Ganges Water Treaty, 1996

The Ganges Water Treaty is an agreement between India and Bangladesh on how to share the water of the river Ganga (called the Ganges in English and the Padma in Bangladesh) during the dry months. The sharing happens at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal, just before the river enters Bangladesh. The treaty was signed in New Delhi on 12 December 1996 for 30 years. It covers the lean season, from 1 January to 31 May every year, when the river carries the least water.

Why was a treaty needed?

The Ganga flows first through India and then into Bangladesh. India is the upper riparian (the country upstream) and Bangladesh is the lower riparian (the country downstream). In the dry season there is not enough water for both. If the upstream country takes more, the downstream country gets less. Think of two farmers sharing one water pipe: the one closer to the tap can decide how much reaches the other. A treaty sets clear, fair rules so neither side has to guess or fight every year.

What is the Farakka Barrage?

A barrage is a low wall with gates built across a river to control and divert its flow. India built the Farakka Barrage on the Ganga in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. It was commissioned in 1975. Its purpose was to send part of the Ganga's water through a feeder canal of about 38 km into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river. This extra water flushes out the silt (mud and sand) that was piling up and making it hard for ships to reach Kolkata Port.

How did the treaty come about?

• 1975: A short trial arrangement let India run the feeder canal for a few weeks.
• 1976: After the arrangement ended without a new deal, Bangladesh raised the issue at the United Nations General Assembly.
• 1977: A five-year agreement was signed. It expired in 1982.
• 1982 and 1985: Short-term Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed. After 1988 there was no arrangement at all for about eight years.
• 1996: The present treaty was signed by the Prime Ministers of both countries. It entered into force on signature.

How does the sharing formula work?

The dry season is split into 10-day periods. In each period, the water flowing at Farakka is measured and shared by the formula in Annexure I of the treaty:

A cusec means one cubic foot of water flowing past a point every second. There is also a special guarantee. From 11 March to 10 May, the driest weeks, India and Bangladesh each get a guaranteed 35,000 cusecs in alternate three 10-day periods. So in one 10-day block Bangladesh gets its guaranteed 35,000 cusecs, and in the next block India gets it, turn by turn.

Key parts of the treaty

• Article II: The schedule is based on the average water flow at Farakka over 40 years (1949 to 1988). If the flow falls below 50,000 cusecs in any 10-day period, both governments must consult immediately and adjust on an emergency basis.
• Article III: Below Farakka, India can use no more than 200 cusecs of the water released to Bangladesh, until both banks of the river are in Bangladesh.
• Articles IV to VII: A Joint Committee, with equal members from both sides, records daily flows at Farakka and at Hardinge Bridge in Bangladesh. It sends a yearly report to both governments. Disputes it cannot solve go to the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, and then to the two governments.
• Article VIII: Both sides agree to cooperate on the long-term problem of increasing the Ganga's dry-season flow.
• Article IX: Both sides agree to make water-sharing agreements on other common rivers, guided by equity, fairness and no harm.
• Article X: The arrangement is reviewed every five years, or earlier if either side asks. The first review could be sought after two years.
• Article XI: If a review ends without agreement, India must still release at least 90% of Bangladesh's share under the formula.
• Article XII: The treaty lasts 30 years and can be renewed by mutual consent. So it runs until December 2026.

India's position and the wider river picture

India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers. The Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), set up in 1972, is the main forum to discuss them. The Ganges treaty is the only full water-sharing treaty between the two countries so far. In India, water is mainly a state subject (Entry 17 of the State List), though the Union can regulate inter-state rivers (Entry 56 of the Union List).

Treaties with foreign countries are a Union subject (Entry 14 of the Union List), and Article 253 lets Parliament make laws to carry out any treaty. In practice, though, the Centre consults the state concerned, here West Bengal, because the state's farmers, cities and ports depend on the same water.

Commonly confused concepts

• Ganges Water Treaty (1996, India–Bangladesh) vs Indus Waters Treaty (1960, India–Pakistan): the Indus treaty divides whole rivers (eastern rivers to India, western rivers mostly to Pakistan) and was brokered by the World Bank. The Ganges treaty shares the water of one river at one point, by a flow-based formula, with no third party.
• Ganges treaty vs Mahakali Treaty (1996, India–Nepal): the Mahakali treaty is about joint development of the Mahakali river, including the Pancheshwar project, not dry-season sharing with a downstream country.
• Barrage vs dam: a barrage is a low structure with gates that mainly diverts water. A dam is a high wall that stores large amounts of water in a reservoir.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Falling flows: Actual flows at Farakka have often been lower than the 40-year average used in the treaty. Some studies say Bangladesh has not received its guaranteed share in many dry-season periods.
• Environmental harm downstream: Less fresh water in Bangladesh's south-west has increased salinity (salt in water and soil) in rivers like the Gorai and in the Sundarbans. This hurts farming, fisheries and drinking water.
• India's own needs: West Bengal says it needs water for Kolkata Port, drinking water and farming. Critics in India also point to siltation and flooding problems linked to the barrage.
• No augmentation plan: Article VIII's promise to increase dry-season flow has never been turned into a concrete project.
• Climate change: Changing rainfall and glacier melt make flows less predictable, so a fixed historical average may no longer fit.
• Way forward: Experts suggest renewing the treaty with updated flow data, a stronger minimum-guarantee clause, joint studies on ecology and silt, and possibly a basin-wide approach that includes Nepal and covers the whole Ganga system rather than one point.

Concepts to Know

• Riparian state: A country or state through which a river flows. The upper riparian is upstream; the lower riparian is downstream.
• Lean season: The dry months when a river carries the least water. For the Ganga, January to May.
• Cusec: A unit of flow: one cubic foot of water passing a point every second.
• Silt: Fine mud and sand carried by a river. When it settles, it makes the river shallower.
• Salinity: The amount of salt in water or soil. High salinity damages crops and makes water unfit to drink.