India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty 1996: Renewal Talks, Significance & Challenges
The Ganga (Ganges) is a major transboundary river whose waters are crucial for both India and Bangladesh, making the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty central to regional stability and cooperation. The 1996 treaty, now approaching its 2026 expiry, is at the heart of renewed diplomatic efforts to update water-sharing arrangements in light of climate change and rising demands on the river system.
Background: Ganges Water Dispute
The Ganga originates in the Himalayas and flows through India into Bangladesh, where it is known as the Padma, before reaching the Bay of Bengal. As the lower riparian, Bangladesh depends heavily on upstream flows regulated by India for irrigation, drinking water, ecology, and navigation in its deltaic regions.
Tensions sharpened after India commissioned the Farakka Barrage in 1975 to divert water into the Hooghly River to improve navigability and silt management for Kolkata Port. Bangladesh has long argued that such diversions reduce dry-season flows, harming agriculture, fisheries, and livelihoods in downstream districts and intensifying salinity intrusion in its coastal ecosystems.
1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty: Key Features
The Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 in New Delhi by Indian Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for a fixed duration of 30 years. It was designed to replace earlier short-term and ad hoc arrangements that often created uncertainty and political friction between the two neighbours.
The core objective of the treaty is to regulate sharing of the Ganga’s dry‑season flow at Farakka between 1 January and 31 May each year. Instead of one fixed number, the treaty employs a formula-based approach linked to actual flows, seeking to balance India’s diversion requirements with Bangladesh’s downstream needs.
Duration and Renewal Clause
The treaty is explicitly valid from 1996 to 2026, with Article XII providing that it may be renewed by mutual consent of India and Bangladesh. This means there is no automatic extension; any continuation requires a fresh understanding between the two governments.
The impending expiry on 12 December 2026 has prompted both sides to reassess their water needs under conditions of climate variability, demographic change, and evolving development priorities. This is why renewal and possible redesign of the treaty have become active topics in bilateral diplomacy and strategic commentary.
Flow Sharing Mechanism at Farakka
A distinctive feature of the treaty is its detailed schedule of allocations in successive 10‑day periods during the lean season. For each 10‑day block, the share of India and Bangladesh depends on the measured flow at Farakka Barrage, embedding conditionality into the sharing formula.
Broadly, when flows exceed a specified threshold (commonly cited as 75,000 cusecs), India is permitted to draw a higher volume, up to around 40,000 cusecs, while still ensuring substantial releases to Bangladesh. When flows drop below another threshold (often mentioned around 70,000 cusecs), the understanding is that water is to be shared more equitably, with certain guaranteed minimum levels for Bangladesh over the season.
Significance for India and Bangladesh
For India, the treaty supports strategic objectives such as maintaining the navigability of the Hooghly and Kolkata Port, enabling irrigation and other uses in states like West Bengal and Bihar, and showcasing a cooperative approach towards a key neighbour. The agreement also underpins India’s broader neighbourhood policy and its narrative of resolving transboundary river issues through dialogue rather than unilateralism.
For Bangladesh, the treaty provides a degree of predictability in dry-season flows that are essential for agriculture, drinking water supply, ecosystem health and navigation in the Ganga–Padma system. It also carries symbolic importance, as it recognises Bangladesh’s rights as a lower riparian and offers a formal platform to raise water‑related grievances and negotiate adjustments.
Why Renewal Talks Matter Now
The timing of the treaty’s expiry coincides with intensifying climate‑change impacts across the Ganga basin. Erratic monsoon patterns, changing snowfall and glacial melt in the Himalayas, and more frequent floods and droughts are altering the river’s seasonal behaviour and stressing existing infrastructure and institutions.
Both India and Bangladesh therefore require an updated, climate‑sensitive framework that can accommodate fluctuating flows, competing domestic demands and the need to safeguard ecosystems. This makes the ongoing and upcoming discussions not merely a legal formality, but an opportunity to embed resilience, flexibility and equity into future arrangements.
Current Discussions on Renewal
Analytical commentaries suggest that India is considering a revised framework that may be shorter in duration than the current 30‑year term, for example in the range of 10–15 years, to allow periodic review and adjustment. A shorter, more flexible term would make it easier to incorporate new hydrological data, technological advances and climatic realities.
Bangladesh, for its part, is expected to seek more assured minimum flows in the lean season, stronger provisions for data sharing, and more robust institutional mechanisms. These would help manage both extreme low‑flow conditions, which threaten agriculture and drinking water, and high‑flow events that heighten flood and erosion risks.
Key Issues in Renegotiation
A central issue is the move towards climate‑resilient flow‑sharing formulas. Instead of relying only on historical averages, there is growing pressure to explicitly integrate climate projections, seasonal anomalies and long‑term variability into allocation rules and review clauses.
Data sharing and transparency form another pillar of future cooperation. Enhanced real‑time hydrological data exchange, joint monitoring systems and clearly agreed measurement protocols at Farakka and downstream points are seen as essential to build trust and prevent disputes over actual releases versus commitments on paper.
Ecological and environmental concerns also weigh heavily. Both countries face public and expert pressure to protect riverine biodiversity, sustain fisheries and safeguard sensitive regions such as the Sundarbans, which depend on adequate freshwater inflows to resist salinity and maintain unique ecosystems.
Domestic political sensitivities complicate technical negotiations. In India, states like West Bengal have voiced concerns about being sidelined in decision‑making, while in Bangladesh, perceptions of unfair or inadequate sharing can quickly become politically charged and influence public opinion and electoral narratives.
Transboundary Water Management and the Ganga Basin
The Ganga is part of a larger, multi‑country basin influenced by upstream hydrology and activities beyond India and Bangladesh alone. This reality strengthens the case for broader basin‑wide cooperation and coordinated planning, rather than treating the treaty as an isolated bilateral arrangement.
Experts increasingly argue that future frameworks should move beyond a narrow focus on volumetric surface‑water allocations to more integrated river‑basin management. That would include groundwater–surface water interactions, pollution control, environmental flows, sediment management and disaster‑risk reduction for floods and droughts.
Relevance for UPSC and Other Exams
For UPSC and similar competitive exams, the India–Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty connects directly to topics such as India and its neighbourhood, international rivers, environmental governance and regional cooperation in South Asia. It also links to themes in International Relations, Geography, Environment and Internal Security (through its impact on livelihoods and politics in border regions).
In Mains, the issue illustrates cooperative federalism (Centre–State dynamics over treaty obligations), climate diplomacy, sustainable development in vulnerable river basins and the challenges of balancing developmental needs with ecological protection. Aspirants should be prepared to discuss both the historical dispute and the forward‑looking, climate‑resilient dimensions of the post‑2026 framework.
FAQs on India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty 1996
Q1. What is the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996?
The Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996 is a bilateral agreement between India and Bangladesh that allocates dry-season flows of the Ganga at Farakka Barrage from January to May using a defined sharing formula. It replaced earlier short-term arrangements and aims to balance India’s diversion needs with Bangladesh’s downstream water requirements.
Q2. When does the treaty expire?
The treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 for a duration of 30 years and will expire on 12 December 2026. After that, it can continue only if both India and Bangladesh mutually agree to renew or renegotiate it.
Q3. Why is the treaty important for India?
For India, the treaty ensures a legal framework to divert water at Farakka for maintaining Kolkata Port’s navigability and supporting irrigation and other uses in eastern states while maintaining cooperative ties with Bangladesh. It also reinforces India’s broader diplomatic approach to resolving transboundary river issues through negotiated settlements rather than unilateral action.
Q4. Why is the treaty important for Bangladesh?
For Bangladesh, the treaty provides predictable minimum flows during the lean season, which are critical for irrigation, drinking water, ecology, and navigation in the Ganga-Padma system. It also symbolises recognition of Bangladesh as a lower riparian with rights over shared rivers and a platform to raise concerns over water stress.
Q5. What are the main challenges in renewing the treaty?
Key challenges include reconciling India’s growing demand for additional water with Bangladesh’s need for assured flows, addressing climate-induced variability, and designing more flexible yet equitable formulas. Domestic political pressures and the need for stronger institutions, data sharing, and ecological safeguards further complicate negotiations.
Q6. How does climate change affect the Ganges treaty?
Climate change alters precipitation patterns, glacier-fed flows, and the frequency of floods and droughts, making historical flow data less reliable as the sole basis for allocation. Future arrangements are expected to incorporate adaptive, climate-resilient provisions that can handle extreme events and long-term shifts in river hydrology.
Q7. What is the role of the Farakka Barrage in this treaty?
Farakka Barrage, located in West Bengal, is the operational point where the Ganga’s flow is regulated, with diversions towards the Hooghly and water releases towards Bangladesh. The treaty’s sharing arrangements are explicitly tied to measured flows at this barrage over specified 10-day periods in the dry season.
Q8. Can the treaty be renewed automatically?
The treaty does not provide for automatic renewal; instead, Article XII states that it may be renewed by mutual consent of both parties. This makes ongoing diplomatic engagement essential for any extension or new arrangement after 2026.
Q9. Why is the treaty important for exams like UPSC?
The treaty connects multiple GS topics: India and its neighbours, international agreements, river water disputes, environment and climate change, and federal issues involving Centre–State coordination. It is frequently referenced in questions on India’s water diplomacy, regional cooperation, and sustainable development in South Asia.
