India should guarantee minimum flow in renewed Ganga Water Treaty—Bangladesh water resources minister
Bangladesh's water resources minister has called for a "guarantee clause" to be reinstated in the renewed India-Bangladesh Ganga (Ganges) Water Treaty, which is set to expire in December 2026.
The clause, present in the 1977 Ganges Waters Agreement but dropped from the 1996 treaty, would assure Bangladesh a fixed minimum water flow during the driest period of the lean season (April 21 to May 31).
The minister said a renegotiated treaty should balance the interests of both countries; the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission is expected to meet soon to discuss renewal terms.
Within India, upper-riparian stakeholder states have sought renegotiation of the treaty based on updated hydrological data and their own irrigation/drinking-water needs, complicating the renewal process.
The 1996 Ganga (Ganges) Waters Treaty
India and Bangladesh signed the Ganga Waters Treaty on 12 December 1996 for a 30-year term (hence its scheduled expiry in December 2026), governing sharing of the Ganga's lean-season flow measured at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal. It replaced ad hoc short-term agreements that had existed since the Farakka Barrage became operational in 1975.
Key Details
- Sharing formula applies from 1 January to 31 May each year, assessed in 10-day periods, based on historical average flow data (1949–1988) at Farakka.
- If the flow at Farakka is 70,000 cusecs or less, the water is shared equally between India and Bangladesh.
- If flow falls below 50,000 cusecs in any 10-day period, the treaty mandates "immediate consultations" between the two governments rather than a guaranteed minimum share.
- Unlike the 1977 agreement's 80% guarantee clause, the 1996 treaty has no general minimum-guarantee provision, though it commits India to release water at not less than 90% of Bangladesh's due share if talks on adjustment fail.
The current dispute is precisely over this gap: Bangladesh wants the 1977-style guarantee (minimum assured flow even in extreme low-flow years) written back into the successor treaty, which India and upper-riparian states are yet to formally agree to.
River Water Sharing as an International Relations Issue
Transboundary river-water sharing sits at the intersection of international law, federal politics, and diplomacy. India shares major rivers with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan (Indus Waters Treaty, 1960) and China (no binding treaty, only data-sharing MoUs), making it a recurring UPSC theme for comparing treaty types and dispute-resolution mechanisms.
Key Details
- The Farakka Barrage was commissioned in 1975 to divert Ganga water into the Hooghly river to flush silt from Kolkata Port — the original trigger for the water-sharing dispute with then-East Pakistan/Bangladesh.
- India's river-sharing treaties differ in dispute-resolution design: the Indus Waters Treaty (with Pakistan) has a Permanent Indus Commission and third-party arbitration provisions; the Ganga treaty relies on a bilateral Joint Rivers Commission (established 1972) with no third-party mechanism.
- Center-state friction is a recurring feature: because water is a State subject under the Constitution (Entry 17, State List; Entry 56, Union List for inter-state rivers), international river treaties require consultation with basin states, and disagreement (as with West Bengal over Teesta, and Bihar over Ganga flows) can stall negotiations.
Domestic opposition from riparian Indian states over Farakka flow allocations mirrors the pattern seen in other river treaty negotiations (e.g., Teesta), illustrating how India's federal structure constrains its transboundary water diplomacy.
- The Ganga Waters Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 for a 30-year term; it is due to expire/lapse in December 2026.
- Farakka Barrage (West Bengal) is the reference point for measuring and sharing lean-season Ganga flow.
- 1977 Agreement's guarantee clause: minimum 80% of the scheduled flow assured to Bangladesh even if actual flow fell below 80% of the schedule.
- 1996 Treaty's low-flow trigger: immediate bilateral consultation required if flow drops below 50,000 cusecs in a 10-day period.
- Equal (50:50) sharing applies when Farakka flow is at or below 70,000 cusecs.