Letter to Hon'ble Prime Minister of India (Saving RIVERS - Parliament needs to invoke Entry 56 of List I of the seventh schedule to safeguard rivers

18 February 2012
YJA/CORRES/2/2012

Dr Manmohan Singh,
Hon'ble Prime Minister
Government of India
New Delhi


Sub: Saving RIVERS - Parliament needs to invoke Entry 56 of List I of the seventh schedule to safeguard the nation's life-lines


Respected Dr Singh,

Greetings from Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan.

Sir, as we welcome your statement issued recently that 'Economic growth should not be at the cost of environment' allow us to bring to your kind notice the fact that the rivers in the country are today one of the worst sufferers of nation's pursuit of accelerated economic growth as exemplified by reduced / disappearing flows, rampant pollution of river waters and encroachment in the river flood plains all over the country. It is no secret that most of our rivers have been reduced into a pale reminder of their original self and continue to be abused no end. This is largely because a 'river' has presently little or no statutory protection.

It is often lamented that since 'water' is a state subject, the union government is helpless in the matter. But the constitutional facts are much different and unfortunately seldom appreciated or invoked. Please allow us to elaborate.

Entry 17 of List II of seventh schedule (State List) provides:

"Water, that is to say water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power, subject to the provisions of Entry 56 of List I."

Clearly, "water" as a state subject is conditional to what Entry 56 of List I (Union List)
says:

"Regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest."

Sir, the tragedy of Indian rivers (majority of which are inter - state) is that while they have often been seen as nothing more than being conveyer of water and the Parliament thus never considering it necessary to enact laws for safeguarding them utilising Entry 56 of List I, the fact remains that rivers are well defined ecosystems in themselves and are life lines of people and lands that they course along. The very reason why the founders of our constitution gave 'water' to state jurisdiction but made it subject to the centre remaining the custodian of our 'rivers'.


We thus understand that the Parliament by its conspicuous disuse of Entry 56 of List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, has on one hand disregarded the mandate given to it by the Constitution and on the other allowed by default a brazen abuse of our rivers by the vested interests all over.

Sir, can we hope and expect, now that your honor believes that it is in larger public interest that environmental concerns over rode the economic growth ones, that your government would take necessary steps to enact suitable laws to safeguard our rivers by invoking Entry 56 of List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

With warm regards,




Manoj Misra
Convener


CC:

Sri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Hon’ble Minister of Water Resources - For your kind information and necessary action please.

Smt Jayanthi Natarajan, Hon’ble MOS (I/C), Ministry of Environment and Forests – For your kind information and necessary action please.

Sri T. Chatterjee, Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests – For your kind information and necessary action please.