Towards bilateral cooperation with Nepal
M. S. MENON
The river Kosi, originating from the southern slopes of the Himalayas, flows through the flat plains of the Nepal Terai, before it enters India, downstream of Hanumannagar. The river has been notorious in changing its course from east to west, having drifted more than 100 km from its original course and sweeping over an area of 13,000 sq km in India and 1,000 sq km in Nepal since the 18th century. It has therefore been described as Bihar’s river of sorrow. The construction of a barrage with embankments at Hanumannagar in 1963 changed this scenario to a great extent ensuring the river to be confined to a definite channel, thus preventing lateral movements for the last few decades. However, the recent breach of the bund at Kusaha in Nepal caused the surging waters of the Kosi leaving its earlier course to follow the lay of the land to the east with gargantuan sheets of water spread over more than 1,000 sq km in Nepal and India, before joining the Ganga.
The present deluge has not only brought about vast devastation but has also triggered the blame game among the governments concerned. The Nepal government has blamed India for the calamity. Quoting the provisions of the Kosi Project Agreement (1954), Kathmandu pointed out that it was India’s responsibility for the repair, maintenance and overall surveillance of the Kusaha embankment within Nepalese territory. While the central government blamed the Bihar government for not taking timely action, the latter blamed Nepal for not cooperating with it and not allowing Indian contractors to do the maintenance jobs.
Lack of agreement
India has to live with the fact that the chronic floods caused by the Himalayan rivers originating from Nepal can be controlled only by damming them and carrying out river training works.
Though both countries have entered into agreements for specific development aspects of the rivers such as the Kosi, the Gandak and the Mahakali, implementation has been poor for various reasons. The proposal to have a Kosi High Dam envisaging irrigation, power and flood control benefits mooted more than five decades back is still to see the light of the day.
Same is the case regarding the Kamla Multipurpose project, Pancheswar project and the Karnali hydroelectric project.For the past 30 years, committees for embankment construction, monitoring works, inundation problems, etc., have been examining and advising the governments concerned on these international rivers. For issues connected specifically with the Kosi also there are many committees. Unfortunately, everyone is working in isolation without knowing or caring to know what others are doing and years of analysis paralysed them into inaction when tragedy struck now. The integrated development of the Himalayan rivers calls for cooperation and India should work for such cooperation with Nepal since dams on these rivers alone can provide a certain degree of protection against floods.
Taming the rivers
A change in the bureaucratic mindset of rigidly sticking to our terms while dealing with Nepal can help to find an agreed plan of action not only to tame the Kosi but also other rivers originating from Nepal. Discussions at political level should enable the setting up of a high power Indo-Nepal Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) at the ministerial level to function better than the Indo-Pak Permanent Indus Commission and the Indo-Bangladesh JRC. It would then be possible to set up specific project authorities for the Kosi, Karnali, etc., with equal representation from both the countries and having adequate administrative and financial powers.
Such a step similar to the Tala project (Bhutan)would enable timely implementation of the projects and their proper maintenance to avoid calamitous situations. In view of the reported moves being made by China to enter the hydro-development field in Nepal, India has to move fast to resolve the contentious issues to get the best out of the Himalayan rivers.
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