Bihar to raise concerns over India-Bangladesh water-sharing during treaty renewal: Minister

Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said on Sunday that India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has assured his government that the state’s concerns over the Farakka barrage and the India-Bangladesh water-sharing treaty will be taken up during the treaty’s renewal process, scheduled for the end of this year.

Choudhary, who accompanied Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha to a meeting with Jaishankar in New Delhi on Friday, said the Centre had responded positively to Bihar’s long-pending concerns, The Times of India reports.

The meeting, convened at the chief minister’s initiative, was attended by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior officials from the ministries of external affairs, Jal Shakti and finance.

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Discussions focused on issues related to Bihar’s water resources, irrigation and flood management.

Choudhary said Bihar’s interests were overlooked when the India-Bangladesh water-sharing treaty was signed three decades ago. “Most of the water reaching the Farakka barrage originates from catchment areas in Bihar, but the state has not received its due share for drinking water, irrigation and industrial use,” he said.

The proposed construction of high-level reservoirs and dams on the Kosi and other rivers in Nepal also figured prominently in the discussions.

The meeting reviewed Bihar’s participation in the Joint Project Office (JPO), established in Biratnagar in 2004 to facilitate preparatory work for the proposed reservoir projects.

According to Choudhary, Jaishankar assured the delegation that Bihar would be represented in the JPO and that necessary steps would be taken in this regard. At present, the office comprises representatives from the Centre and Nepal.

The deputy chief minister said the meeting also addressed Bihar’s pending irrigation and flood-control projects. Sitharaman noted that special assistance for these sectors had already been provided in the Union Budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. She also pointed to procedural delays affecting the Kosi-Mechi link project and other schemes, and directed officials to expedite pending formalities, Choudhary said.

Bihar has been seeking greater central support on water-management issues, particularly those related to recurring floods and the utilisation of river waters flowing through the state.