Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation introduced the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which proposes to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes and make the present legal and institutional architecture robust.

Provisions:

• The bill proposes to introduce a mechanism to resolve the dispute amicably by negotiations, through a Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) to be established by the Central Government consisting of relevant experts, before such dispute is referred to the tribunal.
• Bill proposes a Single Standing Tribunal (with multiple benches) instead of existing multiple tribunals.
• The tribunal should settle a dispute in four-and-a-half years. The decision of the Tribunal shall be final and binding.
• The Bill also provides for transparent data collection system at the national level for each river basin.
• For this purpose, an agency to maintain data-bank and information system shall be appointed or authorized by Central Government.
• It also provides for the appointment of Assessors to provide technical support to the tribunal.