Why Bihar wants the Farakka treaty scrapped — and why it puts Centre in a bind

Why Bihar wants the Farakka treaty scrapped – and why it puts Centre in a bind This comes after JD(U) national working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha additionally called on the Centre not to renew the pact.

Key points

• The 1996 treaty established a 30-year binding framework (1996-2026) to replace earlier short-term stopgap arrangements and ensure predictable water distribution.
• A fresh diplomatic and political confrontation is brewing in Bihar over the 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, or known colloquially as the Farakka treaty.
• 5 min read Patna Updated: Aug 25, 2026 05: 13 AM IST.
• The Farakka Water Treaty (officially called the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty) is a bilateral agreement between India and Bangladesh.
• Unlike the earlier 1977 temporary agreement, the 1996 treaty lacks a "minimum flow guarantee clause".

Meanwhile, the Farakka Water Treaty (officially called the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty) is a bilateral agreement between India and Bangladesh. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

Meanwhile, a fresh diplomatic and political confrontation is brewing in Bihar over the 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, or known colloquially as the Farakka treaty. As the treaty's lapse approaches, Bihar's ruling National Democratic Alliance is pushing against its renewal – a development that could put the BJP-led Centre in a bind.

In the latest push against the pact, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary. This person handles the state's water resources portfolio and who had accompanied Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary during a recent session with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Delhi, remarked to journalists that the state had "expressed our concerns regarding the Farakka treaty and how it has proved detrimental to Bihar's interest".

"The Farakka treaty has done enormous harm to Bihar. It is additionally surprising that the treaty was never reviewed in the last 30 years, " Sanjay K Jha informed The Indian Express. "Bihar suffers floods, heavy siltation and additionally paucity of water as of it. Now that we are in the phase of industrialisation, we need rational employ of water. When we need water for ourselves, we have to concede water to Bangladesh as per the treaty.", during summers.

Notably, the treaty has done enormous harm to Bihar JD(U) working president and RS MP Sanjay Kumar Jha. This person has pressed the Centre not to renew the pact. (Express Photo) What is the Farakka Water Treaty.

For context, the Farakka Water Treaty (officially called the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty) is a bilateral agreement signed on December 12, 1996, between India and Bangladesh that regulates the sharing of the Ganga waters at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal, India, primarily during the dry season from January 1 to May 31. The treaty expires in December.

In practice, the barrage was built in 1975 to divert water from the Ganga into the Hooghly River to flush out silt and to keep Kolkata Port navigable. Nevertheless, this reduced downstream river flow into Bangladesh, causing severe water shortages, climbed soil salinity, and ecological stress in southern Bangladesh.

In practice, the 1996 treaty established a 30-year binding framework (1996-2026) to replace earlier short-term stopgap arrangements and ensure predictable water distribution.

Unlike the earlier 1977 temporary agreement, the 1996 treaty lacks a "minimum flow guarantee clause". If total flow falls drastically below 50, 000 cusecs, the treaty only calls for immediate emergency consultations between both governments. Siltation, reduced groundwater discharge, upstream water withdrawal, and erratic rainfall patterns have altered the river's actual availability in Bihar compared to 1996 baseline levels.

For two decades, the Bihar administration has been flagging worries over the barrage with the Centre – first under Nitish Kumar and now under Samrat Choudhary. The Bihar administration.

Notably, the Bihar administration argues that the structure has created a severe "flood-and-parch" dynamic upstream, and that the heavy silt trapped behind the barrage has drastically elevated the Ganges riverbed, destroying its natural water storage capacity and driving severe seasonal floods into surrounding districts like Bhagalpur and Munger during the monsoons.

Pushing against renewal, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha argued that Bihar's projected water needs up to 2050 be prioritised and that any future diplomatic arrangement must include a comprehensive National Silt Management Policy and direct representation for the state.

For context, the mounting domestic pressure from NDA coalition partner JD(U) comes at a delicate moment for New Delhi's foreign policy. For his part, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has stressed that neighbourhood relations must be navigated through "mutual interest" and "common ground".

While responding to questions on complex bilateral problems – from Bangladesh's demands for stronger downstream guarantee clauses to wider diplomatic discussions – observed that for any international relationship to function smoothly, both sides must establish a shared landing point, at a recent media conclave, Jaishankar.

But even as the state's NDA alliance mounts pressure on the Centre, Bihar's Principal Opposition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, has been highlighting a 2011 parliamentary speech by party chief Lalu Prasad in which he demanded the dismantling of the barrage.

"We are only reproducing what is already in the public domain. Now all eyes are on the NDA administration at the Centre. It faces a tight balancing act between regional flood management at home and strategic neighbourhood diplomacy abroad, " an RJD leader informed The Indian Express. JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar dismissed this as "immaterial".

"Why had Lalu Prasad not resisted the treaty in 1996 when the RJD was backing the H.D. Deve Gowda administration with 22 MPs? But what the RJD notes and does now is not important-we want the dismantling of the Farakka Barrage, " he stated.

Taken together, the developments around why Bihar wants the Farakka treaty scrapped – and why it puts point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.