Dhaka requests talks, Delhi bides time as Ganges Water Treaty emerges as latest irritant in ties
Bangladesh formally requested talks with India to discuss renewal of the Ganges Water Treaty, which is due to expire in December 2026
Bangladesh has set up an internal expert panel to engage with India on transboundary river-sharing issues
India has indicated that discussions will proceed through the established bilateral mechanism, at a mutually convenient time, rather than on an expedited basis
The treaty renewal comes amid a broader recalibration of India-Bangladesh relations following a change in Bangladesh's political leadership
The Ganges Water Treaty, 1996
The Ganges (Ganga) Water Sharing Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 between India and Bangladesh for a fixed 30-year term, establishing a formula for sharing the flow of the Ganga at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal during the lean (dry) season.
Key Details
- Signed 12 December 1996; validity period of 30 years — meaning it expires in December 2026, which is the trigger for the current renewal talks
- Farakka Barrage (commissioned 1975, West Bengal) is the point of water distribution between the two countries
- Sharing applies during the lean season (1 January to 31 May), divided into fifteen 10-day cycles, based on historical average flow data at Farakka for 1949–1988
- Sharing formula: if flow at Farakka is 70,000 cusecs or less, it is shared 50:50; if flow is between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh gets 35,000 cusecs and India the remainder; each country is guaranteed a minimum of 35,000 cusecs in alternate 10-day cycles during the most critical period (11 March–10 May)
With the treaty's 30-year term ending in December 2026, its terms lapse unless renewed or extended by mutual agreement — making Bangladesh's request for early talks, and India's more cautious approach on timing, directly consequential for water security in both countries.
Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC)
The Joint Rivers Commission is the standing bilateral institutional mechanism for cooperation on shared rivers between India and Bangladesh, through which technical and diplomatic engagement on treaties like the Ganges Water Treaty is expected to be routed.
Key Details
- Established via a joint declaration of the two Prime Ministers on 19 March 1972, with its formal Statute signed on 24 November 1972 in Dhaka
- Mandated to maintain liaison for the optimum utilization of water resources in common/border/transboundary rivers, flood control, and irrigation
- India and Bangladesh share 54 transboundary rivers, of which the Ganga and Teesta are the most politically significant
- Ministerial-level JRC meetings are held periodically (e.g., the 38th ministerial-level JRC meeting was held in New Delhi) to review implementation and take up new issues
India's stated intent to route renewal discussions "through the appropriate mechanism — the Joint Rivers Commission" reflects the institutionalized, technical-diplomatic channel through which both countries are expected to negotiate the treaty's future, rather than an ad hoc political process.
International Law on Shared/Transboundary Rivers
There is no single binding global treaty that India follows for all its transboundary rivers; India instead negotiates river-specific bilateral treaties (Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, 1960; Ganges Water Treaty with Bangladesh, 1996; Mahakali Treaty with Nepal, 1996), and is not a party to the main multilateral water-law conventions.
Key Details
- India is not a signatory to the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, nor the 1992 UN Water Convention (Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes)
- India's approach is bilateral and river-specific rather than based on a general multilateral framework — contrasted with the Indus Waters Treaty (1960, with the World Bank as facilitator) as its most institutionalized water treaty
- The unresolved Teesta River water-sharing issue with Bangladesh (pending since a draft 2011 interim agreement) is often cited alongside the Ganges Treaty as a recurring irritant in bilateral ties
Because India relies on bespoke bilateral treaties rather than a multilateral legal framework, the Ganges Water Treaty's December 2026 expiry creates a genuine legal gap unless a renewal or extension is concluded — there is no default multilateral regime that would otherwise govern the sharing arrangement.
- Ganges Water Treaty signed: 12 December 1996; validity: 30 years (expires December 2026)
- Farakka Barrage (West Bengal): the point of water distribution under the treaty; commissioned 1975
- Lean-season sharing period: 1 January–31 May, in fifteen 10-day cycles
- Guaranteed minimum flow to each country: 35,000 cusecs in alternate 10-day cycles (11 March–10 May)
- Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission established: 19 March 1972 (Statute signed 24 November 1972)
- Number of transboundary rivers shared between India and Bangladesh: 54
- India is not a party to the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention or the 1992 UN Water Convention
- Bangladesh's request for renewal talks made: 8 June 2026