The River Boards Act, 1956 (Act No. 49 of 1956) is an Act of Parliament that provides for the establishment of River Boards for the regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys in India. Enacted on September 12, 1956, and coming into force on May 15, 1957, the Act was created to facilitate cooperation among states in managing shared water resources and to promote sustainable development. The problem it aimed to solve was the lack of a unified, advisory mechanism for the development of rivers that flow through multiple states.
The Act is rooted in Entry 56 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, which empowers the Union to regulate and develop inter-State rivers. Section 2 of the Act declares that it is expedient in the public interest for the Central Government to take control of the regulation and development of inter-State rivers. The key mechanism is outlined in Section 4, which empowers the Central Government to establish a River Board, either on a request from a State Government or otherwise, after consulting with the "Governments interested". The Board's function, as detailed in Section 14, is primarily advisory, assisting the interested State Governments on matters like irrigation, water supply, flood control, hydro-electric power, and pollution prevention. The Board can also prepare schemes and allocate costs for their execution.
The Act is closely connected to the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, which was enacted under Article 262 of the Constitution to provide a mechanism for the adjudication of water disputes through tribunals. While the Disputes Act is for conflict resolution, the River Boards Act is for cooperative development. Despite its provisions, the River Boards Act has been largely ineffective, as the Central Government has never constituted a single River Board under its provisions. Consequently, there have been discussions about replacing the Act with new legislative measures, such as a River Basin Management Act, to address its status as a "dead letter".