What is the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty that has sparked Mamata-Centre row?

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has written to PM Modi, claiming that the Centre excluded the state govt from discussions with Bangladesh on Teesta water sharing and Farakka treaty

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, expressing her opposition to not being included in the talks about the renewal of the India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit last week.

Hasina arrived in India on Saturday to hold bilateral talks with PM Modi and the two leaders discussed the management and conservation of the River Teesta and the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty.

PM Modi stated that an Indian technical team would visit Bangladesh soon for a mega-project to conserve and manage the waters of the Teesta. He also announced that India and Bangladesh would begin technical-level talks for the Ganga water treaty's renewal. The neighbouring countries had signed the 30-year water sharing treaty in 1996, with a provision to renew it by mutual agreement.

 

What is the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty?

The aim behind the 1996 treaty on the sharing of the Ganges waters at Farakka was to end the differences over the entitlement to water flows between India and Bangladesh, which arose after the commissioning of the Farakka barrage in 1975 to divert water from the Ganges to the River Hooghly to maintain the Calcutta port's navigability.

The treaty's main objective was to determine the amount of water to be released by India.

Essentially, under the treaty, the upper riparian state, India, and the lower riparian, Bangladesh, agreed to share the Ganges water at Farakka, which is a dam on the River Bhagirathi around 10 kilometres from the Bangladesh border.

The treaty, which will expire on December 12, 2026, entails a schedule of flows from the Farakka barrage from January to May, the dry season months. Under the treaty, India can withdraw up to 40,000 cusecs of flow if the availability at Farakka exceeds 75,000 cusecs. However, if the availability falls below 70,000 cusecs, the flow is to be divided equally between the two countries. The treaty guarantees 35,000 cusecs to Bangladesh if the flow is in the range of 70,000-75,000 cusecs. 

A cusec is a unit of flow, especially of water, which is equal to one cubic foot per second.

There was also an earlier agreement between the two neighbours, signed in 1977 for five years.

The first arrangement was signed on November 5, 1977, between the governments of Morarji Desai in India and Major-General Ziaur Rahman in Bangladesh.

The second arrangement was signed on December 12, 1996, between the governments of H D Deve Gowda in India and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh.

What is Mamata Banerjee's position on the matter?

In a three-page letter, Mamata wrote, "I am writing this letter in context of the recent visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh. It seems that water sharing issues relating to the Ganges and Teesta rivers may have been discussed during the meeting. Such unilateral deliberations and discussions without consultation and the opinion of the state government is neither acceptable nor desirable."

The West Bengal chief minister also conveyed her "strong reservation" that no discussion regarding sharing the Teesta water and the Farakka Treaty should be taken up with Bangladesh without the West Bengal government's involvement.

Banerjee added that the people of West Bengal would be the "worst sufferers" due to the impact of agreements on water sharing between India and Bangladesh.

In her letter to PM Modi, Banerjee said, "I came to understand that Government of India is in the process of renewing the Indo Bangladesh Farakka Treaty (1996) which is to expire in 2026... As you are aware it has huge implications for the people of West Bengal for maintaining their livelihood and that the water which is diverted at the Farakka Barrage helps in maintaining the navigability of the Kolkata port."

"I would like to bring to your notice that river morphology has changed in the eastern part of India and Bangladesh over many years which has deprived West Bengal and negatively impacted the water availability in the state," she added.

Between 2017 and 2022, Banerjee had reportedly written to PM Modi thrice, highlighting that the Farakka Barrage has caused flooding and erosion in her state.

"Water flow in the Teesta has gone down over the years and it is estimated that, if any water is shared with Bangladesh, lakhs of people in North Bengal will get severely impacted due to inadequate availability of irrigation water," she wrote, adding, "... Teesta water is also needed for meeting drinking water requirements of the residents of North Bengal. It is, therefore, not feasible to share Teesta water with Bangladesh."

The Teesta, which flows through India and Bangladesh, is the second largest river of West Bengal after the Ganges.

In 2011, Banerjee had stalled the then Congress-led UPA government's move to sign a deal with Bangladesh on sharing River Teesta's water. Protesting the move, Banerjee had backed out from a delegation led by then PM Manmohan Singh that was going to visit Bangladesh. She had claimed that the treaty would impact West Bengal's farmers.

What has the Centre said on this matter? 

Government sources told India Today TV on Monday that the West Bengal government had been informed about the Centre's discussions with Bangladesh on the Farakka Treaty and Teesta water sharing. 

Citing these sources, the report said that the Centre had written to the West Bengal government on July 24, 2023, seeking their nominee for a committee for conducting an internal review of the 1996 treaty on water sharing at Farakka. 

On August 25, 2023, the state government reportedly nominated the state's Chief Engineer (Design and Research), Irrigation and Waterways for the role. 

On April 5, 2024, the West Bengal government's Joint Secretary (Works, Irrigation & Waterways Department) also conveyed the state's total demand for the next 30 years from the stretch that is downstream of the Farakka Barrage.