25-yr-old dispute ends, Jharkhand & Bihar ink pact to share Sone river water

New Delhi: Bihar and Jharkhand signed a water-sharing MoU for the Sone river on Monday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, chief ministers of both states, and Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah said the agreement had resolved a long-awaited water dispute in eastern India, adding that it would provide irrigation water to lakhs of farmers in Bihar and Jharkhand, besides ensuring drinking water for the people.

Shah further said the agreement to resolve the nearly 25-year-old water dispute exemplified that any problem could be resolved through dialogue conducted in the spirit of cooperative federalism.


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He said the agreement would ensure drinking and irrigation water across eight Bihar districts and Palamu, Garhwa and other regions of Jharkhand.

Under the 1973 Bansagar Agreement, Bihar was allocated 7.75 million acre-feet (MAF) of Sone River water. The agreement remained unchanged after Bihar's bifurcation, with Bihar continuing to receive 7.75 MAF but using only 5-5.50 MAF. Jharkhand used the remaining water.

As per the agreement, Bihar has been allotted 5.75 MAF of Sone River water, more than its current utilisation, while Jharkhand has secured a legal share of 2 MAF. Jharkhand has also agreed to provide the NOC for the Indrapuri Reservoir.

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"This is in the interest of both states. The deadlock has been removed and now both can proceed with irrigation and flood management as per their requirements," Vijay Choudhary, Deputy CM of Bihar, who holds the water resources portfolio, told ET.