NEW DELHI: There should be sharing of Teesta river water and renewal of the Ganga water sharing treaty with Bangladesh, without the consent of the government of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, raising his party chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s demands in the Upper House.
Banerjee urged the Centre to consult the Bengal government before taking any decision on releasing Teesta river water to Bangladesh, and renew the Ganga water treaty which comes up in 2026, as it directly affects people in the state.
“I will request the Union government that the government of West Bengal needs to be consulted regarding the release of Teesta water to Bangladesh and also about the renewal clauses,” the TMC MP said.
The Teesta water sharing deal with Dhaka has been pending since 2014, as Bengal has not agreed to share the quantum of water that was proposed. With much of north Bengal dependent on Teesta waters, it turned into a political-emotional issue with the people of the region and matter of contention between the Centre and Bengal, apart from impacting New Delhi-Dhaka ties.
With assembly polls in Bengal slated for next year, any move by the Centre on water sharing treaties with Dhaka, is bound to impact the political atmosphere in the state.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Banerjee conveyed the Mamata Banerjee government’s message to the Centre – to involve the state on the two river water deals, as it is the main stakeholder on the Indian side in any bilateral water sharing deal involving two biggest rivers flowing through it.
“Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had conveyed a strong reservation that no discussion regarding sharing the Teesta water and the Farakka treaty should be taken up with Bangladesh without the West Bengal government‘s involvement,” the TMC MP said.
Mamata Banerjee has written to the Prime Minister thrice, highlighting that the Farakka barrage has caused flooding and erosion in Bengal in a very big way, the RS MP reminded the House.
Teesta, flowing out of Sikkim is the second largest river after Ganga in Bengal passing through several districts before entering Bangladesh. Banerjee pointed out that the flow of water has been affected due to construction of a series of hydropower projects in Sikkim, deforestation in the upper catchment areas, and climate change.
The Centre is in the process of renewing the Indo-Bangladesh Farakka treaty, which is set to expire in 2026. It has huge implications for people’s livelihoods and the water diverted at Farakka barrage is creating navigability problems for the Kolkata port, he said.
The TMC member suggested an Indo-Bhutan River Commission as the need of the hour, as flash floods from transboundary cause devastating impacts on the northern districts of West Bengal.
