Agreements & MOUs - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 197

50,000 cusecs in any 10-daily period, the two governments would immediately
consult each other to make adjustments on an emergency basis.
Under the Treaty, a joint committee was to be constituted to ensure proper imple-
mentation of various provisions. It would form suitable teams at Farakka and at
Hardinge Bridge to observe and record daily flows below the barrage and in the
feeder canal as well as the navigation channel of the Bhagirathi and near Hardinge
Bridge on the Ganga-Padma and submit annual reports to the two governments.
Whatever differences or disputes that arise, while implementing the Treaty are not
resolved by the committee, would be referred to the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers
Commission (JRC). If any difference or dispute persists, it would be referred to
the two governments which would meet urgently to resolve it by mutual discussion
under Articles IV, V, VI and VII.
The Treaty also empowered the two governments to review it after five years from
its coming into effect, or earlier, as felt by either country, in the spirit of equality and
fairness without harming the interests of the other. It would also be open to either
party to seek the first review after two years, to assess the impact and working of
the sharing arrangement under Article X; this was not provided in the agreement
of 1977.
Unlike the 1977 agreement, the Treaty did not give any importance to augmenta-
tion of the Ganga flow at Farakka, except that the two governments recognized the
need to co-operate with each other in finding a solution to this long-term problem
(Article VIII). The Treaty would remain in force for 30 years and can be renewed
by mutual consent (Article XII).
Another important provision was that if the two countries agreed on adjust-
ment after a review, as per Article X, India would release not less than 90% of
Bangladesh's share, as per the formula in Article II until mutually agreed flows are
decided (Article XI).
The Treaty was signed in New Delhi on 12 th December 1996; the signatories
were Indian Prime Minister, H. D. Deve Gouda, his Water Resources Minister,
Jnaneswar Mishra, Foreign Minister, I. K. Gujral and West Bengal Chief Minister,
Jyoti Basu and three associates - D. P. Ghoshal, Secretary, Irrigation and Waterways
and R. N. Dey, Chief Engineer of the Irrigation and waterways department of
West Bengal government and S. V. V. Char, Commissioner (ER) of Ministry
of Water Resources. The signatories from Bangladesh were just two - Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and her Minister of Water Resources, Abdur Razzak.
Photograph 10.1 shows two leaders Sheikh Hasina and Jyoti Basu engaged in
discussions prior to the signing of the Treaty.
To sum up the salient features of the Treaty:
a) India will release water from the Farakka Barrage in the five-month lean season,
from 1st January to 31 st May, every year;
b) Bangladesh will get a minimum of 35,000 cusecs, or 50% of the Ganga water at
Farakka, if its volume is 70,000 cusecs, or less;
c) India and Bangladesh will get guaranteed 35,000 cusecs in three alternative
10-day periods from 1 st March to 10 th May;