West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
| Photo Credit: PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 24 wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying no discussion on the Teesta river treaty should be taken up with Bangladesh without the involvement of the State Government. She emphasised that if Teesta river water was shared with Bangladesh, lakhs of people in north Bengal would be severely impacted due to inadequate availability of irrigation water.
“It is to convey my strong reservation that no discussion on sharing of Teesta water and the Farakka Treaty should be taken up with Bangladesh without the involvement of the State Government. The interest of people in West Bengal is paramount, which should not be compromised at any cost,” the Chief Minister said in her letter.
Referring to the recent visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi, where issues relating to the Ganga and Teesta rivers might have been discussed, Ms. Banerjee said such “unilateral deliberations without consultation and the opinion of the State Government are neither acceptable nor desirable.”
“Now, they are trying to give Teesta waters. As if they are kings. After the elections, the MPs have not been sworn in so far and in this limited time frame, they are selling Teesta waters without informing us. If they do not listen to us and take any unilateral decision, there will be protests all over West Bengal and across the country,” she said at an administrative meeting.
Close relationship
In her communication to the Prime Minister, Ms. Banerjee underlined that people of West Bengal share a very close relationship with Bangladesh geographically, culturally and economically. “West Bengal has cooperated with Bangladesh on several issues in the past. Agreement on exchange of India-Bangladesh enclaves, also known as the Chitmahals, Indo-Bangladesh railway line and bus services are some of the milestones of jointly working together with Bangladesh for the betterment of economy in this region,” she said. Water is precious, the lifeline of people. She could not compromise on an issue which had ”severe implications and people of West Bengal will be the worst sufferers.”
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The sharing of Teesta waters between India and Bangladesh was to be inked in 2011 under the UPA II Government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but Ms. Banerjee had objected to the agreement.
‘Changed morphology’
The Trinamool Congress chairperson pointed out that the Farakka Treaty (1996) of sharing Ganga water had changed river morphology in the eastern part of India and Bangladesh over many years, which had deprived West Bengal and negatively impacted the water availability in the State.
“Lakhs of people have been displaced from their habitation, rendering them homeless and also leading to their loss of livelihood. The reduced silt load in the Hooghly has impeded the nourishment of Sundarban delta,” she said.
The Chief Minister pointed out that the Centre had promised funds for maintenance and capital dredging, however, no amount was received from the Government of India on that account.
She pointed out that in 2005 the jurisdiction of the Farakka Barrage Project Authority (FBPA) was expanded to 120 km (80 km in downstream and 40 km in upstream) so that necessary anti-erosion work could be taken up in the region. The FBPA failed to plan and implement anti-erosion work for this stretch. To our surprise, the jurisdiction of the Authority was unilaterally reduced to 19.4 km in 2017 from 120 km, leaving out important areas, including towns such as Dhulian and Samsherganj, the Chief Minister said. The remarks by the West Bengal Chief Minister assume significance as the treaty is set to expire in 2026.
