Ganga Waters Treaty

Geography glossary

Also called: Farakka treaty · Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Ganga Waters Treaty (also called the Farakka treaty) is a 1996 agreement between India and Bangladesh. It sets how the two countries share the Ganga's water at the Farakka Barrage in the lean season (the dry months when the river carries its least water), from 1 January to 31 May.

It matters because India is the upstream country here (nearer the river's source), so it controls the flow first. The treaty runs for 30 years and expires in December 2026, so its renewal is a live issue in India–Bangladesh relations.

Explanation

How the dispute arose (cause → process → result)

  • Cause: silt in the Hugli
  • Silt was building up in the Hugli (Hooghly), the river that carries ships to Kolkata port.

  • A silted river becomes too shallow for ships.

  • Process: the Farakka Barrage

  • A barrage is a low dam with gates. It raises the water level and turns part of the flow into a canal. Unlike a big dam, it stores little water.
  • The Farakka Barrage started working in 1975. It sends part of the Ganga's water through a feeder canal into the Bhagirathi–Hugli.

  • This extra flow flushes the silt away and keeps Kolkata port open to ships.

  • Result: less water for Bangladesh

  • Less Ganga water flows on into Bangladesh, where the river is called the Padma.
  • The shortfall is worst in the dry season. This turned into a long dispute between India and Bangladesh.

How the treaty shares the water

  • Signed on 12 December 1996.
  • It covers only the lean season: 1 January–31 May.
  • The water at Farakka is measured and shared in 10-day blocks.
  • Guaranteed minimum: in the leanest period, each side is assured a minimum flow. This is commonly cited as 35,000 cusecs in alternate 10-day blocks from March to May.
  • Term: 30 years. It expires in December 2026.

Who manages it

  • Joint Committee: watches the flow at Farakka and checks that the sharing rules are followed.
  • Joint Rivers Commission (set up in 1972): the wider India–Bangladesh body for all rivers the two countries share.
  • India says the renewal talks will go through these existing bilateral bodies (bodies set up by the two countries together).

Pressures on renewal

  • Lower dry-season flows: Indian states upstream now use more Ganga water, so less reaches Farakka.
  • Bangladesh's complaint: it says it gets less than its share in dry years.
  • West Bengal's demand: Kolkata port and the state's own water needs must be protected.
  • Centre–state angle: water is a state subject under India's Constitution. So in practice the Centre needs West Bengal on board before it agrees to anything. The same problem stopped the Teesta deal in 2011.

Where it occurs

  • Farakka Barrage: Murshidabad district, West Bengal, close to the Bangladesh border, on the Ganga.
  • Feeder canal → Bhagirathi–Hugli → Kolkata port (West Bengal): the Indian side that gets the diverted water.
  • Bangladesh: the Ganga flows in as the Padma. It joins the Jamuna (Brahmaputra), then the Meghna, and flows into the Bay of Bengal.
  • Parties: the governments of India and Bangladesh. They work through the Joint Committee at Farakka and the Joint Rivers Commission (1972).
  • Years: signed 1996. Expires December 2026.
  • India's position on the Ganga: upstream of Bangladesh. This is the same as on the Indus (upstream of Pakistan) but the opposite of the Brahmaputra, where India is downstream of China.

Don't confuse with

  • Indus Waters Treaty (1960): this is between India and Pakistan, and the World Bank also signed it [1]. It divides whole rivers: the eastern rivers go to India and the western rivers to Pakistan. The Ganga Waters Treaty only shares the flow of one river, at one point (Farakka), in the dry season.
  • Teesta water dispute: it is also between India and Bangladesh, but there is no treaty. The 2011 interim deal was never signed because West Bengal objected.
  • Farakka Barrage vs Ganga Waters Treaty: the barrage is the structure and started working in 1975. The treaty is the sharing agreement, signed in 1996.
  • Padma vs Jamuna: in Bangladesh, the Padma is the Ganga and the Jamuna is the Brahmaputra. The Teesta joins the Jamuna, not the Padma.

Prelims Hooks

  • Ganga Waters Treaty: signed 12 December 1996. Lean season 1 January–31 May. Water shared in 10-day blocks. 30-year term, expires December 2026.
  • Farakka Barrage: Murshidabad district, West Bengal, working since 1975. It sends water into the Hugli to flush silt and keep Kolkata port open for ships.
  • The Ganga enters Bangladesh as the Padma, not the Jamuna. (Trap: the Jamuna is the Brahmaputra.)
  • Joint Rivers Commission (India–Bangladesh) was set up in 1972, long before the 1996 treaty.
  • Trap: the World Bank signed the Indus treaty [1], not the Ganga treaty. The Ganga treaty is purely bilateral (between the two countries only).
  • On the Ganga, India is the upstream country. On the Brahmaputra, it is downstream of China.

Mains Points

  • Renewal in 2026 shows the tension between the Centre and the states: water is a state subject. So West Bengal's needs (Kolkata port, its own water supply) have to be balanced against Bangladesh's dry-season demands. The stalled 2011 Teesta deal shows what happens when the state is not on board. A renewed treaty could look at the lower dry-season flows caused by more water use in upstream Indian states. It could also look at better ways to measure and share water in dry years.
  • India's upstream–downstream balance: India asks China for data, transparency and consultation on the Brahmaputra. The way India treats Bangladesh at Farakka affects how believable those demands are. A fair, smooth renewal strengthens India's case as a responsible upstream country. A failed renewal could push Bangladesh further towards China, which is already offering a Teesta project near the Siliguri Corridor (the narrow strip of land that links mainland India to the North-East).
  • Resource and infrastructure angle (GS-III): Farakka shows a trade-off. A barrage built to keep a port navigable (Kolkata) reduces water downstream in another country. Basin-level planning, joint monitoring of flows and agreed rules for dry years can lower such conflicts.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Fact Sheet: The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 and the World Bankworldbank.org · tier 2