Decoding Politics: Why Mamata is up in arms over Modi-Hasina talks on Teesta water sharing | Political Pulse News

What is the Treaty of Teesta?

The Teesta Treaty is a long-standing demand of Bangladesh for a Teesta water distribution with India on the model of the Ganges Water Treaty of 1996. Nothing has materialized yet.

Teesta is a 414 km long river that flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal, before emptying into the Meghna River in Bangladesh. It is the fourth largest transboundary river shared between India and Bangladesh after the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna river systems.

Teesta is one of the main sources of irrigation in North Bengal, as well as the Rangpur region of Bangladesh, especially during dry months. It is also one of the major sources of hydroelectric power in the mountainous state of Sikkim.

Since the partition of 1947, the erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) has demanded equitable distribution of Teesta water, which has always been opposed by West Bengal and Sikkim.

In 1972, soon after Bangladesh's liberation, a Joint River Commission (JRC) was set up to examine options for water sharing between the two neighbours. Based on the recommendations of the JRC, it was decided in 1984 that Bangladesh's share would be 37.5% and India's 42.5%, with 20% of the total Teesta waters remaining undivided.

In 1998, Bangladesh launched the Teesta Dam Irrigation Project to supply water for three crop seasons a year to Rangpur and began demanding a greater share of Teesta's water. In 2011, a proposal for an interim agreement was made, but it was abandoned after opposition from Bengal and Sikkim. Since then, the agreement has not been signed.

During Prime Minister Hasina's visit to India in December 2021, the leaders discussed the issue of water sharing in Teesta. Although no formal agreement has been reached, there are signs of a renewed commitment to resolving the dispute.

Why is West Bengal opposing the deal?

In 2011, the West Bengal government commissioned a study on the Teesta issue under eminent hydrologist Kalyan Rudra, based on which it came to the conclusion that any treaty that allocated more water to Bangladesh would dry up the northern regions of the state and harm its farmers.

Currently, Teesta waters irrigate 9,22,000 hectares of land in North Bengal and provide 67.60 MW of hydropower, which would be hampered by demand from Bangladesh.

Alternative solutions proposed by Mamata include sharing water from rivers like the Torsa, which also flows from Sikkim through northern Bengal to the Padma River in Bangladesh. She proposed that the two countries create a commission to determine the level of water flowing through the Torsa and the amount of water that can be shared.

What does Bangladesh want?

India already benefits from 42.5% of Teesta's water resources. Bangladesh wants 50% of the water between December and May each year because that is when the flow in the country drops drastically. More than one lakh hectares of land in Rangpur, its rice basket, could not be cultivated during the winter due to excessive abstraction by India during that period. Bangladesh demands a more equitable share of water during its dry season.

Why is the Treaty of Teesta important?

The previous Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, led by Begum Khaleda Zia, was not very receptive to India's concerns. During its tenure between 1991 and 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006, the BNP hosted leaders and cadres of various militant groups based in northeast India.

But the Sheikh Hasinas Awami League (AL) party followed pro-India policies, including zero tolerance towards anti-Indian militant groups, which eventually led Bangladesh to ban the ULFA from the Assam.

Cooperation between the two neighbors facilitated the finalization of a land border agreement between them. The Teesta deal is expected to help Delhi gain more political clout, which is necessary to curb China's growing influence in the Bay of Bengal region.

The treaty is considered so important for India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations that last year, even social activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar, a vocal critic of PM Modi on several issues, urged the Bengal CM to agree to share Teesta water with Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh are countries with friendly relations. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was warmly welcomed at the G20 meeting. So why should we have differences? We appeal to CM Mamata Banerjee to go ahead with the (Teesta) agreement, Patkar had said.

What is the position of the Center?

After meeting Prime Minister Hasina, PM Modi said: Regarding the conservation and management of Teesta waters, a technical team will soon visit Bangladesh for talks.

A proposed mega project in Rangpur, which envisages construction of large reservoirs and related infrastructure to manage and conserve Teesta water, assumes particular significance as, along with India, China has expressed interest. In fact, the decision to send an Indian technical team to explore the project followed interest shown by the Chinese.

Modi’s call for establishing a Deputy High Commission (AHC) in Rangpur in northwestern Bangladesh is an attempt to increase New Delhi’s footprint in the country. An AHC is a medium-sized diplomatic establishment, somewhere between an embassy and a consulate in terms of size and scale. It would be India’s fifth AHC in Bangladesh, after those in Rajshahi, Khulna, Chittagong and Sylhet.

What is Mamata's position?

On New Delhi's talks with Dhaka on sharing Teesta waters, CM Mamata said the proposed new treaty would affect Bengal's interests. The health of the Teesta River has suffered due to the construction of a series of hydroelectric projects… It seems that during the meeting, the Indian government proposed bilateral cooperation between India and Bangladesh for restoration of Teesta water supply to Bangladesh, but no concrete proposal. steps have been taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to restore the river to its original shape and health on the Indian side, she said in her letter to PM Modi.

The water flow in the Teesta has decreased over the years. It is estimated that if more water was shared with Bangladesh, thousands of people in North Bengal would be seriously affected due to insufficient availability of irrigation water. Moreover, Teesta water is required to meet the drinking water needs of North Bengal. It is therefore not possible to share the waters of Teesta with Bangladesh, she writes.

Stating that India and Bangladesh share very close relations geographically, culturally and economically, the CM wrote: However, water is very precious and is the lifeline of people. We cannot compromise on such a sensitive issue, which has serious and harmful consequences for the population. The people of West Bengal will be the worst affected due to the impact of such agreements…The interest of the people of West Bengal is paramount and should not be compromised at any cost, she told the Prime Minister.

What is Prime Minister Hasina’s position?

So far, the Bangladeshi prime minister has refrained from commenting on Mamatas' objections, considering it an internal matter of India. According to Bangladeshi media, she was quoted as saying: “We have undertaken the Teesta project. China has offered (aid) and so has India. We will evaluate both the proposals and accept the one which is more beneficial and acceptable in terms of the interests of our people.”