Bengal Assembly passes resolution on Teesta, Ganga talks with government

 The Assembly also discussed a proposal for the formation of an Indo-Bhutan Joint River Commission to mitigate flood and erosion in north Bengal

Avijit Sinha & Anirban Choudhury, TT, Siliguri/Alipurduar, 27.07.24 : The Bengal Assembly passed a resolution on Friday to impress upon the Centre to consult the Bengal government on the sharing of the Teesta water and the renewal of the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty (GWST) with Bangladesh.

The Assembly also discussed a proposal for the formation of an Indo-Bhutan Joint River Commission to mitigate flood and erosion in north Bengal.

State ministers and MLAs Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Firhad Hakim, Shashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharjee moved the resolution along with Suman Kanjilal, the BJP MLA of Alipurduar who has defected to Trinamool.

According to sources, it has been resolved that the Centre would be asked to have “holistic” consultations with the Bengal government on sharing the Teesta water with Bangladesh and the GWST, which will expire next year. The treaty was signed with Bangladesh back in 1996.

The resolution, passed under rule 169 of the Procedures of Conduct of Business of the House, mentioned that such discussion is necessary so that “the people of West Bengal do not suffer due to political bias”.

“It has been resolved that the Centre should hold talks with the state before deciding to share Teesta’s waters with Bangladesh. Any hasty decision can lead to a shortage of drinking water requirement in north Bengal,” Kanjilal said over the phone from Calcutta.

He mentioned that during non-monsoon seasons, the water in Teesta hardly meets the demand for irrigation.

Last month, as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India, discussions were held on the issue and also on the GWST.

The Indian government had assured Hasina that it would look into the “conservation and management” of the Teesta, which enters Bangladesh from north Bengal, and will also work on the renewal of the GWST.

This had irked Mamata who had shot a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mentioning that sharing Teesta water was not feasible. “The Centre is holding talks with Bangladesh on Teesta and Ganga while ignoring the Bengal government,” she had said.

In Friday’s resolution, it was also mentioned that the Centre should start talks with Bhutan, which shares borders with north Bengal districts such as Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, to constitute an Indo-Bhutan Joint River Commission.

Some rivers that originate from Bhutan flow into north Bengal. During monsoons, the rivers cause flash floods and erosion.

“Every year, villages, tea estates and forest areas get affected by the flash floods. A joint river commission will help in mitigating such natural disasters as more information on weather and ancillary issues can be exchanged with Bhutan,” the Alipurduar MLA said.

The resolution also mentioned that the state would place the demand before the Centre that the original jurisdiction of the Farakka Barrage Project Authority of 120km — 40km upstream and 80km downstream — should be restored for anti-erosion and other work.

“The chief minister has time and again pointed out that on one hand, the Centre doesn’t provide funds to carry out anti-erosion and flood protection measures on both banks of the Ganga in Malda and Murshidabad districts. On the other hand, the authority has stopped carrying out

such tasks. That is why the point has been mentioned,” said a source.

The resolution also mentions the demand to dredge the Panchet and Maithan dams of the Damodar Valley Corporation.

“On July 29, the issue will be discussed at the Assembly again. If the chief minister remains present, she might also speak on the issue,” said Kanjilal.