Chandigarh, Feb. 7 -- 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 protectio...