River Disputes in India (Kerala Rivers Under Siege)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

River Disputes in India, is a precursive study of the water resources which have become a subject of controversy. As paramount power, the British had pressurised the ruler of the native state of Travancore over a period of twenty years to part with the perennial waters of one of its entirely in-state rivers for satisfying the water requirements of the neighbouring territories which they directly governed.

The riparian laws which still are in their infancy, during the time of the British, were largely of their own making to subserve the interest of their provinces. Even after independence, the Central Government, induced by political considerations, followed the British in dealing with the river waters, instead of adopting an independent course indispensable for maintaining strict impartiality and canons of justice between disputing riparian states and to make a clear distinction between in-state and interstate rivers.

The study places due emphasis on the development of riparian laws clearly defining the position of in-state and inter-state rivers. Most riverine agreements are unequal, designed to pro- mote the interest of the strong.

Rivers flow in obedience to the laws of nature and to play their roles as assigned by nature. Rivers create civilisation and sustain its growth and durability. Obviously interfering with their courses, has far reaching adverse con- sequences which may become manifest not immediately but after a considerable period of time when it will be too late to find out remedial measures for them. It is the persisting fallacy that the rivers waste their wasters into the sea that has led to the unscientific and arbitrary interference with them by human agencies solely motivated by their self-interest. The study goes into all these questions in needed detail so as to find appropriate and valid answers to them.

Prof. S.N. Sadasivan (b. 1928) has been active in the field of civil service training for over 36 years. A versatile scholar, Dr. Sadasivan by structuring two schools, the electro-centric and socio-centric, has arrived at the conclusion that it is not the electoral system but the social system that ensures the stability and viability of democracy. His book Party and Democracy in India (McGraw-Hill), a study of more than 200 political parties in all their aspects and facets, has secured a place among political classics.

A Social History of India which he authored (published in 2000) amply testifies to his ability to make searching, rational and intensive analyses of the Indian social sys- tem, its subtle, imperceptible social control techniques and confusingly massive literature.

He has so far authored 11 books, the latest being Productivity and Efficiency in Administration (2002).

As Consultant to the Commission for District Reorganisation in Madhya Pradesh in 1984-85, he evolved a non-political formula for the purpose. He has made signifi- cant contributions to the development of the Kerala Institute of Public Administration (now Institute of Management in Government), Thiruvananthapuram between 1978 and '80 and of the Academy of Ad- ministration, Bhopal (1988-93).

He was Professor of Public Administration at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (1980-88) and is currently a Visiting Professor at the National Academy of Ad- ministration, Mussoorie (since 1998). His work Administration and Social Development in Kerala is a pioneering study in Administrative Sociology.

Dr. Sadasivan was Consultant in Public Administration to the National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur, between 1993 and 95.

Kerala is an aqua-cradle, a land that nurtures rivers and land in turn is nurtured by rivers, which Mosters a riparian civilisation. The distribution of its population, the the style of living of its people and the centres and sub-centres of its culture, are largely influenced by its rivers. As an aqua-cradle, Kerala begins with Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) but on November 1, 1956 the four taluks of Travancore (one of the units of Kerala) having four rivers, were annexed to the linguistic state of Madras, and the present state of Kerala has 47 rivers, 43 west flowing and four east flowing. By international standards these rivers are mere streams and their tributaries, by and large, brooks or springs.

Kerala is a small state, its total area being, 15,002 sq.miles (38,885 sq.km). The maximum width of the state is 120 km (75 miles) and the minimum is 35 km (21.7 miles). The coastline of Kerala is 576 km (360 miles) long. Its population according to the 1991 census is around 3 crore and density of population is 749 per sq.km. Kerala has almost hundred per cent literacy.

The verdant vegetation of the state is a gift of its rivers and the two monsoons, the north western, from May to August and the south eastern, from September to November. The average rainfall in the state is 3,000 mm but its average per capita rainfall is 13,000 litres as against the national average of 18,000 litres. The estimated water potential of the state is 5.4 per cent of the total in the country which is 1,683,000 tmcft per year.

Being a narrow strip of land lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian sea, the terrain is a steep slope and therefore, rain waters rush to the sea in about 48 hours and the rivers run naturally faster.

One of the five elements, water like air, is the most essential for all forms of life. Water for the use of human beings, like air, has to be pure, fresh and clean for promoting health and sustaining life. Of the world's total water, 97.2 per cent is in the ocean and inland seas and the rest is distributed to a number of water bodies, mainly rivers. Of the water on the land, 2.2 per cent is stored in glaciers and ice-caps. The fresh water stored mostly in the ground, and below the ground, is 0.6 per cent. The amount of water on the earth is roughly fixed at 326 million cubic miles. The world's total river run-off is 2,30,000 cubic metres or 55,000 cubic miles.

However water is fast becoming inadequate because of the rapid growth of population and the multiplication of its use. Civilisation by and large, is created and supported by rivers and it has enhanced the per capita use of water depending upon the economic strength of countries. While the per capita use of water is 200 gallons a day in the USA, 100 gallons in the UK and 37 gallons in India, with all its rivers, the per capita use of water is only 27 gallons in Kerala most of which is used for such purposes as drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning and bathing. The under-utilisation of water in Kerala is obvious.

With the march of civilisation, the use of water is steadily increasing but the quantity of water remains more or less the same. Most of the water, almost 75-80 per cent, is used for agriculture, and industry takes its share around 20 per cent. Millions of tons of pesticides and chemical fertilisers used for agriculture and enormous quantity of industrial waste finally find their place in the rivers to pollute their waters.