India says Ganga Treaty issues to be discussed under JRC; Bangladesh awaits response

India has said issues relating to the Ganga Water Treaty between Bangladesh and India will be discussed under the framework of the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) as Bangladesh awaits New Delhi's response on the matter.

"Ganga Water Treaty was signed in 1996 for a period of 30 years and all water related issues, river related issues between India and Bangladesh are discussed as part of the agenda of the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission," said Official Spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi recently, Jaiswal said further meetings of the Joint Committee of the Ganga Water Treaty continue to be held at the technical level.

The government is determined to renegotiate the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty with India while preserving the rights of the Bangladeshi people.

Replying to a supplementary question from Bagerhat-4 lawmaker Abdul Aleem, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman on 27 August said Bangladesh remains active in pursuing its fair share of water from common rivers.

He said a team has been formed to prepare a new agreement following the expiry of the Ganges Water-sharing Treaty, and the Indian authorities have been informed accordingly. "We are now waiting for their response."

The Bangladesh-India Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty was signed in 1996 for a period of 30 years which is expiring in December this year.

Experts said the treaty needs to be 'reviewed and reformed comprehensively' before going for a renewed treaty by engaging economists, urban planners, sociologists and environmentalists in the planning, as Dhaka shares the 'risk' of not sharing it appropriately.

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur, while attending the ninth Indian Ocean Conference in Mauritius, said they would like to see that there is an arrangement and a new treaty, or a revised treaty, ensuring the essential needs of their people.

"These are common rivers, and we have common legacies here, common interests and, as I said, there's no other alternative but to seek a solution that is durable and will win public trust. And this will also be very important to lay the basis for the relationship over the next 25 to 50 years," he told NDTV on the sidelines of the conference.

"I think it is very important for Bangladesh and India to renew the Ganges Treaty. But it has to be revised. The very simple reason is that the treaty was done almost three decades ago," Prof Shahab Enam Khan, who is the Executive Director of Bangladesh Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, told UNB recently.