Joint River Commission
Introduction
Bangladesh has an area of 147,570 sq. km. lying in the delta of the World’s three major rivers-the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna of which 86000 sq. km. (58 percent) are cultivated. The country is bounded by India on the west, the north and the north-east, Myanmar on the south-east and Bay of Bengal on the south.
Bangladesh is predominantly and extremely flat delta built up by the alluvial deposit of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. The nearly flat topography, while ideal for agriculture, is prone to drainage and flood problems under the prevailing rainfall pattern and river regimes. Most of the land lies less than 20 meters above the Mean sea level (MSL). The overall gradient of the river flood plains is less than one-fifth meter per km, except in the extreme northwest where it increases to about two-thirds meter per km.
Bangladesh enjoys generally a sub-tropical monsoon climate. There are three seasons in a year, namely, winter, summer and monsoon. The lowest temperature comes down to 7ºC during winter and rises upto a maximum of 40ºC during summer. The rainfall in Bangladesh is highly seasonal and is concentrated in a period of four months (June-September) when 80 percent of the total rainfall occurs. Bangladesh receives annual rainfall from about 1,200 mm in the extreme west to about 5,800 mm to the north-east. The average annual rainfall is about 2,300 mm. The geographical setting and the climatic condition of Bangladesh has made the hydrological situation of the country complex.
The Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna river systems drain a total catchment of about 1,72 million sq. km through Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. Out of the total 1,72 million sq. km of catchment area only 7% lies within Bangladesh. Being the lowest riparian, the country is deprived of any control over the huge cross-boundary flows of about 140,000 cumec (4,944,058 cusec) carried by these rivers during monsoon. However, the flows become so scarce in the dry season that the combined minimum near the Bay of Bengal is only one –twentieth of the peak monsoon discharge. As a result, floods restrict farmer’s choice of crops during the monsoon on the one hand while lack of water severely restrains the irrigated High Yielding Variety(HYV) culture during flood free dry period on the other.
The country is densely populated and the present population is estimated to be 140 million. The current density of about 948 persons per sq. km is one of the highest in the world. About 85 percent of the people live in rural areas. The unprecedented growth in population has led to a sharp decline in land man ratio and increasing landlessness.
River Systems of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a great delta formed by the alluvial deposits of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna river systems. The country has been blessed with more than 230 rivers including 57 international rivers. Out of 57 rivers , 54 rivers flow from India to Bangladesh and 3 from Myanmar. The three major river basins are briefly described below.
The Ganges Basin: The Ganges basin encompasses an area of about 1,087,001 sq. km. The area in India is 860,000 sq. km, Nepal 147,181 sq. km, China 33,520 sq. km and Bangladesh 46,300 sq. km. the Ganges rises from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas at an elevation of about 7010 meters near the Indo-Chinese border. The river flows generally in south-easterly direction and in the lower reaches it flows eastward and enters Bangladesh near Rajshahi. The length of the main river is about 2550 km. Three major tributaries of the Ganges, the karnali, the Gandaki and the Kosi flow through Nepal to join the Ganges in India and contributes about 71 percent of the natural dry season flows and 41 percent of the total annual flow of the Ganges.
The Brahmaputra Basin : The Brahmaputra basin has a total catchment area of 552,00 sq. km. The area in China is 270,900 sq. km., Bhutan 47,000 sq. km., India 195,000 sq. km. and Bangladesh 39,9000 sq. km. The Brahmaputra originates in the Himalayan range and collects snowmelt and runoff from the huge catchment lying in China, Bhutan, India and Bangladesh. The river enters Bangladesh near Kurigram and flows southwards and continues to its confluence with the Ganges near Aricha. The total length of the Brahmaputra is about 2,900 km. upto Aricha.
The Meghna Basin : The Barak, headstream of the Meghna rises in the hills of Manipur in India. The total length of the river is about 900 km of which 400 km is in Bangladesh. The total catchment area of Meghna river is 82,000 sq. km. out of which 47,000 sq. km. and 35,000 sq. km. line in India and Bangladesh respectively.
| Brahmaputra | Ganges | Meghna | |
| Length of river (km) | 2,90 | 2,550 | 900 |
| Length within Banglades(km) | 27 | 260 | 400 |
| Total Basin area (km²) | 552,000 | 1,087,001 | 82,000 |
| Basin area within Bangladesh(km²) | 39,100 | 46,300 | 35,000 |
| Highest recorded discharge | 98.300(cumec) | 76.000(cumec) | 19.800(cumec) |
| Lowest recorded discharge | 2,860(cumec) | 261(cumec) | Tidal |
Importance of Water Resources in the Economy of Bangladesh
The economy of Bangladesh is essentially agrarian which in turn is critically dependent on the waters of the rivers. Agriculture sector accounts for about 38 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 60 percent of exports, sustain over 75 percent of the civilian labour force. Agriculture not only produces the food grains for the population and raw materials needed by domestic industries but also major export commodities.
Bangladesh being a predominantly agro based developing country, land and water, the basic resources of the country, must be put to the most economic and efficient use in order to provide higher employment and income opportunities to the vast majority of rural people. Development of the country is, therefore, heavily reliant on the integrated development and optimum utilization of its land and water resources.
Since time immemorial, water has been both a blessing and a course for the people of this deltaic country. It is not only vital for human habitation, agriculture, and fishery; it also provides an important means of communication. However, the excess of water in the monsoon brings in its trail devastating floods, erosion of land and vagaries of braided and meandering rivers. The low flow in the rivers during dry season on the other hand invites intrusion of saline water from the Bay of Bengal. Paradoxically, water is a scarce resource in Bangladesh despite its seeming abundance, it is not very often available when extremely needed due to upstream utilization outside the country. An additional problem is the recent detection of arsenic contamination of ground water sources. High levels of arsenic (over acceptable limit of 0.05 mg/1) in ground water have been detected in 59 of the 64 districts of Bangladesh. It has serious implications for domestic water supply as well as for the agricultural sector because of the transfer of arsenic into the food chain through irrigated crops. It is, therefore, necessary to review the strategy of depending on ground water for supply of safe water and irrigation water supply. Economic development in Bangladesh is, therefore, contingent on the availability, development and management of water resources especially the surface water resources.
Indo-Bangladesh Treaty on sharing the Ganges Waters
The Ganges river influences the lives of 40 million people of Bangladesh living in one third area of the country. Its water are used for agriculture, domestic and municipal use, fisheries, industries, forestry, navigation and maintaining a natural balance within the region, especially in the Sundarbans – the largest mangrove forest in the world.
India constructed a barrage across the Ganges at Farakka in 1975 to divert the dry season flows to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river for the stated purpose of flushing silt and improve the navigability of Calcutta port. This necessitated in reaching and agreement/Treaty between Bangladesh and India for sharing the Ganga/Ganges waters. Water sharing agreements between the two countries have in the past been short term and intermittent in nature. These had been in force only in 1975, 1978-82 and 1986-88. In intervening periods, the Ganges flows to Bangladesh reduced to as low as 9,218 cusecs in 1993. This has affected adversely the entire Southwestern region of Bangladesh. After intense negotiations, agreement was reached and a Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 for sharing the waters of the Ganges for a period of thirty years.
The signing of the Ganges Treaty in December 1996 has provided an opportunity to Bangladesh to achieve its long cherished goal of sustained growth through balanced and systematic development and management of the land and water resources in the Ganges dependent areas of the country by building a barrage across the Ganges. The Government of Bangladesh has initiated relevant studies towards implementation of the Ganges Barrage Multipurpose Project with a view to utilizing the waters assured under the Treaty.
These opportunities are timely in relation to the country’s development needs and must be grasped for Bangladesh to truly establish its natural right to use of the Ganges waters.
Main Features of the Treaty
- Treaty is for 30 years covering the period 1 January to 31 May each year with sharing to an agreed formula.
- India to make every effort to maintain inflows to Farakka at or above 40 years average (1949-88).
- Bangladesh and India to receive a guaranteed minimum 35,000 cusecs during crtical periods alternately.
- Agreed to conclude water-sharing Treaties/Agreements with regard to other rivers guided by the principles of equity, fairness and no harm to either party.
- Recognized the need to cooperate with each other in finding a solution to the long-term problem of augmenting the flows of the Ganges.
Operation of the 1996 Treaty on sharing of the Ganges waters at Farakka
Bangladesh and India have been sharing the dry season flows of the Ganges at Farakka since 1997 as per provision of the 1996 Treaty. But the share of the Ganges waters received so far by Bangladesh was not enough to meet the requirement of various water using sectors. Moreover the data of sharing of the Ganges waters at Farakka since 1997 to 2007 dry periods reveals that Bangladesh has received less than its share as shown in the indicative schedule on several occasions. Such deficits in share are affecting the agro-socio-economic development in the Ganges dependent area of Bangladesh. It will not be out of context to mention here that the quantum of Ganges water Bangladesh is receiving under the 1996 Treaty provisions are only half of the amount that it had received in the pre-Farakka years (pre-1975). Further reduction of Bangladesh share would only aggravate those problems of Bangladesh.
The dry season availabilities of the Ganges waters in Bangladesh are always inadequate to meet the demands, which are increasing over time. There is a felt need to increase the availability of Ganges flows at Farakka. With a view to addressing this problem, the Ganges Waters Treaty, 1996 provide in Article VIII that “the two Governments recognize the need to cooperate with each other in finding a solution to the long-term problem of augmenting the flows of the Ganga/Ganges during the dry season.” To augment the Ganges flows, the tributaries in Nepal are the most effective sources as their dry season and annual contributions at Farakka are 71 and 41 percent respectively.
Sharing of other Common Rivers
The 1996 Treaty has provided an Article ( Article-IX) to address the sharing of other common rivers wherein it has been agreed to conclude water Sharing Treaties/Agreements guided by the principles of equity, fair play and no harm to either party.
The Joint Rivers Commission at its Thirty Second meeting held in July, 1997 formed a Joint Committee of Expersts ( JCE ) headed by the Secretary of the Water resources of both Governments to workout arrangement for long term/permanent sharing of the waters of the common rivers with priority to Teesta. The Joint Committee of Experts has taken initiatives towards working out a formula for interim sharing of the Teesta waters.
It also agreed to work together on the sharing of the waters of other six rivers Manu, Khowai, Gumti, Muhuri, Dharla and Dudhkumar. So far no tangible result has been accomplished on these rivers although more than ten years have elapsed since signing of the Treaty on the Ganges.
Tipaimukh Dam Project of India
In late seventies India contemplated to construct the Tipaimukh Dam Project at a place named Tipaimukh at the Mizoram-Monipur border. The Dam Site is about 200 km. upstream from the Bangladesh border at Amalshed. The height of the proposed Dam is about 181m and length is about 390 m with a live storage capacity of 9 BCM. The project would generate 1500 MW of Hydropower. The Joint Rivers Commission in its 14th meeting in January, 1978 decided that the Superintending Engineer’s of both the countries should jointly examine the scope of the Indian scheme of storage dam on the Barak river at Tipaimukh and study expeditiously the potential flood control and other benefits in Bangladesh and report the progress to the Commission at its next meeting. Till now no joint study has taken place.
The Government of Bangladesh has sent several note Verbales to the Government of
India on the issue and requested to provide some data and information related to design
And operation of the Tipimukh Dum project to study the environmental impact on Bangladesh. Bangladesh did not receive the said information till now.
The issue was also discussed in the 35th and 36th meeting of the JRC. In the 36th meeting
Of JRC, Bangladesh side requested the Indian side to refrain from construction of the
Tipaimukh Dum. In reply the Indian side stated that the project had no component for
Irrigation through which the waters of Bank river could be withdrawn. Rather is the Dum is built it would mitigate the sufferings of flood in Bangladesh and would provide extra
Water in the flow of the river Barak /Surma and Kushiyara in Bangladesh during dry season. The Bangladesh side wanted to be assured that there would not be any diversion of waters from fulertal or elsewhere on the Barak river.The Indian side Conveyed and
Assurance that they did not intend to construct any diversion structure at Fluertal.
It has been learnt from the newspaper that foundation stone of the Tipimukh Dum project
Has been laid down by the to cabinet minister of the Government of India on 16th December, 2006.
Coopration among Bangladesh India and Nepal
Most part of the Ganges catchment and the potential reservoir sites are located in Nepal
And India .Due to availability of high water holding capacity of monsoon flows in the
Potential reservoirs sites of Nepal there is excellent opportunity to create storage reservoirs which would augment the dry season Ganges flows at farakka.Bangladesh
Carried out studies on the basis of available data and information on the prospects of
Harnessing the Water resources of the Ganges through storage reservoirs in Nepal. On the basis of this studies Bangladesh proposed in 1983 construction of seven large dams
At chisapani, kaligandaki-1, kaligandaki-2, Trisulganga, Seti, Sapt-kosi and Pancheswar in Nepal which could augment the dry season flows of the Ganges by 1656 cumec(58,481Cusecs)if built at normal height and by 5338 cumec (188,510cusecs)if the
Dums at chisapani ,Trisulganga,Seti and Sapt-kosi are built above normal height.
Consequent to the devastating floods of 1987 and 1988 in Bangladesh ,a Bangladesh Nepal joint study team in their Report on Flood mitigation Measures and Multipurpose
Use of water resources”identified 30 (thirty) potential reservoir sites in Nepal capable
Of augmenting together the dry season flows of the Ganges to the vicinity of 175000 cusecs. The potential sites,referred to above provide the opportunity to construct dums
For storing excess water in the Himalayas for a variety of downstream uses.The construction involves high costs has a long gestation period .Hence by definition ,they
Are multipurpose in nature providing benefits (beyond national borderes)in areas of power generation ,flood moderation ,dry season flows augmentation ,irrigation and
Navigation .The hydropower potential of about 36000 Megawatts installed capacity of these reservoir sites is the most significant aspect of water development in this region.
Cooperation among Bangladesh, India and Bhutan
Bangladesh, India, Bhutan and China are the four co-basin countries in the Brahmaputra. According to the available information, in the Brahmaputra Master Plan of India (1986) 18 storage sites in northeastern India have been identified, five of which are classified as large, having a total gross storage capacity of 80 BCM.
The Sankosh is a tributary to the Brahmaputra originating in Bhutan. The Sankosh multipurpose dam project on the Sankosh river in Bhutan is proposed to be implemented jointly by India and Bhutan. The proposed project would generate about 1500 mega watts of power. This project is expected to give other benefits like navigation, fisheries and tourism. Bangladesh may also be involved in this initiative with India and Bhutan.
Another project that could be taken up for implementation through mutual cooperation among Bhutan, India and Bangladesh is Manas Multipurpose Project. The Manas originates in Bhutan and it is a major tributary to the Brahmaputra.
Initiatives in the SAARC
Pursuant to an understanding reached among the Foreign Secretaries of Bangladesh, India, Nepa’ and Bhutan at New Delhi in December, 1996 to undertake sub-regional economic cooperation among the four countries, the first meeting at the Foreign Secretaries Level was held at Kathmandu on 2 April, 1997. The Foreign Secretaries reaffirmed the commitment of their Government to pursue sub-regional economic cooperation for accelerating economic growth, overcoming infrastructural constraints, developing and making optimal use of complementarities.
It was agreed in the meeting that the objective of the growth quadrangle is to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development through identification and implementation of specific projects of cooperation in the core economic sectors including optimal and sustainable utilization of natural resource endowments.
The Kathmandu Meeting identified seven broad areas of cooperation for which specific projects would be prepared. The meeting decided that in Phase-I of the Plan of Action, working groups will be set up to examine and recommend specific projects. The meeting further decided to assign coordinating responsibilities to each of the four countries with Bangladesh taking responsibility for sectoral studies on natural resources and energy;
Bhutan for environment; India for trade and investment and Nepal for tourism and multimodel transportation and communication.
In the Ninth SAARC Summit held at Male in 1997 and again in Colombo in 1998, the Heads of State of Government reiterated their determination to reinforce the unity and cohesion of SAARC With the objective of enhancing regional solidarity and promoting overall development within SAARC, the Heads of State or Government encouraged, under the provisions of Article VII and X of the Charter, the development of specific projects relevant to the special individual needs of three or more Members States (para 6 of the Declaration).
As the designated coordinator for sectoral studies in the fields of natural resources and energy, Bangladesh would be responsible for preparing concept papers on possible specific projects in the field of optimal utilization of common natural resources including water resources of the Eastern Himalayan rivers of the growth quadrangle and the energy sector.
In the 14`” SAARC Summit held in March 2007 at New Delhi, the Prime Minister of India Dr. Monmohan Singh in his address said, “We have agreed to make tangible progress in the next six months on four issues which affect our people’s daily lives; water (including flood control), energy, food and the environment. We will work with international agencies to develop and implement viable cross-border regional projects in these four sectors, which address our people’s basic needs”. This statement once again opens the windows of oppcrtunit1es of the regional cooperation for harnessing and development of the water resources of this region.
India’s Mega Plan for interlinking its rivers:
India proposed a plan for interlinking rivers for transferring waters from the north to south in its bid to resolve the water scarcity problem in south India within a period of 10-years. Under this plan 30 links have been envisaged to connect 37 rivers for providing the inter-linkage at a cost of Indian Rs. 560,000 crores which is approximately about US$ 113 billion. The plan envisages transfer of water of the Ganges and its tributaries to Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujrat. Similarly it also plans to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries to the Ganges and from there to the Godavari, Krishna, Pennar and Cauvery basins through Subrnarekha in West Bengal and Mahanadi of Orissa.
The then Indian President H. E. A P J Abdul Kalam in his address to the nation on the eve of the Indian Independence Day on 14t” August, 2002, pointed out the fact that while some states are perpetually facing drought, others are ravaged by floods every year. This prompted senior advocate Ranjit Kumar of India to file a copy of the President’s speech along with an application in a Public Interest Litigation before the Indian Supreme Court with an application in a public interest litigation before the Indian Supreme Court. The application filed in August 2002, thus, raised the issue of networking of rivers for the first time. A bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India, B N Kirpal, viewed the case as an independent writ petition and ruled that there should be inter-linking of rivers in India. Justice Kirpal also set a 10-year deadline for implementing the project. A brief six-page order passed on October 31 formed the basis on which the Indian government has set up a highpovv2red task force.
Over the centuries the waters of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries and distributaries have been playing the pervasive role in sustaining the life and living in Bangladesh. In fact, the Brahmaputra and the Ganges provide more than 85% of the total surface water available in Bangladesh during the dry season. Of the two, the Brahmaputra provides 67% water. The waters of these two river provide water for drinking, domestic and municipal water supply, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industries, navigation and maintenance of the ecological balance in vast areas of this country inhabiting more than 100 million people.
Bangladesh apprehends that any transfer of water from the Ganges and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries would cause irreparable and permanent damage to this country. The waters of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra act as lifeblood for the people and the environment of the whole reglon The integrity of the river systems would be threatened by the project The river inter-linking project would also constitute a transfer of real resources from the most impoverished areas of South Asia, exacerbating the poverty situation and r~,ens,fyi!~g regional disparities.
Eminent experts around the world, including Indians, are of the opinion that since the Ganges and the Brahmaputra are both glacier-fed rivers, massive transfer of water of these rivers would not be sustainable, with the possibility of serious adverse effects for the whole region The project might also induce or, trigger movement of populations, with unforeseeable consequences. Furthermore, in the face of severe pollution of ground water by arsenic in the country, Bangladesh has no alternative source of fresh water other than these two rivers to meet the ever-increasing demands. Any reduction of the flows of these rivers would therefore endanger the life of millions and threaten the environment of Bangladesh. Again the massive intervention with the natural regime of the major international river systems would remove the assured basis of development planning in the water and related sectors in Bangladesh and would create serious problems.
Joint Rivers Basin Management
There are immense possibilities of converting waters of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna and other trans-boundary rivers into wealth. While so much could have been done, achievement in terms of sharing and management of water resources of these rivers through mutual cooperation has not been encouraging. The establishment of Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission in 1972 had kindled great expectations amongst the teeming millions of the region traversed by these great rivers. Progress towards mutual cooperation has been impeded in the past by reasons, which could have been overcome with unbiased attitude and sincere efforts.
In the interest of all, the political and conceptual problems now need to be more purposefully addressed especially as the underlying commonality of interests in the waters of the common rivers is overwhelming. The tremendous growth of population in the South-Asian region focus to the complexity of issues related to ensuring food security, providing adequate and safe drinking water and sanitation services, stimulating the economy, and preserving the environment. Satisfying these needs would no doubt be a challenging task.
It must be realized that water is a very important vector for development that would shape the future of millions of people living in this region. Their future would depend on collective and individual choices and actions. The vision should address water-sector transcending issues such as water pollution and the links to public health, the loss of essential environmental functions; flooding and the cost to society in terms of public health, and loss of economic assists climate change and the potential links to loss of socio-economic assets and environmental functions This vision would help to clarify the options available for India and Bangladesh to negotiate water sharing agreements and to establish mechanisms for joint river basin management with other co-basin countries like China, Nepal and Bhutan. The experiences of the last three decades, the ongoing transformation of society, and the project regional population growth coupled with expectation of the people to improve the quality of their life or at least the life of their children dernands all the co-basin countries of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Meghna and other rivers to face challenges of this century and formulate options for action.
It is important that the countries adopt such a framework to guide their efforts at reaping the benefits of cooperation, which is bound to be positive sum win-win for all. Now, will the countries act together to forge ahead together? The choice is obvious. Because working together within an integrated framework offers a robust pathway that can, in the future, ensure human dignity to the teeming millions of the region.
Tasks Ahead
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan - four countries of the Eastern Himalayan Region offer vast opportunities for optimal water resources development and management through Collaborative efforts. Cooperative development can make it possible to achieve multiple benefits, which have the potential to bring about the social and economic transformation of the poorest of the poor of the Eastern Himalayan region. This region of the world is too poor to afford further loss of time. High levels of poverty, poor social and physical infrastructure, a deteriorating environment attribute to natural and man-made causes, a lack of political will to overcome transboundary dissension and recurring natural disasters characterizes this region. The countries in the Eastern Himalayan region lag behind the rest of South Asia in economic and social development indicators The key to prosperity in the region is basin wide development of the rivers following the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management. There is an immediate need for a pragmatic approach to the management of water resources in the region. For this it is needed that time bound targets are set for formulation and implementation of appropriate plans. Once time-bound targets are set, every possible effort should be made to achieve them. For this political commitments of the leadership of the countries concerned are required. This would indeed create proper climate to go ahead with the targets set forth and bring in effective and immense benefits to the people living in the countries of the region. The Governments of the Eastern Himalayan countries would, therefore, need to agree on a broad framework for regional cooperation.
Indeed the challenges ahead are complex and formidable but with the necessary political will and pragmatism, we can surely face them and usher in a new phase of cooperation in the region. Our policy makers have to broaden their vision and rise above their short-term narrow national interests in favour of longer-term regional interests.
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