West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday demanded a Joint River Commission with Bhutan to address the India's north Bengal's flooding issue saying it is caused by rivers flowing in from the Himalayan country.
According to the Indian media reports, the Bengal Chief Minister made this remark to the media at Kolkata airport after attending a "Niti Aayog" meeting in Delhi on Saturday (July 27).
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Bengal Assembly had passed a resolution demanding a Joint River Commission with Bhutan.
The resolution said the state would ask the central government to initiate talks with Bhutan for the formation of a Joint River Commission. On July 29, when Mamata is expected to attend the Parliament, a discussion will be held on the matter.
"Mamata Banarjee has complicated India's hydro diplomacy with Bangladesh by demanding a Joint River Commission with Bhutan," says the Telegraph India. New Delhi is now courting Bangladesh with an offer to renew the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty and a conservation and management plan for the Teesta, it observed.
Many rivers from India flow into Bangladesh, a Joint River Commission between the two countries was formed in 1972 to share water-flow data and discuss river-related issues.
However, during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit last month, New Delhi had announced plans to renew the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty - signed in 1996 and due to expire next year - and send technical teams to Bangladesh to draw up a project for the conservation and management of the Teesta.
Mamata, who has always described Bangladesh as a "friendly neighbour", reiterated on Saturday that the Modi government had floated the proposals on the Ganga and the Teesta while keeping Bengal in the dark.
"It is up to you what you will give to another country... but when the state (Bengal) is a stakeholder, how can you decide without consulting the state?" she said.
"In both these cases, India, Bangladesh and Bengal should together participate in the talks. They (the Centre) didn't seek any opinion from us," she observed.
Her remarks were in line with the Bengal Assembly resolution, which says the Bengal government will ask the Centre to consult the state on both issues.
Mamata said the Teesta lacks adequate water during the non-monsoon months. "If water is provided (to Bangladesh), the people of north Bengal will not get drinking water. They (the Centre) should keep that in mind."
She castigated the Centre for failing to provide funds for anti-erosion and flood protection measures in Malda and Murshidabad, which are on the left and right banks of the Ganga.
"When the (Ganga) treaty was signed, a project of Rs 700 crore was planned to curb erosion in these districts," Mamata said.
"No funds have been allocated so far, and the lack of dredging of the Ganga riverbed in Farakka causes downstream to get flooded. I want to know whether mentioning these issues (at the Niti Aayog) was a crime," she asserted.
Mamata, who had walked out of the Saturday's Niti Aayog meeting midway, has alleged that her mike was switched off at the meeting.
Mamata added: "I had submitted a written speech there.... However, this issue was not mentioned there and, therefore, I mentioned it separately."
Written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently over the water sharing issue with Bangladesh, she said it is "not feasible" to share the Teesta's waters with Bangladesh, a position that strategic experts believe can derail New Delhi's hydro-diplomacy with a Dhaka. When China is counting water diplomacy with Bangladesh.
In her letter, Mamata described the Modi-Hasina discussions on the Teesta and the Ganga as "unilateral deliberations", adding that these were "neither acceptable nor desirable" as the Bengal state was not consulted. Later, she told a meeting that she had sent a "strong" letter to Modi on the subject. She threatened a movement if the Centre go ahead without taking her government into confidence.
In her letter and at the Nabanna meeting, the Bengal chief minister accused the Centre of failing to keep its promise of tackling erosion by the Ganga, a big worry in the Malda and Murshidabad districts.
The Bengal chief minister's letter comes at a time India is trying to woo Bangladesh with the offer of "conservation and management" of the Teesta river system and a plan to renew the Ganges Water Treaty of 1996, the media reports observed.
"Also, the rivers erode chunks of land. To address this problem, I suggested at the Niti Ayog meeting that a joint river commission be formed with Bhutan."
"...Water flow in the Teesta has gone down over the years and it is estimated that, if any water is shared with Bangladesh, lakhs of people in North Bengal will get severely impacted due to inadequate availability of irrigation water," Mamata's letter to Prime Minister Modi says.
"In addition, Teesta water is also needed for meeting drinking water requirements of residents of North Bengal.... It is therefore not feasible to share Teesta water with Bangladesh."
