Farakka Treaty renewal will have Bihar in mind: EAM
The External Affairs Minister stated that Bihar's water-sharing concerns will be factored into the upcoming renewal negotiations for the India-Bangladesh treaty on sharing of the Ganga waters at Farakka.
The 1996 treaty, signed for a 30-year term, is due to expire in December 2026, making renewal negotiations a near-term priority for both governments.
Bihar's state government and elected representatives have flagged that the state, whose catchment areas contribute a large share of the water reaching the Farakka Barrage, did not receive adequate allocation for drinking water, irrigation, and industrial use under the existing formula, and have sought these needs be addressed in the renewed arrangement.
A Bangladeshi technical/official delegation has also visited the Farakka Barrage as part of engagement ahead of the renewal process.
The Farakka (Ganga Waters) Treaty, 1996
The Treaty on Sharing of the Ganga/Ganges Waters at Farakka is a bilateral, legally binding agreement between India and Bangladesh, signed on 12 December 1996 by the Prime Ministers of both countries. It governs the allocation of Ganga water between the two countries during the dry (lean) season, from 1 January to 31 May each year, measured at the Farakka Barrage — the last major control structure on the Ganga within India before it flows into Bangladesh.
Key Details
- Signed: 12 December 1996; term: 30 years (expiring December 2026), renewable by mutual consent; reviewable every five years or earlier if needed.
- Sharing formula: if flow at Farakka is 70,000 cusecs or less, water is shared 50:50; India can withdraw up to 40,000 cusecs when availability exceeds 75,000 cusecs; if flow falls below 50,000 cusecs in any 10-day period, both sides consult immediately. Allocation for each 10-day period is based on historical flow data from 1949-1988.
- The Farakka Barrage itself was commissioned in 1975 to divert Ganga water into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system to maintain navigability of Kolkata Port — the barrage's construction, not the 1996 treaty, is the origin of the India-Bangladesh water dispute.
The treaty's 30-year term nearing expiry in December 2026 is the trigger for the current renewal negotiations; Bihar's demand to be consulted stems from being a major upstream catchment contributor whose interests it says were not adequately reflected in the original 1996 formula, which was negotiated primarily around the India-Bangladesh flow-sharing arithmetic at Farakka.
Transboundary River-Sharing Mechanisms — Comparison with the Teesta Dispute
India shares several transboundary rivers with Bangladesh, of which the Ganga (via the 1996 Farakka treaty) is the only one under a comprehensive, ratified sharing treaty. The Teesta river, by contrast, has no finalised bilateral water-sharing treaty despite an interim agreement being negotiated since 2011; a draft was stalled largely due to West Bengal's objections regarding downstream flow impacts within India, illustrating how sub-national (state) concerns complicate transboundary river diplomacy — a dynamic now echoed by Bihar's intervention in the Farakka renewal.
Key Details
- India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers (the Joint Rivers Commission, set up in 1972, is the institutional mechanism for cooperation on these rivers).
- The Teesta agreement has remained unresolved since a 2011 draft was shelved; India has instead extended lines of credit for a Teesta river management/restoration project.
- Farakka remains the only Ganga-basin river with a binding, time-bound sharing treaty between the two countries.
Bihar's stance on the Farakka renewal parallels the pattern seen with Teesta and West Bengal — where a state's domestic water needs shape the negotiating room available to the central government in transboundary treaty-making, a recurring theme in India's federal water diplomacy.
- Farakka Treaty signed: 12 December 1996, between Prime Ministers H.D. Deve Gowda (India) and Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh); term: 30 years, expiring December 2026.
- Lean-season sharing period under the treaty: 1 January to 31 May, computed over 10-day periods at Farakka Barrage.
- Sharing formula: 50:50 split if flow ≤ 70,000 cusecs; India may draw up to 40,000 cusecs if flow > 75,000 cusecs; mandatory consultation if flow < 50,000 cusecs.
- Farakka Barrage commissioned: 1975, on the Ganga in West Bengal, to feed the Bhagirathi-Hooghly system for Kolkata Port navigability.
- India-Bangladesh share 54 common/transboundary rivers, coordinated via the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (established 1972).