Necessity of Regional Co-operation - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 269

Table 14.5 Potential for regional development

Countries involved Potential possibilities River basin

i) Nepal and India a) Construction of storage reservoirs.

b) Irrigation
c) Hydro-power generation
d) Grant of engineering expertise and finance

The Ganga and its
tributaries

ii) Bhutan and India a) Construction of storage reservoirs

b) Hydropower generation
c) Grant of engineering expertise and finance

Tributaries of
Mahananda and
Tista

iii) Bangladesh &
India

a) Construction of storage reservoirs
b) Flood mitigation/moderation
c) Hydropower generation
d) Guaranteed minimum flow
e) Navigation and other transit facilities
f) Inter basin transfer of water
g) Granting engineering expertise and finance

Ganges, Meghna,
Brahmaputra and
the tributaries of
Brahmaputra and
Meghna

iv) Nepal and
Bangladesh

a) Communication and transit facilities
b) Transfer of Hydropower

Tributaries of the
Ganges

v) International
Organizations (in
case of extreme
necessity)

a) Provision for engineering expertise
b) Provision for financing
c) Arbitrating the disputes, if any.

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of affected people, hydro-power has to be affordable. Inter-basin transfer of water
may affect arable land. Engineering expertise and financial help may be inescapably
required from other countries. All these can be sorted by detailed discussions among
the concerned countries. Happily, a process is under way and following an under-
standing between the governments of India and Bhutan, a hydro-electric power
project has been set up at Chukha in the Himalayan kingdom. The Kosi barrage
project has been possible because of Indo-Nepal goodwill and joint endeavour.
Negotiations are also on between Nepal and India for construction of storage reser-
voirs on other tributaries of the Ganga and for hydro-power generation and irriga-
tion. The Ganga Water Treaty of 1996 between India and Bangladesh was the result
of mutual understanding and cooperation on water sharing and minimum guaran-
teed flow to Bangladesh. However, only a few have been achieved and many more
remain to be done. Though the national water policy envisages it, the water resource
management of river basins as a whole has not made much headway, even in India
which is the largest and more developed amongst these South Asian countries.
Negotiations for development of regional water resources should be initiated,
either on its own, or bilaterally between the two countries. Most of the issues being
bilateral, the government of India desires that all issues, be they on water resources,
transit, transport, border dispute, or any other, are to be settled between the affected
parties who are directly or indirectly involved, through discussions and with mutual
trust and understanding. This is the policy, adopted by India since Independence and
many problems were solved accordingly.