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Relevance: GS-II (Federal Structure, Dispute Redressal); GS-III (Infrastructure: Energy, Irrigation) Source: PIB / National News, July 2026

1 · What exactly happened?

Imagine sharing a massive bill with your friends and arguing over who pays what for decades. That is what happened with the famous Sardar Sarovar Dam. However, in a huge win for cooperative federalism, four states—Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh—recently signed a landmark agreement in New Delhi.
They finally agreed on a one-time settlement to clear all pending dues related to the construction costs of the dam. This peaceful resolution ends a bitter financial dispute that has dragged on for years.

2 · The Project and the Division of Resources

The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is a giant dam on the Narmada River in Gujarat. While it successfully provides drinking water, irrigation, and electricity to the region, the states kept fighting over the financial paperwork. Here is how the resources are officially divided.

The Umpire
NWDT (1979)
The Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) was formed in 1969 and gave its final verdict in 1979, strictly fixing the quotas for water and electricity.
Sharing the Water
Four States
The water is shared among Madhya Pradesh (65%), Gujarat (32%), Rajasthan (1.8%), and Maharashtra (0.9%). Even Rajasthan’s tiny share transformed its dry lands!
Sharing the Power
Only Three States
The electricity generated by the dam is shared differently: Madhya Pradesh (57%), Maharashtra (27%), and Gujarat (16%). Rajasthan does not get power from it.
A Positive Trend
Solving Old Fights
This pact is part of a larger trend. Recently, states also signed agreements to end the 30-year Yamuna Water Project dispute and the 6-state Kishau Multipurpose Project.

  • Why was there a dispute? While the physical dam was built and operational, states disagreed on the complicated accounting of who owed what for the construction costs under the old 1979 rules.
  • The Future of Disputes: Because ad-hoc (temporary) tribunals take decades to resolve issues, the government is pushing the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill to create one single, permanent national tribunal to speed up justice.

UPSC Prelims Quick Facts
Article 262 Gives Parliament the power to solve inter-state river disputes. Crucially, it allows Parliament to block the Supreme Court from interfering in these specific disputes.
River Water Disputes Act, 1956 The law passed under Article 262 that allows the Centre to set up temporary (ad-hoc) tribunals when states can’t agree on sharing river water.
Narmada Control Authority Created in 1980, this is the administrative body that actually enforces the orders given by the NWDT regarding Narmada’s waters.
Sardar Sarovar Dam A massive concrete gravity dam located near Kevadia, Gujarat (famous as the site of the Statue of Unity).

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to the sharing of inter-state river waters in India, consider the following statements:

  1. Under Article 262 of the Constitution, Parliament may by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction over an inter-state river water dispute.
  2. The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, established a single, permanent National Tribunal to resolve all river disputes in the country.
  3. Under the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) award, Rajasthan receives a share of both the water and the electricity generated by the Sardar Sarovar Project.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only    (b) 1 and 2 only    (c) 2 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: Article 262 explicitly allows Parliament to restrict the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction regarding inter-state river water disputes.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect: The 1956 Act provides for the setting up of temporary (ad-hoc) tribunals for each dispute. A single permanent tribunal has been proposed in a recent Amendment Bill, but it is not part of the original 1956 Act.
  • Statement 3 — Incorrect: Beware the trap! While Rajasthan gets a small share of the water (1.8%), it receives zero share of the electricity. Power is only shared between Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
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