Ganga Water Treaty Row: Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary & Deputy CM To Raise Flooding, Farakka Barrage Concerns At October 27 GFCC Meeting

Patna: Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary and deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary will present the state’s concerns over flooding and Ganga water sharing at the 19th meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) in New Delhi on October 27.

Also Watch:

The meeting, to be chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil, assumes significance ahead of the expiry of the 30-year India-Bangladesh Ganga water-sharing treaty on December 12. Both countries are expected to discuss a fresh arrangement, with Bihar seeking safeguards for its water requirements and flood-control interests.

The agenda includes the Farakka barrage, a national risk-based flood-control master plan, river water management and the use of AI to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs). A national flood-monitoring dashboard, flood-control SOPs and guidelines for waterways and rail and road infrastructure will also be discussed. The commission will review decisions taken at its previous meeting and consider proposed amendments to its framework.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) has opposed the renewal of the Farakka Treaty in its current form, arguing that the barrage contributes to silt accumulation and flooding in Bihar and that the state’s water needs have not received adequate consideration.

The party has launched a public awareness campaign, ‘Nitish Samvad’, across 12 districts along the Ganga to press for the protection of Bihar’s water interests. JD(U) leaders have claimed that under the 1996 arrangement, Bangladesh receives 1,500 cumecs of water during the lean season, while Bihar gets only 400 cumecs.

The party has demanded that the Centre either reconsider renewal of the treaty or ensure that Bihar’s water requirements and year-round flow needs, projected up to 2050, are adequately safeguarded.

The campaign covers Buxar, Bhojpur, Saran, Patna, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Munger, Khagaria, Bhagalpur and Katihar districts.