Bangladesh-India talks on the Ganges water sharing will be held on September 9 in New Delhi as both countries are working on the issue with positive mindset, sources in Dhaka and Delhi said.
Sources in the Bangladesh Water Development Board said that talks on Ganges water sharing are held trice in a year.
Member of the Joint River Commission (JRC) Mohammad Abul Hossain is expected to lead the Bangladesh delegation in talks with the Indian delegation, sources said.
Despite seeming political tension between Dhaka and New Delhi over the ungracious departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024 through mass movement engineered by the general students, both countries are holding talks on water sharing of rivers at regular interval.
According to the Indian Ministry of Jal Shakti, India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers. The Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was constituted in 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common / border / trans-boundary rivers.
The Ganga Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 by the then Indian Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
During Hasina’s last visit to India in June – weeks before her regime was toppled in August 2024 – the two sides announced that technical negotiations had begun for the renewal of the 1996 Treaty.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and India on December 9, 2024 held the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), exploring ways to address mutual concerns and take forward the relations in a changed scenario.
The then Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Md Jashim Uddin and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri led the Bangladesh and Indian delegations respectively at the FOC
During the FOC level talks, Bangladesh raised the issue with India the water sharing resources between the two countries and issues related to the renewal of the 30-year-old Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty (GWT), which will expire in 2026.
Sources said that the India delegation showed positive mindset on starting talks on the renewal of the 30-year-old Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty (GWT).
Meanwhile, the last meeting at the minister level between Bangladesh and India was held in August, 2022. Sources said that minister level between two countries was held after a gap of twelve long years as the last meeting was held in 2010.
Meanwhile, the 38th Meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, led by the Water Resources Ministers of respective countries was held in New Delhi.
Zaheed Farooque, MP, the then State Minister for Water Resources led the Bangladesh delegation which included AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem, MP, the then Deputy Minister and the then Senior Secretary, Kabir Bin Anwar, among others. Indian delegation was led by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, tht hen Minister for Jal Shakti and Pankaj Kumar, the then Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, RD & GR attended the meeting among others.
The JRC meeting, held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, discussed the whole gamut of the issues related to the common rivers between the two countries specially the Ganges, Teesta, Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla, Dudhkumar and Kushiyara. Apart from this, exchange of flood related data and information, river bank protection works, common basin management, and also Indian River Interlinking Project were discussed in details.
Meanwhile, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua, India and Bangladesh concluded a two-day meeting of the Joint River Commission (JRC) in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on March 8,.
The two sides discussed the water sharing resources between the two countries and issues related to the renewal of the 30-year-old Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty (GWT), which will expire in 2026.
An 11-member Bangladeshi team visited Kolkata to attend the 86th meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission and held discussions with their Indian counterparts.
Ahead of the talks, the team visited the Farakka Barrage in Murshidabad district and inspected the water distribution mechanism.
“At the meeting, the two sides discussed technical issues pertaining to the GWT, the measurement of water flows and other issues of mutual interest,” India’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Friday during a press briefing.
During the meeting, a technical committee was formed, and the committee was supposed to make some recommendations on sharing the water of other rivers that flow into Bangladesh from India.
The JRC, established in 1972, manages issues concerning the 54 trans-boundary rivers shared by India and Bangladesh.
This was the first meeting of the JRC on the sharing of the trans-border river since the change of government in Bangladesh on Aug. 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, replying to a question on the outcome of the meeting, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the technical committee discussions held in Kolkata was “part of the structured engagement” between the two countries on the Ganges water-sharing accord signed in 1996.
The meeting also discussed the measurement of the flow of water in the Ganges, he said.
“Such meetings are routine and held thrice a year,” Jaiswal added.
The seven-member Bangladesh delegation at the meeting was headed by Md Abul Hossen, a member of JRC.
Sources of both sides said the two countries discussed setting up a joint technical committee within the next three months to renew the Ganga water treaty which is set for renewal in 2026.
They said the two sides agreed on a collaborative approach to address key issues including information exchange on flood forecasting and water sharing.
Under the existing Ganga Water Sharing Treaty, India can withdraw up to 40,000 cusecs of water if the availability at Farakka exceeds 75,000 cusecs. If the availability falls below 70,000 cusecs, the flow is to be divided equally between both countries. The treaty also guarantees Bangladesh a minimum of 35,000 cusecs if the flow ranges between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs.
Prior to the Kolkata meeting, the Bangladesh delegation paid a two-day visit to the joint inspection sites at the Farakka barrage and the availability of water at other sites along the Ganges at Farakka on March 3 and 4.
Chief Adviser’s High Representative Khalilur Rahman on April 8, 2025 sought optimum cooperation from India in renewing the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty as it is going to be expired in 2026.
“The Ganges Water Sharing Treaty is going to be expired next year, so we are hoping optimum cooperation of India (in renewing the pact),” he told a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy here this afternoon, responding to a query.
Khalilur said Dhaka and New Delhi continue contact to each other so that talks over the renewal of the water treaty could be started as soon as possible.
The Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, signed in 1996 between India and Bangladesh, is a 30-year agreement that specifies water sharing during the dry season (January-May) at Farakka, with a focus on ensuring a minimum flow for Bangladesh.
Responding to another question over water sharing of the Teesta River, the high representative said the life and livelihood of about 14 percent of the country’s people, who have been living in Teesta River basin, depends on availability of the Teesta’s water.
Ensuring minimum availability of river waters is one of the top priorities of the Bangladesh government, he said.
“We cannot put about 14 percent of the people in such a dire situation and that’s why we continue talks to all. We are asking India to sign the deal (the Teesta water sharing treaty),” Khalilur said.
According to Press Trust of India (PTI), the bilateral discussions for the renewal of the Ganga Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh are yet to begin, the Indian government informed Parliament recently.
Inputs on drinking water and industrial water requirements have also been received from all stakeholders, including from the government of West Bengal, which have been taken into account while formulating the Indian government’s views, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response.
He was responding to a query on whether the governments of India and Bangladesh have initiated high-level technical discussions for the renewal of the Ganga Water Treaty, which is set to expire in 2026.
“With regard to the Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty signed in 1996 between India and Bangladesh, bilateral discussions for its renewal are yet to commence between the two countries,” Singh said.
Under the framework of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), technical-level meetings continue to be held with Bangladesh on all water-related issues of mutual interest and the last such meeting was held in March 2025, providing a structured platform for data sharing and joint monitoring, he added, according to Press Trust of India
