With the 1996 treaty nearing expiry, Bangladeshi officials and experts are pressing for a revised water-sharing arrangement that reflects public needs, shared risks and long-term trust.
India has said issues surrounding the Ganga Water Treaty with Bangladesh will be taken up under the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission, as Dhaka waits for New Delhi to respond to its push for a new agreement before the existing treaty expires in December.
“Ganga Water Treaty was signed in 1996 for a period of 30 years and all water related issues, river related issues between India and Bangladesh are discussed as part of the agenda of the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi recently, Jaiswal said meetings of the Joint Committee of the Ganga Water Treaty were continuing at the technical level.
The Bangladesh government has said it is determined to renegotiate the water-sharing treaty with India while safeguarding the rights of the Bangladeshi people.
Responding on Thursday to a supplementary question from Bagerhat-4 lawmaker Md Abdul Aleem, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman said Bangladesh remained active in seeking its fair share of water from common rivers.
He said a team had been formed to prepare a new agreement following the expiry of the Ganges Water-sharing Treaty and that Indian authorities had been informed.
“We are now waiting for their response,” he said.
The Bangladesh-India Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty was signed in 1996 for a period of 30 years and is due to expire in December this year.
Experts have said the treaty should be “reviewed and reformed comprehensively” before a renewed agreement is reached, with economists, urban planners, sociologists and environmentalists involved in the planning, as Dhaka shares the “risk” of not sharing it appropriately.
Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur, speaking while attending the ninth Indian Ocean Conference in Mauritius, said Bangladesh wanted to see an arrangement and a new or revised treaty that would ensure the essential needs of its people.
“These are common rivers, and we have common legacies here, common interests and, as I said, there’s no other alternative but to seek a solution that is durable and will win public trust. And this will also be very important to lay the basis for the relationship over the next 25 to 50 years,” he told NDTV on the sidelines of the conference.
Prof Shahab Enam Khan, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, also called for the treaty to be renewed with revisions.
“I think it is very important for Bangladesh and India to renew the Ganges Treaty. But it has to be revised. The very simple reason is that the treaty was done almost three decades ago,” he said recently.
Source: UNB
