Nationalising Rivers

December 13, 2007

This is brilliant… not:

With several hydro-power projects stuck due to disputes among states over water-sharing and related issues, the Ministry for Water Resources plans to bring some rivers under Central ambit by identifying them as “national rivers” to tap their potential for hydro-power and irrigation.

Speaking to The Indian Express today, Union Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz said: “The country has failed to properly harness the hydro-power and irrigation potential of several rivers due to inter-state disputes. Even conservation of rivers has fallen victim to ownership. For better conservation, better utilisation of irrigation and hydro-power potential and to maintain better flow across states, I plan to get some rivers adopted as national rivers.”

(Indian Express)

Oh joy. So the solution to a tragedy-of-the-commons problem is… to enforce the commons status of the resource in question through the force of law. And instead of removing the scope for disputes, to give the Central government the power to resolve disputes, stakeholders be damned.

Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we try this for telecom spectrum? Oh, wait…