Will consider Bihar’s concerns before Ganga treaty renewal, says Jaishankar

India will decide on the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty while keeping Bihar’s interests in consideration, stated External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in a recent letter to Janata Dal (U) MP Sanjay Jha, who had called upon the government not to renew the treaty, asserting that it had “negatively impacted” the State.

The India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty will expire on December 31, 2026. Renewal of the treaty is one of the major items on this year’s diplomatic calendar of the two countries.

Responding to Mr. Jaishankar’s letter dated August 28, Mr. Jha expressed the hope that the Government of India will factor in Bihar’s interests “fully and fairly” while going ahead with the treaty. “Bihar is not seeking a favour. We are asking only for what our own scientific assessment establishes, so that 13 crore people are not left short of water for drinking, irrigation and industrial supply for another 30 years,” the JD(U) leader said in a press note.

Consultations held

In the letter to Mr. Jha, Mr. Jaishankar said: “We fully understand your concerns regarding the Ganga Water Treaty. I would like to bring to your attention that under the leadership of the Jal Shakti Ministry, inter-ministerial consultations involving relevant stakeholders have taken place to ensure broad-based consultation on the future of the treaty.” He added that an authorised representative of the Government of Bihar participated in the inter-ministerial consultations held on August 22, 2023, October 30, 2023, March 15, 2024, and on May 31, 2024.

“The government will take the appropriate decision while keeping these factors in focus,” said Mr. Jaishankar regarding the renewal of the treaty.

Earlier Mr. Jha, who was the Bihar Water Resources Minister from 2021 to 2024, had strongly opposed the renewal of the treaty, arguing that it had hurt Bihar’s interests. In his remarks to The Hindu, he had described the treaty, which was signed during the first prime ministerial tenure of Sheikh Hasina in 1996, as a remnant of the ‘Gujral Doctrine’ era that projected a generous image of India but did not serve Bihar’s interests.

Mr. Jha had said that “if you look at the data in the last 30 years of the treaty being in place, you can clearly see that the interests of Bihar have been negatively impacted”, and argued that India should allow the treaty to expire.

Apart from objection from Mr. Jha, the treaty is also in focus because of the lack of top-level political meetings between India and Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh were in talks for a New Delhi visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, but the talks broke down over a virtual press conference by deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Foreign Correspondents Club in New Delhi on August 5.