26-Year-Old Sone River Water Dispute Resolved; Bihar Gets 5.75 MAF, Jharkhand 2 MAF

Patna: Bihar and Jharkhand governments signed an MoU on Monday at Kartavya Bhavan, New Delhi, for sharing the water of the Sone river between the two states, ending a 26-year-old dispute.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary.

The MoU was signed by Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil, Bihar CM Choudhary and Jharkhand CM Soren, marking a significant step towards resolving the long-pending issue of Sone River water sharing between the two states.

Water-sharing dispute resolved

Under the Bansagar Agreement signed in 1973, of the total 14.25 million acre-feet (MAF) of available Sone River water, Uttar Pradesh was allocated 1.25 MAF, Madhya Pradesh 5.25 MAF and undivided Bihar 7.75 MAF. Following Jharkhand's creation as a separate state in 2000, the issue of sharing Sone river water between Bihar and Jharkhand emerged and remained unresolved for more than 25 years.

A major consensus on allocating 5.75 MAF of Sone river water to undivided Bihar and 2 MAF to Jharkhand was reached between the two states at the 27th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC), held in Ranchi on July 10 last year. The Union Home Minister chaired the meeting, which Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Chaudhary also attended.

Agreement moves ahead

To formalise the agreement, the Central Water Commission (CWC) prepared a draft MoU and circulated it to both states for their approval. Both Bihar and Jharkhand subsequently gave their consent to the draft.

The agreement is expected to pave the way for the long-pending construction of the Indrapuri reservoir project, which will help provide a stable irrigation facility to the districts of Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Patna, Gaya and Arwal in Bihar. Irrigation, drinking water supply, and industrial development in the drought-prone and plateau regions of South Bihar and Jharkhand will receive a boost. Work on the Son-Phalgu river-linking project and reservoir construction will progress as several areas, including Gayaji, will also benefit.

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Leaders hail resolution

Reacting to the agreement, Bihar Chief Minister expressed his gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Shah for ending a dispute pending for 26 years, and called it a historic resolution in the interest of Bihar.