 16 gives it its general powers.
The functions, which are the syllabus of river basin management
Section 13 provides that a Board may be empowered under section 14(1) to perform all or any of these functions.
Clause (a), advice, on any matter concerning the regulation or development of the specified inter-State river within its area of operation, and in particular advice on the co-ordination of the States' activities with a view to resolve conflicts among them and to achieve maximum results, for the purpose of:
(i) conservation, control and optimum utilisation of water resources of the inter-State river; (ii) promotion and operation of schemes for irrigation, water supply or drainage; (iii) promotion and operation of schemes for the development of hydro-electric power; (iv) promotion and operation of schemes for flood control; (v) promotion and control of navigation; (vi) promotion of afforestation and control of soil erosion; (vii) prevention of pollution of the waters of the inter-State river; (viii) such other matters as may be prescribed.
Clause (b), preparing schemes, including multi-purpose schemes, for regulating or developing the river, and advising the Governments interested to undertake measures to execute them.
Clause (c), allocating among the Governments interested the costs of executing a scheme and of the works undertaken in executing it.
Clause (d), watching the progress of the measures undertaken by the Governments interested.
Clause (e), any supplemental, incidental or consequential matter.
Read that list again and notice what it contains. Water quantity, water quality, power, floods, navigation, soil and forests, all in one body for one basin. That is integrated river basin management, the idea every water policy since 1987 has recommended, and it has been on the Indian statute book since 1956.
Section 14: how a Board is empowered
Section 14(1). "The Central Government, after consultation with the Governments interested, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, empower the Board to perform all or such of the functions under section 13 as may be specified in the notification."
Section 14(2). The Board exercises its powers within its area of operation.
What a River Board Would Have Done
Section 14(3). "In performing its functions under this Act, the Board shall consult the Governments interested at all stages and endeavour to secure, as far as may be practicable, agreement among such Governments."
Two things follow. A Board's functions are not automatic; they are conferred function by function by notification, so two Boards could have very different powers. And section 14(3) makes consensus the working method: the Board's job is to get agreement, not to impose a result.
Section 15: schemes, and who pays
Section 15(1). Where a Board has been empowered under section 13(b), it may prepare schemes, not inconsistent with its functions, for regulating or developing the river within its area.
Section 15(2) and (3). After preparing a scheme the Board consults the Governments interested and the Central Government, and after considering their suggestions may confirm, modify or reject it; the scheme as confirmed or modified becomes final and is called the approved scheme.
Section 15(4), the cost. Before a scheme is approved the Board must take into account the costs of executing it and of maintaining the works, and the costs shall be allocated among the Governments interested in such proportion as may be agreed or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Board having regard to the benefits which will be received from the scheme by them.
Section 15(5). The approved scheme is forwarded to the Governments interested, the Board may advise them to undertake measures for executing it, and a copy goes to the Central Government.
Section 15(6). The Central Government may, on request or otherwise, assist in taking steps necessary for execution.
Section 15(4) is the most interesting provision in the Act, because it is the one place where a Board decides something rather than advising. In default of agreement the Board itself determines the cost share, by reference to benefit. That is a real power, and it is the reason section 22 provides an arbitration against it.
Sections 9 to 12, and 16 to 21: the machinery
Section 9 saves the acts and proceedings of a Board from being invalidated by a vacancy or a defect in constitution. Section 10 allows the Central Government to appoint an advisory committee to assist a Board. Section 11 allows the temporary association of persons with a Board for a particular purpose, without a right to vote. Section 12 provides for its staff.
Section 16 gives the Board its general powers: to do all things necessary or expedient for the purpose of carrying out its functions, including entering and inspecting, carrying out surveys and investigations, and requiring information.
Section 17 provides for payments to the Board by the Governments interested, section 18 for its Fund, section 19 for its budget, section 20 for an annual report, and section 21 for accounts and audit.
What a River Board Would Have Done
Worked example
A Board for the Mahanadi is notified with all the functions in section 13.
Step one, what does it do first? It gathers the data: flows, storages, cropping, demand. Section 16 lets it survey and require information, which no Tribunal can do until it is constituted.
Step two, it prepares a scheme under section 13(b) and section 15(1), say a set of storages with an agreed operating rule.
Step three, it consults Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the Union, and confirms the scheme with modifications. It becomes the approved scheme under section 15(3).
Step four, the cost. The two States cannot agree. Under section 15(4) the Board itself determines the shares by reference to the benefits each will receive.
Step five, Chhattisgarh objects to the allocation. Section 22 lets it refer the difference to an arbitrator appointed by the Chief Justice of India, whose decision is final and binding.
Step six, and if a State simply does nothing? Section 13(d) lets the Board watch the progress and report. Section 22(1)(c) makes the refusal or neglect of a Government to undertake measures in pursuance of the Board's advice itself a referable difference. That is the closest the Act comes to compulsion, and it is worth stating: the Act cannot force a State to act, but it can turn the failure to act into an arbitrable dispute with a binding award.
Distinctions
| Advice under section 13(a) | Approved scheme under section 15 | Cost allocation under section 15(4) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | The Board, after consulting | The Board, after consulting | The States by agreement, failing which the Board |
| Binding on a State | No | No; the Board may only advise execution | It is a determination, and a difference about it goes to arbitration |
| Remedy for a State that disagrees | Arbitration under section 22(1)(a) | Arbitration under section 22(1)(b) or (c) | Arbitration under section 22(1)(d) |
What it does NOT mean
It does not mean an approved scheme must be executed. Section 15(5) says the Board "may advise" the Governments to undertake measures. Execution is theirs.
It does not mean a Board has every function on the list. Section 14(1) confers such of the functions as the notification specifies.
And it does not mean the Board can spend on works. Its Fund under section 18 is for its own expenses. The works are executed by the States.
Quick revision
Section 13(a): advice on conservation and optimum utilisation, irrigation, water supply and drainage, hydro-electric power, flood control, navigation, afforestation and soil erosion, and prevention of pollution, with a view to resolve conflicts and achieve maximum results.
What a River Board Would Have Done
Section 13(b) to (e): preparing schemes, allocating costs, watching progress, and incidental matters.
Section 14: functions conferred by notification, after consultation; the Board must consult at all stages and endeavour to secure agreement.
Section 15: prepare, consult, confirm or modify or reject; the approved scheme; cost allocated as agreed or, in default, by the Board by reference to benefit.
Sections 16 to 21: general powers, payments, Fund, budget, annual report, accounts and audit.
Test yourself
1. Name five of the seven purposes in section 13(a). Conservation, control and optimum utilisation of water resources; irrigation, water supply or drainage; hydro-electric power; flood control; navigation; afforestation and control of soil erosion; and prevention of pollution.
2. Are a Board's functions automatic? No. Section 14(1) empowers a Board by notification to perform all or such of the section 13 functions as the notification specifies, after consultation with the Governments interested.
3. What happens if the States cannot agree on the cost of an approved scheme? Section 15(4) requires the Board itself to determine the allocation, having regard to the benefits each Government will receive.
4. Can the Act do anything about a State that ignores the Board's advice? It cannot compel execution, but section 22(1)(c) makes the refusal or neglect of a Government to undertake measures in pursuance of the advice a difference referable to arbitration, and the arbitrator's decision is final and binding.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.