The 30-year period of the 1996 Ganga Water Agreement is going to end in December 2026. Before the review, Bihar has placed many important demands before the Center regarding its interests related to Ganga water, floods, erosion and river transportation. The question is whether these demands of Bihar can have an impact on the water sharing between India and Bangladesh?
Tezzbuzz Desk- The agreement reached between India and Bangladesh in 1996 regarding sharing of Ganga water is now nearing its end. This agreement will complete 30 years in December 2026 and after that it is to be reviewed. Meanwhile, Bihar has expressed its concerns regarding Ganga water and its related economic interests.
RJD MP from Buxar Sudhakar Singh has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the interests of Bihar should also be given priority during the review of the agreement. He says that Ganga is not just a source of water, but is also an important basis for irrigation, flood control and water transportation for Bihar.
An agreement was signed between India and Bangladesh in December 1996 regarding sharing of Ganga water. Under this, arrangements were made to distribute the Ganga water available at Farakka Barrage between the two countries. This agreement was for 30 years, the period of which is ending in December 2026.
Bihar says that the role of the states situated in the lower part of the river should also be important in the decisions related to the Ganga basin. For this reason, the state is putting its interests before reviewing the agreement.
What is the biggest concern of Bihar?
Bihar has been expressing concern for a long time about the reduction in the water flow of Ganga and other problems related to the river. MP Sudhakar Singh, citing the report of Bihar Water Resources Department, said that as compared to the fixed standards, a shortage of about 330 cumec of water was recorded in February, 487 cumec in March and 191 cumec in April.
They allege that the impact of water use in the upper reaches of the Ganga and decisions related to the river reach Bihar. In such a situation, the state demands that arrangements for water use should be made keeping in mind the share and needs of all the states falling in the Ganga basin.
Why is Ganga so important for Bihar?
Bihar is not a state directly connected to the sea. In such a situation, the waterway of Ganga becomes very important for trade and transportation of goods. The Ganga waterway plays an important role in transporting goods from Bihar to Kolkata and Haldia ports.
If the water level in the river is low then the movement of big ships and cargo boats is affected. This may increase transportation costs and may also affect the business of Bihar.
Keeping this in view, Bihar has demanded to keep National Waterway-1 useful for navigation throughout the year. Under this, emphasis has been laid on maintaining adequate water depth of about 2.5 to 3 meters between Buxar and Patna, regular dredging and river management measures.
Apart from this, demand for developing multimodal terminals in Buxar, Patna, Bhagalpur, Munger and Katihar has also been put forward. Additional support has been sought from the Center to deal with the problem of floods and erosion.
Will Bangladesh be affected by Bihar's demand?
This question is important because the Ganga water agreement has been signed directly between India and Bangladesh. If during its review there is any major change regarding the use of Ganga water within India and the sharing of the states, it may impact the availability of water reaching Farakka.
Ganga water is very important for Bangladesh during the dry season. Therefore, any major decision taken in India regarding the use of Ganga Basin water can further affect the India-Bangladesh water agreement negotiations.
However, it is too early to say whether Bihar's demands will directly reduce the water supply to Bangladesh. Its actual impact will depend on the review to be held in 2026 and the new provisions to be decided in the talks between the two countries.
Will the formula for sharing Ganga water change?
Bihar's demands have not allowed the review of Ganga water agreement to remain just an India-Bangladesh issue. Now issues like interests of the Ganga basin states, river transport, irrigation, flood control and environment can also come into the center of discussion.
If the needs of Ganga basin states are formally given more importance in future arrangements, the entire structure of water use and distribution may change. This is the reason why the review to be held in December 2026 is being considered very important for India and Bangladesh as well as other states of the Ganga Basin including Bihar.