Powers, Functions and duties of Authority

Powers, Functions and Duties of the Authority

11. The Authority shall exercise the following powers and perform the following functions, namely :-

1. (a) to determine the distribution of Entitlements for various Categories of Use and the equitable distribution of Entitlements of water within each Category of Use on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed;
2. (b) to enforce the decision or orders issued under this Act;
3. (c) to determine the priority of equitable distribution of water available at the water resource project, sub-basin and river basin levels during periods of scarcity;
4. (d) to establish a water tariff system, and to fix the criteria for water charges at sub-basin, river basin and State level after ascertaining the views of the beneficiary public , based on the principle that the water charges shall reflect the full recovery of the cost of the irrigation management, administration, operation and maintenance of water resources project;
5. (e) to administer and manage interstate water resources apportionment on river systems of the State ;
6. (f) to review and clear water resources projects proposed at the sub- basin and river basin level to ensure that a proposal is in conformity with integrated State Water Plan and also with regard to the economic, hydrologic and environmental viability and where relevant, on the State's obligations under Tribunals, Agreements, or Decrees involving interstate entitlements : Provided that, while clearing the new water resources projects by the concerned for construction proposed by River Basin Agencies, the Authority shall ensure that Governor's Directives issued from time to time, relating to investment priority for removal of regional imbalance are strictly observed;
7. (g) to lay down the criteria and monitor the issuance of Entitlements. These criteria among others shall also include the following,
   • (i) The Entitlements shall be issued by river Basin Agency based on the Category of Use and subject to the Priority assigned to such use under State Water Policy;
   • (ii) Bulk Water Entitlements shall be issued by the River basin Agency for irrigation water supply, rural water supply, municipal water supply or industrial water supply to the relevant Water User Entities including Municipalities, Water User's Associations, Industrial Users and State agencies responsible for delivery to the respective sector or to a Sub- surface Water User's Association or entity that operates a well field of multiple sub-surface water tube wells, bore wells or other wells on behalf of multiple users;
   • (iii) Bulk Water Entitlements for irrigation, shall be issued by River Basin Agency , to the Water User's Associations at the primary unit level, Distributory level and Canal or Project level Associations and River Basin Agencies shall not receive Entitlements but shall act as conveyance entities for the Entitlements issued to the Water User's Associations;
   • (iv) Water User Entities including Water User's Associations, managing the aggregate of Entitlements on behalf of a group of Entitlement holders may be issued an Aggregate Bulk Entitlement;
   • (v) Individual Water Entitlements may be issued by River basin Agency only for the construction and operation of individual lift irrigation schemes from surface water sources, bore-wells, tube wells or other facilities for extraction of sub-surface water. Such Entitlements shall be administered , registered measured and monitored by the respective River Basin Agency in close co-ordination with relevant Government agencies. Where such facilities extract water from alluvial aquifers that are conjunctive with the surface water of a basin, the issuance and operation of such Entitlements shall be conjunctively coordinated with the use and yield of surface water resources of the basin and shall be compatible with the overall water resource plan of the local area and the respective river basin and the sustainable use of the sub-surface water resources.
   • (vi) Bulk Water Entitlements shall be for a specific proportion of flow, storage or other determination of the annual yield of a water resources or facility and the Entitlement shall be measured volumetrically and with respect to time of delivery and flow rate of delivery ;
   • (vii) The allocation of a percentage of the water available under the Entitlements of each facility, in the drainage basin or river basin shall be determined jointly by the River Basin Agencies and Water User Entities based upon the hydrology and other relevant parameters with regard to the specific basin. This allocation shall be utilized for the determination of the amount of water to be made available under each Entitlement for that specific year or runoff season;
8. (h) to lay down the criteria for modification in Entitlements for the diversion, storage and use of the surface and sub-surface waters of the State. These criteria shall among others, include the following :-
   • (i) Aggregate Bulk Water Entitlements will be considered as Bulk Water Entitlements under the provisions of this Act except that they shall not be a usufructuary right and will only be adjusted by the Authority if there is a compensating change , under the provisions of this Act, to any component Bulk Water Entitlement that comprise part of the Aggregate Bulk Water Entitlement ;
   • (ii) In the event that any Water User Entity wishes to use its category priority to mandate a change in the use or volume of any entitlement, that entity must demonstrate in a public hearing before the Authority, that it has exhausted all attempts to conserve, increase efficiency and manage its demand of water within its , entitlement and has exhausted all opportunities to increase its entitlement through a transfer within the voluntary, market -based economy. If, after such a public hearing, the Authority deems such a mandated transfer, on either an annual or permanent basis, to be legal and necessary in the interest of the people of the State, the Authority shall then determine a fair and just compensation as determined by the market value of the water resource, to be paid to the Entitlement holder by the entity exercising the mandated user category preference;
   • (i) to fix the criteria for trading of water entitlements or quotas on the annual or seasonal basis by a water entitlement holder. These criteria shall among others, include the following. -
   • (i) Entitlements, except Aggregate Bulk Water Entitlements, are deemed to be usufructuary rights which may be transferred, bartered, bought or sold on annual or seasonal basis within a market system and as regulated and controlled by the Authority as established in the rules of the Authority;
   • (ii) Quotas of water determined by the seasonal or annual allocation assigned to an entitlement shall be volumetric usufructuary right which may be transferred, bartered, bought or sold on an annual or seasonal basis within a market system as established and controlled by the rules of the Authority;
   • (iii) Bulk Water Entitlements or Quotas shall be transferable within the respective category of use as long as such transfers are compatible with the operation of the specific water resource facilities involved. Such annual transfers shall be managed and registered with the respective River Basin Agency which shall have the power to approve or deny such proposed transfers if they are incompatible with operation of the facility or would damage the entitlements or rights of other users within the system. The River Basin Agency may charge a nominal fee for the processing and registering such transfer but shall not participate in any compensation between Entitlement holders as a part of such transfer.
9. (j) Entitlements may be subject to review at intervals of not less than three years and then, only if warranted by concerns about, the sustainability of the level of allocation ;
10. (k) Bulk Water Entitlements shall be registered by the River Basin Agency and shall be monitored by the Authority or its duly delegated competent representative;
11. (l) permanent transfer of Entitlements shall only be made with the approval of the respective River Basin Agency and the Authority and in compliance with the rules of the Authority promulgated for this purpose. All approved transfers shall be entered into the registry of Entitlements of the Authority;
12. (m) in the event of water scarcity, the Authority, in compliance with its policy and rules for allocating such scarcity, shall adjust the quantities of water to be made available to all Entitlements and shall permit the temporary transfer of water Entitlements between users and categories of users in accordance with the approval of the River Basin Agencies;
13. (n) to establish regulatory system for the water resources of the State, including surface and sub-surface waters, to regulate the use of these waters, apportion the Entitlement to the use of the water of the State between water using categories ;
14. (o) to establish a system of enforcement, monitoring and measurement of the Entitlements for the use of water that will ensure that the actual use of water , both in quantity and type of use are in compliance with the Entitlements as issued by the Authority,
15. (p) to administer the use and Entitlement of water resources within the State in a manner consistent with the State Water Policy to ensure the compliance of the obligation of State with regard to the apportionment of interstate waters between the State and others States;
16. (q) to promote efficient use of water and to minimize the wastage of water and to fix reasonable use criteria for each Category of Use ;
17. (r) to determine and ensure that cross -subsidies between Categories of use if any, being given by the Government are totally offset by stable funding from such cross-subsidies or Government payments to assure that the sustainable operation and maintenance of the water management and delivery systems within the State are not jeopardised in any way ;
18. (s) to develop the State Water Entitlement data base that shall clearly record all Entitlements issued for the use of water within the State, any transfers of Entitlements and a record of deliveries and uses made as a result of those Entitlements ;
19. (t) to facilitate and ensure development, maintenance and dissemination of a comprehensive hydro-meteorological information data base in co-operation with the River Basin Agencies ;
20. (u) the Authority shall review and revise, the water charges after every three years;
    • (v) the Authority may ensure that the Irrigation Status Report is published by the Government every year, such report shall contain all statistical data relating to irrigation including details in respect of district wise irrigation potential created and its actual utilisation;
21. (w) such other powers, function and duties as may be prescribed.