Narmada water-sharing dispute resolved: Why does it matter?

For decades, people in the drought-prone districts of North Maharashtra waited for benefits promised long ago. Maharashtra was allocated 10 TMC of Narmada river water under the 1979 Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award. Yet the full potential of this allocation remained unused. Similar was the condition in four States concerned, for decades.

On July 7, 2026, four States – Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan – signed a One-Time Settlement (OTS) to resolve these long-pending financial disputes. The agreement does not alter existing water allocations. Instead, it brings closure to decades-old financial disagreements that had complicated inter-State cooperation.