Tungabhadra River Dispute: A Test of Cooperative Federalism

Background and Origin

The Tungabhadra River is a major perennial right-bank tributary of the Krishna River, serving as a vital lifeline for the Deccan Plateau. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers:

• Tunga River - originates in the Western Ghats near Varaha Parvatha
• Bhadra River - originates near Gangamoola

These rivers meet at Kudli near Shivamogga in Karnataka and flow as the unified Tungabhadra for approximately 531 km, passing through Karnataka and forming parts of the Karnataka–Andhra Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh–Telangana borders before joining the Krishna River at Sangameswaram in Andhra Pradesh.

Tungabhadra Reservoir Project

• Commissioned in the 1950s near Hosapete in Karnataka's Vijayanagara district
• Serves as an agricultural lifeline for drought-prone districts
• Irrigates over 16.38 lakh acres across the three states
• Original storage capacity: 134 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic feet)

Historical Adjudication: Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal

KWDT-I (1969)

• Led by Justice R.S. Bachawat
• Allocated waters in 65:35 ratio between Karnataka and undivided Andhra Pradesh
• Management through the Tungabhadra Board

Post-2014 Bifurcation

• Following Telangana's formation in 2014, Telangana holds an allocated entitlement of 15.9 TMC from the Tungabhadra system

Current Issues and Disputes

1. Siltation Crisis

• Decades of heavy siltation have drastically reduced the dam's storage capacity
• Severe downstream water deficits have resulted
• Original 134 TMC capacity significantly compromised

2. Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) Problem

• Infrastructural decay restricts Telangana from utilizing its full water share
• Telangana can draw only 5-6 TMC instead of its allocated 15.9 TMC
• RDS is an interstate irrigation project of Karnataka and Telangana
• Built across the Tungabhadra River
• 143-km canal diverts water to irrigate drought-prone areas in all three states

3. Upper Bhadra Project Conflict

• Andhra Pradesh filed an original suit in the Supreme Court in 2023
• Challenge to Karnataka's upstream Upper Bhadra lift irrigation scheme
• Argument: The project threatens downstream flows to critical reservoirs like Srisailam

Constitutional Framework

Distribution of Powers

• Water management: Falls under State List (Entry 17)
• Regulation and development of inter-state rivers: Falls under Union List (Entry 56)

Dispute Resolution Mechanism

• Article 262 of the Constitution empowers Parliament to:
• Adjudicate inter-state river disputes
• Bar the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
• Power exercised through the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956

Landmark Precedent: Cauvery Judgment (2018)

The Supreme Court's Cauvery Judgment established the critical legal doctrine:

• "Inter-State rivers are national assets"
• Rejected the doctrine of exclusive state ownership over river waters
• Mandated equitable apportionment among basin states

Recent Development

The Union Government has proposed a High-Level Committee following a rare consensus among the three states, sparked by their joint meeting to inaugurate 33 newly installed spillway gates at the Tungabhadra Dam. This reflects cooperative federalism and aims to amicably resolve the decades-old dispute.

Key Data Points