Teesta River Water Dispute

The Teesta River Water Dispute is a long-running disagreement between India and Bangladesh over how to share the water of the Teesta river, especially in the dry season. The Teesta starts in Sikkim, flows through West Bengal and then enters Bangladesh, where it joins the Brahmaputra. Both countries depend on it for farming, but in the dry months there is too little water for both. A deal was almost signed in 2011 but has not been signed so far.

Where does the Teesta flow?

The Teesta rises in the eastern Himalayas in North Sikkim. Its source is linked to glaciers and lakes near Pauhunri peak, including Tso Lhamo lake. It flows south through Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills, then into the plains of North Bengal. It enters Bangladesh in Rangpur Division and joins the Jamuna (the name of the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh).

The river is about 414 km long, with about 305 km in India and 109 km in Bangladesh. Its largest tributary is the Rangeet. It is the largest river of Sikkim and the second largest river of West Bengal after the Ganga.

Why does it matter so much?

The Teesta floodplain in northern Bangladesh is a major rice-growing area. In India, North Bengal's farms also depend on it. Imagine a single tank of water serving two houses in summer: whoever fills their buckets first leaves the other short. Both countries have built structures to divert the river for irrigation:

• Gajoldoba Barrage (India), in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, diverts water into the Teesta–Mahananda canal system to irrigate North Bengal.
• Teesta Barrage at Dalia (Bangladesh), in Lalmonirhat district, diverts water for Bangladesh's own irrigation project.

Because Gajoldoba is upstream, Bangladesh says very little water reaches Dalia in the dry season.

How has the dispute developed?

• 1972: The Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) was set up to handle common rivers.
• 1983: An ad hoc (temporary) arrangement was agreed at a JRC meeting: India 39%, Bangladesh 36%, and 25% unallocated. It was never turned into a formal treaty.
• 1996: The Ganges Water Treaty's Article IX committed both sides to agreements on other common rivers, guided by equity and no harm.
• 2011: An interim deal for 15 years was ready: during the dry season, India 42.5% and Bangladesh 37.5%, with the rest left for the river itself. It was dropped at the last minute during a prime-ministerial visit to Dhaka in September 2011, because the West Bengal government objected, citing water shortage in North Bengal.
• Since then: Talks have continued, but no treaty has been signed.

Why can't the Centre just sign it?

Under India's Constitution, signing treaties is a Union subject (Entry 14, Union List), and Article 253 allows Parliament to pass laws to carry out treaties even on state subjects. But water is mainly a state subject (Entry 17, State List). By practice and political sense, the Centre does not sign a water treaty that the affected state strongly opposes, because the state manages the canals, farmers and local water use. So the Teesta shows how federalism (sharing of power between the Centre and states) shapes India's foreign policy.

The China and development angle

Bangladesh has considered a large Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project to dredge, embank and manage the river inside Bangladesh. China has shown interest in funding it, with a cost often reported at about US$1 billion. India watches this closely because the area is close to the Siliguri Corridor (the narrow "Chicken's Neck" strip joining India's northeast to the rest of the country).

In June 2024, India said it would send a technical team and would take up conservation and management of the Teesta inside Bangladesh with Indian help.

Upstream pressures in Sikkim

Several hydropower projects stand on the Teesta in Sikkim, such as Teesta-V (510 MW) and Teesta-III (1,200 MW). In October 2023, a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) from South Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim sent a huge flood down the Teesta and destroyed the Teesta-III dam at Chungthang. This showed how climate change and dams add new risks to an already stressed river.

Commonly confused concepts

• Teesta dispute vs Ganges Water Treaty: the Ganga has a signed 1996 treaty with a fixed formula. The Teesta has only the 1983 ad hoc arrangement and the unsigned 2011 draft.
• Gajoldoba Barrage (India, West Bengal) vs Teesta Barrage at Dalia (Bangladesh, Lalmonirhat): both are on the Teesta, one on each side of the border.
• Teesta joins the Brahmaputra (Jamuna), not the Ganga. The Brahmaputra and the Ganga meet later inside Bangladesh.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Too little water to share: Dry-season flow is low and falling. Upstream diversion and hydropower in India reduce what reaches Bangladesh.
• Centre–state tension: West Bengal's concerns about North Bengal's farmers have blocked the 2011 deal. Any treaty needs the state on board.
• Ecological flow: Experts argue part of the water must stay in the river to keep it alive, not all of it split between the two countries.
• Geopolitics: A China-funded project near the Siliguri Corridor raises strategic worries for India, while Bangladesh wants to solve its water and flood problems quickly.
• Way forward: Suggestions include sharing real-time flow data, joint basin studies, water-saving irrigation in North Bengal, a formula with a minimum guaranteed flow, and linking the Teesta deal with the renewal of the Ganges treaty in one broader water package.

Concepts to Know

• Ad hoc arrangement: A temporary deal made for a specific situation, not a permanent or legally binding treaty.
• Ecological flow: The minimum water that must stay in a river so that fish, plants and the river system itself can survive.
• Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF): A sudden flood when the natural wall holding back a lake formed by a melting glacier breaks.
• Siliguri Corridor: A narrow strip of Indian land in North Bengal, about 20–22 km wide at its narrowest, linking the northeastern states to the rest of India. [Unverified width]
• Federalism: A system where power is divided between the central government and state governments.