A. Mannan :
The Teesta river emanates from the glaciers of the Himalaya’s in Sikkim. The weariest river travels 172 k.m. through the mountain range and gorges of Sikkim and finally touches alluvial soil of northern India and flows 97 k.m. in India and 124 k.m. in Bangladesh respectively before joining the mighty river Brahamputra. The present total channel length in Bangladesh is 177 k.m. (app.) and the width is 300-550m.
The total catchment area of the river is 12000 sq. k.m. inclusive that of 2000 sq. k.m. in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh catchment portion accommodates a size of the population of 2 m (app) whereas that of India has i.e. Sikkim and Paschim Bonga (W.B.) together 1.9 m (app) population. In other words, though the catchment area is disproportionate, the population-wise it is 50 : 50.
Broadly speaking, a river has 3 segments :
(a) Source of origin (glaciers and waterholds)
(b) Gorges segment (the weariest part)
(c) Catchment area.
The (a) and (b) above are distributors of water and the (c) is the recipient i.e. the ultimate beneficiary.
The International Water Laws and agreements of riparian countries to resolve water sharing issues :
(i) International Water Laws are ambiguous and they seldom bring-forth any positive results.
(ii) Multi-lateral and bi-lateral agreements.
In the case of Ganges, India has pursued the issue as a bi-lateral matter and did not go for a dialogue in the SAARC and any other International Forum (Ref Article (ix) of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996)
Teesta is obviously a bi-lateral issue, since it encompasses only India and Bangladesh, therefore only bi-lateral talks may suffice to resolve the impending problems of sharing of Teesta water.
Of late, however, the Hon’ble Foreign Minister of India has said that in case of Teesta, a domestic consensus needs to be evolved before coming to an accord with Bangladesh. It reminds us the memory of prolonged cases of enclaves e.g. Berubari vis-a-vis Dahagram and Angorputa and leasing TinBigha corridor to connect Dahagram with Panbari Mouza for free passage, making the two enclaves of Bangladesh almost unlivable due to TinBigha corridor not having been leased till date on the pretext of India’s Supreme Court decision and necessary amendments of its Constitution as against Berubari which was handed over to India through the passage of the Third Amendment of Bangladesh Constitution in 1974.
One wonders whether domestic consensus as stated by the Foreign Minister of India in the case of Teesta shall drag on indefinite.
It is to be realised here that the stakeholders for catchments of a river can be numerous having multi-dimensional interests and in the pursuit of divergent angles of direction e.g. that of Sikkim, Paschim Banga (W.B.) and Bihar upon diversion of water through link canal, inter alia, construction of a series of dams, in thousands, all over to generate 50,000 MW of electricity, a soar point and vehemently objected by the indigenous Lepcha and Butia communities.
One can easily visualise the series and chains of beneficiaries and their logical reasoning. Needless to mention further that the UN and the environmentalists globally are raising hue and cry against construction of dams causing human tragedies.
Recently, a landmark decision has been taken by the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration (UN-PCA) i.e. the Arbitration Tribunal of Delimitation of Maritime Boundary’s award has established the concept of equitableness for sharing out resources and possible potentials rather than that of equi-distance methodology.
Based on this new dimension of equitableness, the Teesta water sharing may be pursued under the UN-Convention on Water Laws i.e. of the Non-Navigational uses of water under Article (5) i.e. to be based on the size of the population of the catchments of India and Bangladesh which is 50:50. Bangladesh may also take the advantage of No Harm Rule under Article (7) of the Convention, which says that each riparian country must take all measures to prevent any harm to the other riparian countries or country. Similarly, Berlin Rules on International Water Resources go on spelling out the right of access to the water to every individual in times of war to sustain life whether the water is shared or not.
Here, some special points need to be highlighted:
(i) Legal issues as above have been raised not to embarrass our neighbor but ask them for an amicable settlement based on the already accepted formula and concept of equitableness i.e. the basis has to be on ratio of ultimate beneficiaries (number of population basis) living in the catchment in India and that in Bangladesh (50:50). Moreover, the availability of water in both the catchments needs to be assessed on the situation before any diversion through the link canal in order to increase the catchment area along with its population, construction of dams for irrigation and generation of electricity and so on, for all these will imbalance the ratio of 50:50 and project a distorted impression. Teesta’s summer flow is estimated at 280,000 cusecs and that in the dry season at 10,000 cusecs.The Teesta’s catchment area in Bangladesh encompasses 8 northern districts which will be totally deprived of its legitimate share and be left with no water at all in the dry season.
Available proposals quoted/mentioned here and there:-
(i) Initially Bangladesh proposed the sharing formula as under:-
India = 40%
BD = 40%
River’s own share to remain flowing = 20%
According to the equitableness formula derived on the ultimate number of beneficiaries (i.e. population) living in the catchment of each country the water sharing ratio should be 50:50, but India instead reportedly asked for 55% share. In June 2011 a media news spelt out that India and Bangladesh might have agreed to share at the ratio of 42.50% and 37.50% respectively. Since no accord over the decades has been reached, the Teesta water episode now tastes bitter due to such prolongation.
One lawmaker in India reportedly has come up with a new formula of sharing 75% for India and only 25% for Bangladesh. Such idea, if implemented most illogically though, will convert Teesta’s catchment in Bangladesh specially in the dry season a mini ‘Sahara’ hitherto known as riverine deltaic habitat. This kind of understanding of the concept as to sharing of water of common rivers amongst the riparian countries will be violative of all norms, laws of the UN, and shall go against the Humanity and Environments,- a global disaster.
Negotiation and accord are difficult, cumbersome, wearisome as well as strenuous but accord brooks no delay, the sooner the better. Meanwhile, the water of Teesta is turning from sweet-sour to bitter and will further aggravate due to global warming forcing sea water to flow upstream tasting Teesta water more bitterly by the day.
Our Govt. should pursue the issue earnestly and convince India to accept the concept of equitableness as spelt out by UN- PCA, for India being ‘Big’ must open its ‘Big Heart’, contrarily Bangladesh must look ‘Beautiful’.
(A. Mannan is a former State Minister, Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism and Textiles, GoB and former President, South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and E-mail : [email protected] mmfedamm @gmail.com)
The Teesta river emanates from the glaciers of the Himalaya’s in Sikkim. The weariest river travels 172 k.m. through the mountain range and gorges of Sikkim and finally touches alluvial soil of northern India and flows 97 k.m. in India and 124 k.m. in Bangladesh respectively before joining the mighty river Brahamputra. The present total channel length in Bangladesh is 177 k.m. (app.) and the width is 300-550m.
The total catchment area of the river is 12000 sq. k.m. inclusive that of 2000 sq. k.m. in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh catchment portion accommodates a size of the population of 2 m (app) whereas that of India has i.e. Sikkim and Paschim Bonga (W.B.) together 1.9 m (app) population. In other words, though the catchment area is disproportionate, the population-wise it is 50 : 50.
Broadly speaking, a river has 3 segments :
(a) Source of origin (glaciers and waterholds)
(b) Gorges segment (the weariest part)
(c) Catchment area.
The (a) and (b) above are distributors of water and the (c) is the recipient i.e. the ultimate beneficiary.
The International Water Laws and agreements of riparian countries to resolve water sharing issues :
(i) International Water Laws are ambiguous and they seldom bring-forth any positive results.
(ii) Multi-lateral and bi-lateral agreements.
In the case of Ganges, India has pursued the issue as a bi-lateral matter and did not go for a dialogue in the SAARC and any other International Forum (Ref Article (ix) of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996)
Teesta is obviously a bi-lateral issue, since it encompasses only India and Bangladesh, therefore only bi-lateral talks may suffice to resolve the impending problems of sharing of Teesta water.
Of late, however, the Hon’ble Foreign Minister of India has said that in case of Teesta, a domestic consensus needs to be evolved before coming to an accord with Bangladesh. It reminds us the memory of prolonged cases of enclaves e.g. Berubari vis-a-vis Dahagram and Angorputa and leasing TinBigha corridor to connect Dahagram with Panbari Mouza for free passage, making the two enclaves of Bangladesh almost unlivable due to TinBigha corridor not having been leased till date on the pretext of India’s Supreme Court decision and necessary amendments of its Constitution as against Berubari which was handed over to India through the passage of the Third Amendment of Bangladesh Constitution in 1974.
One wonders whether domestic consensus as stated by the Foreign Minister of India in the case of Teesta shall drag on indefinite.
It is to be realised here that the stakeholders for catchments of a river can be numerous having multi-dimensional interests and in the pursuit of divergent angles of direction e.g. that of Sikkim, Paschim Banga (W.B.) and Bihar upon diversion of water through link canal, inter alia, construction of a series of dams, in thousands, all over to generate 50,000 MW of electricity, a soar point and vehemently objected by the indigenous Lepcha and Butia communities.
One can easily visualise the series and chains of beneficiaries and their logical reasoning. Needless to mention further that the UN and the environmentalists globally are raising hue and cry against construction of dams causing human tragedies.
Recently, a landmark decision has been taken by the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration (UN-PCA) i.e. the Arbitration Tribunal of Delimitation of Maritime Boundary’s award has established the concept of equitableness for sharing out resources and possible potentials rather than that of equi-distance methodology.
Based on this new dimension of equitableness, the Teesta water sharing may be pursued under the UN-Convention on Water Laws i.e. of the Non-Navigational uses of water under Article (5) i.e. to be based on the size of the population of the catchments of India and Bangladesh which is 50:50. Bangladesh may also take the advantage of No Harm Rule under Article (7) of the Convention, which says that each riparian country must take all measures to prevent any harm to the other riparian countries or country. Similarly, Berlin Rules on International Water Resources go on spelling out the right of access to the water to every individual in times of war to sustain life whether the water is shared or not.
Here, some special points need to be highlighted:
(i) Legal issues as above have been raised not to embarrass our neighbor but ask them for an amicable settlement based on the already accepted formula and concept of equitableness i.e. the basis has to be on ratio of ultimate beneficiaries (number of population basis) living in the catchment in India and that in Bangladesh (50:50). Moreover, the availability of water in both the catchments needs to be assessed on the situation before any diversion through the link canal in order to increase the catchment area along with its population, construction of dams for irrigation and generation of electricity and so on, for all these will imbalance the ratio of 50:50 and project a distorted impression. Teesta’s summer flow is estimated at 280,000 cusecs and that in the dry season at 10,000 cusecs.The Teesta’s catchment area in Bangladesh encompasses 8 northern districts which will be totally deprived of its legitimate share and be left with no water at all in the dry season.
Available proposals quoted/mentioned here and there:-
(i) Initially Bangladesh proposed the sharing formula as under:-
India = 40%
BD = 40%
River’s own share to remain flowing = 20%
According to the equitableness formula derived on the ultimate number of beneficiaries (i.e. population) living in the catchment of each country the water sharing ratio should be 50:50, but India instead reportedly asked for 55% share. In June 2011 a media news spelt out that India and Bangladesh might have agreed to share at the ratio of 42.50% and 37.50% respectively. Since no accord over the decades has been reached, the Teesta water episode now tastes bitter due to such prolongation.
One lawmaker in India reportedly has come up with a new formula of sharing 75% for India and only 25% for Bangladesh. Such idea, if implemented most illogically though, will convert Teesta’s catchment in Bangladesh specially in the dry season a mini ‘Sahara’ hitherto known as riverine deltaic habitat. This kind of understanding of the concept as to sharing of water of common rivers amongst the riparian countries will be violative of all norms, laws of the UN, and shall go against the Humanity and Environments,- a global disaster.
Negotiation and accord are difficult, cumbersome, wearisome as well as strenuous but accord brooks no delay, the sooner the better. Meanwhile, the water of Teesta is turning from sweet-sour to bitter and will further aggravate due to global warming forcing sea water to flow upstream tasting Teesta water more bitterly by the day.
Our Govt. should pursue the issue earnestly and convince India to accept the concept of equitableness as spelt out by UN- PCA, for India being ‘Big’ must open its ‘Big Heart’, contrarily Bangladesh must look ‘Beautiful’.
(A. Mannan is a former State Minister, Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism and Textiles, GoB and former President, South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and E-mail : [email protected] mmfedamm @gmail.com)
