As the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty approaches its December 2026 expiry, Bihar is demanding protection for its dry-season water needs and action on silt accumulation and recurring floods.
The approaching expiry of the India–Bangladesh Ganga Water Sharing Treaty has opened a major political and environmental debate in Bihar, where leaders say the agreement cannot be renewed in its existing form without first addressing the state’s water requirements.
The treaty, widely known as the Farakka Treaty, was signed on December 12, 1996, for a period of 30 years. It governs how India and Bangladesh share the dry-season flow of the Ganga measured at Farakka in West Bengal. Its term is scheduled to end on December 12, 2026.
Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United), an ally of the BJP-led government at the Centre, has argued against an automatic or unchanged renewal. JD(U) working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha has demanded that Bihar’s drinking-water, irrigation, industrial and environmental concerns be included in any successor arrangement.
Why this matters now
- The existing 30-year agreement expires in December 2026.
- Bihar says its future water requirements were not adequately reflected in the old framework.
- The state links reduced river capacity and sediment accumulation with recurring floods.
- Bangladesh depends on the Padma’s dry-season flow for agriculture, fisheries, navigation and ecological security.
- The Centre must also consider West Bengal’s interests before negotiating a new agreement.
What does the Farakka Treaty cover?
The agreement regulates the sharing of Ganga water at Farakka during the annual lean season from January 1 to May 31. Flows are reviewed in ten-day periods because river availability changes significantly as the dry season progresses.
The allocation formula is based on the quantity of water available at Farakka during each period:
The agreement also contains dry-season safeguards and a consultation mechanism for exceptionally low flows. During critical periods, the two countries are expected to cooperate rather than take unilateral action.
Why is Bihar opposing the renewal?
Bihar’s objections combine concerns about lean-season water availability with a wider argument over sediment, river capacity and flooding. The state wants the Centre to determine its requirements before committing water under another international agreement.
1. Insufficient water during the lean season
Bihar argues that it does not receive sufficient Ganga water during the driest months, even though the river flows through the state before reaching Farakka.
State leaders say a renewed arrangement must account for Bihar’s growing population and its projected need for drinking water, irrigation, urban supply and industrial development. They want planning to look beyond present consumption and consider the state’s requirements through 2050.
Bihar’s position is that its minimum requirements should be identified transparently before the remaining downstream flow is incorporated into a new sharing formula.
2. Growing sediment accumulation
The Ganga receives enormous quantities of sediment from Himalayan tributaries, including the Kosi, Gandak and Ghaghara. Bihar says this sediment is increasingly settling in the river channel, raising the riverbed and reducing its ability to carry high volumes of water.
The state argues that hydraulic conditions upstream of Farakka may slow the movement of sediment and contribute to the formation of sandbars. When a river channel becomes shallower, even a lower volume of water can produce dangerously high levels during the monsoon.
3. Recurring floods and the backwater argument
Bihar has repeatedly raised concerns that Farakka Barrage may produce a backwater effect during periods of high discharge. According to this argument, restricted downstream movement can keep Ganga levels elevated upstream and interfere with the discharge of connected rivers.
This concern is especially significant for districts located along the Ganga, including Patna, Bhagalpur, Munger and Katihar. Flooding can submerge settlements, damage crops, disrupt roads and force families to move with livestock and essential belongings.
4. Bihar wants a seat at the negotiating table
International treaties are negotiated by the Union government, but Bihar argues that directly affected upstream states must be meaningfully consulted before India enters another long-term commitment.
The JD(U) has taken the issue to districts located along the Ganga, seeking views from residents, farmers, experts and elected representatives. Its central argument is that Bihar should not be treated only as a corridor through which water passes towards Farakka.
Why the Padma is vital to Bangladesh
After the Ganga enters Bangladesh, its principal channel is known as the Padma. It later meets the Jamuna – the main Bangladesh channel of the Brahmaputra, and eventually joins the Meghna before reaching the Bay of Bengal.
The Padma is central to Bangladesh’s food, water and rural economy. Its flow supports irrigation, riverbank agriculture, inland fisheries, navigation and the livelihoods of communities living along its banks. Seasonal water also replenishes connected channels, wetlands and groundwater across a large part of the country.
Dry-season flows have ecological importance far beyond the main river. Freshwater moving through the Padma and its distributaries helps resist saltwater intrusion in southwestern Bangladesh. Reduced freshwater availability can increase salinity risks for farmland, drinking-water sources, fisheries and the wider Sundarbans ecosystem.
The river also carries sediment that helps build and renew Bangladesh’s delta. However, the same sediment can create unstable islands, shift channels and accelerate bank erosion, destroying homes and farmland. Bangladesh therefore needs sufficient flow as well as better sediment and riverbank management.
This dependence explains why Bangladesh treats the Farakka agreement as much more than a diplomatic document. For Dhaka, predictable dry-season water is connected to food security, freshwater availability, ecological stability and the economic survival of river-dependent communities.
What could Bihar demand in a new treaty?
Possible safeguards sought by Bihar
- A formal role for affected Indian states during consultations.
- Recognition of Bihar’s projected water needs through 2050.
- A review of the historical data behind the existing allocation formula.
- Minimum safeguards for drinking water, irrigation and industrial use.
- A flexible formula for unusually dry years.
- Real-time exchange of rainfall, discharge and sediment data.
- An independent study of the barrage’s possible backwater effect.
- A coordinated basin-wide sediment-management programme.
- Periodic reviews instead of another rigid 30-year term.
- Climate-change provisions covering extreme floods and prolonged droughts.
What has the Centre said?
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has assured JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha that Bihar’s water interests will be considered before the Centre takes a decision on the treaty’s future.
The Union government must balance several interests: Bihar’s upstream requirements, West Bengal’s dependence on Farakka and the Hooghly system, and Bangladesh’s need for predictable downstream flows.
What happens if the treaty expires?
The existing agreement does not automatically renew for another 30 years. A continuation or replacement requires mutual consent between India and Bangladesh.
If a new long-term treaty is not completed before December 12, the two governments could consider a temporary operational arrangement while negotiations continue. Allowing the framework to lapse without any replacement could create uncertainty over lean-season releases and strain bilateral relations.
A successor treaty may need to move beyond a fixed allocation table. Real-time river data, changing rainfall patterns, climate projections and the needs of affected states could be incorporated into a more adaptable formula with scheduled reviews.
The larger challenge
The Farakka dispute is no longer only about dividing a fixed quantity of water between two countries. It is about managing an entire river system affected by climate change, sediment accumulation, population growth, agricultural demand and ecological decline.
Bihar’s opposition has made an unchanged renewal politically difficult. At the same time, Bangladesh’s dependence on the Padma means that abandoning cooperation would carry serious humanitarian, environmental and diplomatic consequences.
The strongest outcome would be a transparent, data-driven and periodically reviewed agreement that protects Bihar’s legitimate requirements while maintaining dependable downstream flows for Bangladesh.
