The Centre today informed the states that it is in the process of intra-ministry consultations on the issue.
"We could have a 'standing tribunal' for the purpose. All the members could be there under one tribunal and there could be benches...One bench of three members could deal with more than one dispute," Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.
He was talking to reporters here after the 14th National Conference of State Water Resources and Irrigation ministers.
Bansal said the Ministry proposes to amend the Inter-state River Water Disputes Act, 1956, for the purpose.
He said the Centre's experience has been that the tribunals continue for an "inordinately long time and for one reason or the other, decisions are not taken."
Bansal pointed out that in most of the cases even after the tribunal gives its award, one of the affected states moves the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition.
The Water Resources Ministry had approached the Law Ministry in 2010 on the issue and one of the ideas which came out was to abolish the inter-state Water Disputes Act and ask states to directly approach the Supreme Court -- and not the High Courts -- with their cases.
At present, five Inter-state Dispute Tribunals are either functioning or have given their final award in recent past.
