The Hindu : Water talks `sensitive', says Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 02, 2003

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Water talks `sensitive', says Minister

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI OCT. 1. The two-day meeting of the 35th Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission got prolonged on the second day as "the issues under discussion were sensitive and complicated", the Water Resources Minister, Arjun Charan Sethi, said here today.

Asked why the meeting ran into the wee hours of today, the Minister said that, "Each issue that was discussed was important for both the countries and required clarification from both sides. That is why it took so long to hammer out a consensus".

To another question, he said Bangladesh's apprehensions that India's rivers-linking project might affect its environment and ecology were "imaginary" as there was no plan yet before the Indian Government on the programme. "The Task Force on Inter-linking of Rivers has not made any recommendations. If necessary, after the Task Force submits its report, we might discuss the issue in India and with other countries."

He said some States had complained that they had not been taken into confidence. "They have not been because nothing is before us. Even the pre-feasibility studies are not complete, neither have the detailed project reports been made."

On Day One of the talks on Monday, nearly two hours were spent on Bangladesh trying to get the subject included as an agenda item. However, it was agreed that India would listen out its neighbour on the subject and finally Dhaka accepted New Delhi's reassurances on the issue.

The other issue that held sway was the implementation of the Indo-Bangladesh Ganga Waters Treaty of 1996. Both sides agreed that the implementation was progressing well. On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Water Resources Minister, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, said they had not sought a review of the Ganga Water Treaty.

There were lengthy discussions on the sharing of Teesta and the waters of six smaller rivers between the two neighbours. The JRC noted that the Joint Committee of Experts had not been able to submit the terms of reference for the Joint Scientific Study to assess the availability and demand of the Teesta waters in each country, the draft interim agreement and formulation for sharing waters of the six rivers. It asked the JCE to do so by December-end. The differences were over the share each country should get.

On the issue of India wanting repairment along both the banks of the Muhuri, Bangladesh said it would take up the issue with the relevant authorities to obtain an early decision, preferably by 2004 as the boundary issue was involved.

The next meeting of the JRC would be held in January in Dhaka.

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