Negotiating Troubled Waters
V.S. Vyas
RIVER WATER SHARING: TRANSBOUNDARY CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN INDIA by N. Shanthamohan NA, 2010, 192 pp., 595
April 2010, volume 34, No 5

Apart from the fact that the major river systems in our countryIndus, Ganges and Brahmaputratraverse our neighbouring countries, almost all perennial rivers of India flow through more than one state. The disputes on account of the international rivers are understandable; however, conflicts around sharing the river waters between states, and also among the regions of the states, are rampant; in fact, they are occurring more frequently. Essays in this book are, therefore, timely and relevant. In the introductory section the authors have taken an overview of the water sector in our country and located interstate disputes in the broader developmental context. It is interesting to observe that there were many examples of peaceful resolution of interstate river water sharing in the past.

But in recent years conflicts have abounded. One of the authors of the essays in this section, Shantha Mohan has correctly pointed out the reasons for increasing number of such conflicts,River water sharing (is) constrained by inadequate information and data base, ineffective institutional mechanism, hardened regional identities and loyalties and, threat of economic hardships (p. 10).

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