JRC meeting and the RLP

As the 1997 UN Watercourse Convention and many other international documents provide, one usual practice of identifying those entitlements is prior consultation among the co-riparian states about any planned measure or projects. India and Bangladesh devised the mechanism of such consultation through the establishment of the India- Bangladesh Joint River Commission in 1972.

The long-awaited meeting of that commission is due on September 19 of this year. It is "long awaited" because the last one was held nearly two years ago and in the meantime India has undertaken steps to implement its river linking project and the Tipaimukh Hydrological Dam, allegedly without due regard to the 1972 statute.

The Joint River Commission (JRC) was established against the backdrop of hopes, expectation, and goodwill that generated from the friendship between the two nations during the liberation war of Bangladesh. The Prime Minsters of the two countries issued a Joint Declaration on March 19, 1972, in which, among other things, they agreed to establish the Commission in order to utilise the water resources of the region "for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries." In line with the commitment, the 1972 India Bangladesh Joint River Commission Statute set out the function of the commission, that includes maintaining liaisons "in order to ensure most effective joint efforts in maximising the benefits from common river systems to both the countries." Article 4 of the statute specifies that the projects to be formulated are "flood control and irrigation projects" and reiterated that the objectives would be "mutual benefit of the people of two countries."

Similar to the constituent instruments of other international river commissions, the JRC statute spells out the procedural rules for carrying out its objectives. Chapter V of the statute provides that the ordinary session of the commission shall be held generally "four times a year" and in addition special meeting may be convened at any time at the request of either country.

The JRC, however, failed to live up to its mandate. In the last 33 years, it could convene only 36 meetings, and none of them resulted in joint project. On the contrary, India's unilateral steps in relation to the river linking project and the Tipaimukh project for harnessing the water resources of three major common rivers -- Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna -- have seriously undermined the objectives of the JRC. As these rivers sustain and support the economy and environment of Bangladesh, the utility of the JRC commission could again be seriously questioned unless a meaningful and effective discussion regarding the aforesaid projects could be carried out at its 36th meeting.

Bangladesh had already expressed its concerns about the river linking project. India has informed Bangladesh that the project was still at a conceptual state and Bangladesh had no reason to fear any adverse consequences. Since then, India, however, took various measures that clearly demonstrate that river linking is a "project," not a mere "concept."

On August 25, the Indian Prime Minster himself graced the occasion of signing of a memorandum of understanding by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, and the Union Water Resources Development Minister. This MOU provides for connecting Ken and Betwa rivers, one of the 14 peninsular links of the RLP, the feasibility study of which have already been completed by the National Water Development Authority. The signing of the MoU is therefore being regarded in India as a significant move towards the implementation of the RLP (The Statesman, Ken Meets Betwa in Heartland, August 26, 2005).

Before that, the Indian President, in a speech on August 14, has reiterated that the mega project of interlinking of rivers should be implemented with a "sense of urgency" and efforts should be made to overcome "various hurdles" in its way. (Press Trust of India, August 14, 2005).

These information has shored up Bangladesh's apprehension about India's unilateral moves. The Indian Water Resources Minister in an interview on September 15 disagreed with that apprehension and maintained that since India is concentrating only on the linking of peninsular rivers, Bangladesh has no reason to be anxious.

A careful analysis of India's project would, however, reveal disturbing facts for Bangladesh. According to "inter-basin water transfer proposal" prepared by the National Water Development Agency of India, the RLP has two inseparable components: the Himalayan Rivers Component and the Peninsular Rivers Components. Among the 14 links of this components are the Ganges-Damodar-Subernarekha (link canal 3) and Subernarekha-Mahanadi link (link 4). Among the peninsular component are the Mahanadi-Godaveri (link 1) and Godaveri-Krisna (link 2 and 3).

The proposed project thus aims, among other things, at transferring the Himalayan waters to the peninsular south through the Ganges-Subarnarekha-Mahanadi-Godaveri. Another link, the Manos-Sankosh-Tista-Ganges link would transfer the Brahmaputra tributary waters to the upstream of the Ganges. Bangladesh, has therefore, reasons to apprehend that the peninsular link is an inseparable component of the RLP project which would essentially link Himalayan rivers with the peninsular rivers, once the links of the latter components are completed.

As an upper riparian country, it is India who has to shoulder the responsibility of dispelling Bangladesh's concern about its unilateral projects. The long-standing misunderstanding between these two countries could only be minimised by providing Bangladesh with full information about those projects and by conducting meaningful, sincere, and effective consultation to accommodate the interests of both parties. The 36th meeting of the JRC offers another scope to that end. Let us not forget that in Article 9 of the Ganges Water Treaty, both countries agreed to conclude water sharing agreements with regard to all common rivers on the basis of principles of equity, fairness, and no harm to either party. And let us be perfectly clear that any such principle negates the notion of unilateral projects.

Dr. Asif Nazrul is Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka.