"Ganga Water Treaty expiry prompts calls to reimagine India-Bangladesh water diplomacy"
Ganga Water Treaty (1996)
30-year India-Bangladesh accord governing lean-season Ganges water-sharing at Farakka Barrage, expiring December 2026.
Farakka Barrage
Indian dam on the Ganges near the Bangladesh border, whose construction triggered decades of bilateral water disputes.
India and Bangladesh share one of South Asia's most consequential bilateral relationships, anchored in India's decisive support during the 1971 Liberation War and sustained by dense economic, cultural, and security interdependencies. The two countries share a 4,156-km land border — India's longest with any single neighbour — and are connected by over 54 transboundary rivers, making water governance a perennial and politically charged dimension of the relationship. The formal bilateral architecture includes the Ganga Water Treaty of 1996, the Land Boundary Agreement ratified via the 100th Constitutional Amendment (2015), and the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), established as early as 1972 to manage shared river issues.
The Ganga Water Treaty of 1996 was itself the product of decades of contentious negotiations triggered by India's construction of the Farakka Barrage in the 1970s, which Bangladesh argued drastically reduced dry-season flows into its territory. The treaty, signed as a 30-year accord, established a flow-dependent sharing formula at Farakka — including a 50:50 pro-rata arrangement when flows fall below a defined threshold — and was widely regarded as a landmark in South Asian water diplomacy. Its expiry on December 31, 2026 has now placed the renewal question at the centre of bilateral diplomacy.
The 1996 Ganga Water Treaty governs the allocation of Ganges flows during the lean season (January–May), when water availability is at its lowest and agricultural and ecological stress is highest. Bangladesh has consistently expressed dissatisfaction with the treaty's implementation, arguing that it does not receive its guaranteed share during dry seasons — a grievance that has shaped public and political sentiment in Dhaka. The treaty's single-point focus on water-sharing at Farakka was a product of its time: a moment of relatively stable bilateral relations and a narrower conception of what transboundary water governance entails.
The Joint Rivers Commission and the Joint Committee established to implement the treaty were designed to execute agreed arrangements, not to manage uncertainty or resolve disputes dynamically. This institutional gap has become increasingly apparent as the scope of water-related challenges has expanded. Beyond Farakka, the Teesta River has emerged as a major unresolved flashpoint — a proposed sharing agreement has been stalled for over a decade, partly due to resistance from the state of West Bengal, illustrating the federal complexity India faces in water diplomacy. …
In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/participants?
1.Bangladesh
2.Cambodia
3.China
4.Myanmar
5.Thailand
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Which of the following are the key features of 'National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)'?
1.River basin is the unit of planning and management.
2.It spearheads the river conservation efforts at the national level.
3.One of the Chief Ministers of the States through which the Ganga flows becomes the Chairman of NGRBA on rotation basis.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
With reference to the Ganga Water Treaty of 1996 between India and Bangladesh, consider the following statements:
1.The treaty governs water-sharing at the Farakka Barrage during the lean season (January–May).
2.It provides for a 50:50 pro-rata sharing arrangement when flows at Farakka fall below a defined threshold.
3.The treaty was signed for a period of 25 years.
4.The Joint Rivers Commission was established specifically to implement this treaty.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The concept of 'territorial trap' in the context of transboundary water diplomacy refers to which of the following?
Which of the following best explains why the Teesta River sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh has remained unresolved despite central-level negotiations?
Consider the following statements regarding the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) between India and Bangladesh:
1.It was established in 1972, making it one of the oldest bilateral water institutions in South Asia.
2.It was specifically created to implement the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty.
3.Critics argue it was designed to implement agreements rather than manage uncertainty or resolve disputes dynamically.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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