Ganga Water Treaty renewal: Bihar's water interests to be considered, assures S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar assured Sanjay Jha that Bihar's water interests will be considered. The 30-year Ganga Water Distribution Treaty with Bangladesh expires in December 2026. Inter-ministerial discussions and consultations with B...
By ET Bureau |
ET Bureau
Jaishankar assures Bihar that its water interests will be considered as India reviews the Ganga water-sharing treaty with Bangladesh ahead of its December 2026 expiry.
New Delhi: Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has assured JDU working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha that any decision on renewal of the Ganga Water Distribution Treaty with Bangladesh, known as the Farakka Treaty, would be taken keeping Bihar's water interests in mind.
The 30-year treaty is set to expire on December 12, 2026. The treaty is a bilateral agreement between India and Bangladesh to distribute Ganga water among the two countries during the dry season from January to May every year. Water is to be shared between the two countries depending on the water flow.
Jha had raised the issue on August 6, 2026 in a special mention in the Rajya Sabha. In a letter written on August 28, 2026, Jaishankar apprised Jha of the developments on the treaty including consultations which took place in the past.
The letter recorded that inter ministerial discussions were held, led by the Jal Shakti ministry, with the participation of various stakeholders so that the implementation and future of the treaty could be examined comprehensively.
The letter also mentioned two consultative meetings with authorised representatives of the Bihar government in 2023 and two meetings in 2024.
The 2023 meetings took place when Jha was Bihar's water resource minister and had formally pressed for the state's water claims in the renewal proposal keeping in mind increased demand of water for drinking, agriculture and industrial needs.
"We fully understand your concerns relating to the Ganga Water Treaty...The government will take an appropriate decision keeping these factors in mind," the letter stated.
Sanjay Jha expressed satisfaction with the government's response on the issue raised by him.
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"From his very first term as CM, Nitish Kumar had been raising the issue of fair share of water for Bihar. I am thankful to Jaishankar for his considered response. We sincerely hope that any decision taken by the government of India on the Ganga Water Treaty will factor in Bihar's interests fully and fairly," Jha told ET.
