Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu moves bill to grant personhood to rivers
Recognition of Legal Person Status of Rivers Bill – 2024 aims to recognise rivers as ‘legal person’, entitling them with legal rights similar to humans as enshrined in the Article 21 of the Indian Constitution thus allowing them to not only exist but flourish and be protected from any harm.
Aimed primarily at conservation of rivers in the country, a private member bill, Recognition of Legal Person Status of Rivers Bill – 2024, was moved by Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu during the ongoing Budget session of the Parliament on Friday.
Stressing the urgent need to protect the vital natural resource, the bill aims to recognise rivers as ‘legal person’, entitling them with legal rights similar to humans as enshrined in the Article 21 of the Indian Constitution thus allowing them to not only exist but flourish and be protected from any harm. Notably, there are more than 400 rivers in India.
The bill presented in the Parliament stated that rivers with a length of 40 kilometres be given legal protection and sought the establishment of Rivers Protection Committee to ensure protection, sustainable management, health and well-being of rivers in the country, according to a press release here.
It says, “The Union Government shall, within six months of notification of this Act, establish the Rivers Protection Committee to provide for provisions of this Act. The committee will also be responsible to maintain a Register of Rivers to monitor and assess the status and condition of rivers across the country.” The Rivers Protection Committee will comprise of 13 persons appointed by the government, including chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry, secretary, Ministry of environment, forests & climate change, and secretary, Ministry of ports, shipping & waterways, and one person each nominated by the President and Prime Minister among others, stated the private member bill.
Sandhu said, “Recognition of Legal Person Status of Rivers Bill – 2024 seeks granting of personhood to rivers. The primary objective of this bill is to address pressing environmental issues, including the unchecked pollution and degradation of river ecosystems in the country that have been ignored for a long time.”
The Rajya Sabha member further said that apart from environmental implications, the financial memorandum of the bill estimates a recurring expenditure of approximately ₹300 crore annually and a non-recurring expenditure of ₹50 crore to establish and operate the Rivers Protection Committee and the Register of Rivers. “This will be funded through the Consolidated Fund of India,” he added.