Reimagining The India–Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty

UPSC Syllabus Tags: GS Paper II—India and its neighbourhood-relations
Context: The article argues that India and Bangladesh should replace a narrowly allocative Ganga agreement with an institutionally stronger and climate-responsive framework for managing shared risks.
Source: “India and Bangladesh must not just renew Ganga Water Treaty. They should reimagine it,” The Indian Express, July 28, 2026.

Treaty Context

The 30-year treaty governs dry-season sharing at Farakka from January 1 to May 31 and approaches expiry in December 2026.
Its allocation formula varies according to actual flow during successive 10-day periods.
Renewal discussions intersect with changing hydrology, India’s federal politics, Bangladesh’s domestic politics and disagreements concerning other common rivers.

Essential Context

At flows of 70,000 cusecs or less, the treaty provides for a 50:50 division.
Between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh receives 35,000 cusecs and India receives the balance.
At 75,000 cusecs or more, India receives 40,000 cusecs and Bangladesh receives the balance, subject to specified lean-season guarantees.

Key Terms

Upper and lower riparian: An upper riparian is located upstream and may influence the timing, quality or quantity of water reaching a downstream—or lower-riparian—State.
Territorial trap: The assumption that transboundary-river governance involves only national governments. State governments, local communities and sectoral institutions also influence basin outcomes.
Adaptive water governance: Rules and institutions capable of revising operating practices in response to changing rainfall, glacial conditions, sediment, ecosystems and extreme events.

Why It Matters

Hydrological stationarity is weakening. Historical flow patterns may no longer provide a sufficient basis for managing changing monsoons, glacial loss and hydrological extremes.
Federal participation is necessary. West Bengal’s water requirements and Bihar’s concerns about siltation and flooding affect India’s negotiating position.
Allocation is only one dimension. Flood forecasting, fisheries, navigation, sediment management and ecological restoration offer possibilities for benefit-sharing.
Existing institutions have limited mandates. The Joint Rivers Commission and treaty Joint Committee were not designed for continuous adaptation to basin-wide climate risks.
Geopolitical competition can narrow cooperation. External involvement in projects such as those in the Teesta basin may increase bargaining leverage while securitising water relations.

Prelims Focus

Farakka Barrage is situated in West Bengal on the Ganga, upstream of the Bangladesh border.
A cusec is one cubic foot of water flowing per second; it measures discharge rather than stored volume.
The treaty’s allocation formula applies during specified dry-season months, not throughout the year.
The Ganga enters Bangladesh as the Padma and later joins the Jamuna, the principal channel of the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.

Mains Relevance

GS Paper II—India and its neighbourhood

Water diplomacy requires cooperation between countries and political coordination within each country.
A renewed treaty could combine predictable allocation with joint monitoring and adaptive operating rules.
Cooperation concerning navigation, floods and ecosystems may produce more durable gains than bargaining exclusively over volumetric shares.

Mains Answer Enrichment

Legal anchor: The 1996 treaty contains a flow-based, 10-day allocation formula and establishes a Joint Committee with equal representation.
Balanced formulation: Downstream vulnerability is real, but cooperative management must also accommodate upstream developmental needs and ecological constraints.
Reform: Establish joint real-time data systems, periodic climate reviews, basin-risk protocols and formal consultation with affected Indian States.

Editorial Lens

The article’s principal contribution is to reject a purely bilateral and volumetric conception of the treaty. Climate uncertainty, domestic politics and ecological interdependence have become central to contemporary water diplomacy.

A very broad negotiating agenda could nevertheless delay agreement on immediate dry-season allocation. A layered arrangement may be more workable: binding allocation rules, operational protocols for particular risks and wider institutions for ecological and economic cooperation.

The balanced conclusion is that renewal should preserve predictable entitlements while creating mechanisms capable of adapting to changing hydrology and distributing basin-management costs fairly.

India–Bangladesh Relations

India–Bangladesh Ganga Water-Sharing Treaty, 1996

Basic Framework

Official Agreement: The Treaty on Sharing of the Ganga/Ganges Waters at Farakka was signed on 12 December 1996 by Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Core Purpose: It establishes a bilateral framework for sharing the Ganga’s dry-season flow at Farakka.
Operational Period: The sharing arrangement applies annually from 1 January to 31 May.
Treaty Duration: The treaty remains in force for 30 years and expires in December 2026; it may be renewed by mutual consent.
Review Provision: The two governments may review the sharing arrangements and make mutually agreed adjustments.

Farakka Barrage

Location: The Farakka Barrage is situated in West Bengal near the India–Bangladesh border.
Primary Function: It diverts water through a feeder canal into the Bhagirathi–Hooghly system to improve its water regime and navigability for Kolkata Port.
Treaty Role: The availability of Ganga water at Farakka forms the basis of the treaty’s allocation mechanism.

Water-Sharing Formula

Flow Availability at Farakka	Allocation Formula
Up to 70,000 cusecs	India and Bangladesh each receive 50% of the available flow.
Between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs	Bangladesh receives 35,000 cusecs; India receives the balance.
75,000 cusecs or more	India receives 40,000 cusecs; Bangladesh receives the balance.
Below 50,000 cusecs	The two governments must enter into immediate consultations to make equitable adjustments.

Ten-Day Schedule: Water is allocated through successive 10-day periods between 1 January and 31 May.
Historical Basis: The indicative schedule is based on the average availability recorded at Farakka during the 40-year period from 1949 to 1988.

Leanest-Period Safeguard

Critical Period: Special protection applies from 11 March to 10 May, when the river’s flow is generally at its lowest.
Alternate Guarantees: India and Bangladesh are each guaranteed 35,000 cusecs in alternate three 10-day periods during this critical phase.
Implementation Principle: The parties must share the available water in accordance with equity, fairness and the principle of causing no harm to either side.

Institutional Mechanism

Joint Committee: A Joint Committee comprising an equal number of representatives nominated by both governments oversees implementation.
Monitoring Functions: The committee records daily flows at Farakka, the feeder canal and the Hardinge Bridge point in Bangladesh.
Dispute Resolution: Differences within the Joint Committee are referred to the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission and, if unresolved, to the two governments.

Historical Background

Farakka Dispute: Differences intensified after the Farakka Barrage became operational in 1975, particularly over the effects of dry-season diversion on downstream water availability in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s Concerns: Bangladesh linked reduced lean-season flows with salinity intrusion, irrigation shortages and ecological stress in its south-western region.
1977 Agreement: India and Bangladesh concluded a five-year agreement governing Ganga water sharing at Farakka for 1978–82.
Interim MoUs: Temporary arrangements were subsequently adopted through the 1982 MoU for 1983–84 and the 1985 MoU before the comprehensive 1996 treaty was concluded.

Significance

Rules-Based Allocation: The treaty replaced temporary arrangements with a predictable formula for dry-season water sharing.
Bilateral Cooperation: It created institutional procedures for joint monitoring, consultation and dispute management.
Diplomatic Importance: The agreement has remained a major pillar of India–Bangladesh cooperation over shared river resources.

Renewal Context

Technical Discussions: India and Bangladesh agreed in June 2024 to begin technical-level discussions on renewing the treaty.
Technical Engagement: Joint technical meetings and exchanges have examined hydrological data and the treaty’s implementation ahead of its expiry.
Current Status: Discussions concerning renewal of the treaty are underway as its December 2026 expiry approaches.

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