GANGTOK, 13 Sept: In the final analysis, the outcome of the historic Teesta agreement between India and Bangladesh over the sharing of waters of the Teesta, which originates in Sikkim, could be in the hands of Sikkim and the State government here.
The recent visit of the Prime Minister to Dhaka, Bangladesh was primarily to sign the Teesta water sharing agreement by which India would provide 33,000 cusecs of Teesta water to Bangladesh. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee, whose concurrence was vital for the agreement since Teesta enters Bangladesh from West Bengal, backed out at the last moment rendering the visit of the Prime Minister to Dhaka almost a damp squib.
Now, it emerges that the reluctance of the WB Chief Minister to agree to the pact has to do with the lack of an agreement with the state of Sikkim. Ms. Banerjee is reported as having highlighted this to the national media.
While the West Bengal CM is reported to have mentioned the lack of an agreement with Sikkim as the reason for her unwillingness, State government officials here inform that they have not been intimated or approached by the West Bengal government or even the Central government in this regard.
The complication of the issue and importance of Sikkim has emerged after it was made known that Bangladesh was to get 33,000 cusecs of Teesta river waters while West Bengal was willing to give only 25,000 cusecs. The remaining 8,000 cusecs, it is believed, was to be provided by the state of Sikkim as extra release into the Teesta to meet the total quantum of 33,000 cusecs.
It has been reported that there was an apprehension that Sikkim could deprive West Bengal of 8,000 cusecs in the absence of a formal agreement. Ms. Banerjee, as reported in the national media, was not willing to accept the Centre’s assurance of Sikkim’s “compliance”, saying that she could not agree to the proposed formula of sharing the Teesta waters in the absence of an agreement between West Bengal and Sikkim [on Sikkim’s 8,000 cusecs commitment].
In this regard, senior officials of the State government when approached said that it was not appropriate for the State to initiate any action on this in the absence of any intimation from either the Centre or the West Bengal government.
It was also reiterated that the State government here has not been approached by the Centre on the matter thus far.
On the other hand, experts at the NHPC dam site inform that meeting the requirement of 8,000 cusecs will not be a problem during the monsoons. It was stated that the amount of water discharged on 12 September by NHPC from Stage V HEP, for example, was 17,598 cusecs. The dam itself is designed to meet a limit of 10,594 cusecs water per day.
However, it was informed that there was absolutely no way that the figure of 8,000 cusecs could be met during the lean season. The average water flow during the lean season is just over 2,000 cusecs; and even if water from the Rangpo khola was added to it, it would fall much short of the 8,000 cusecs mark. Rangpo khola is after all is a much smaller stream.
The West Bengal CM has been blamed of scuppering the Teesta agreement by pulling out from the Prime Minister’s delegation to Dhaka at the last minute. She is said to have told the Centre that she was opposed to the quantum of Teesta water being assigned to Bangladesh, as it would be at West Bengal’s expense.
The recent visit of the Prime Minister to Dhaka, Bangladesh was primarily to sign the Teesta water sharing agreement by which India would provide 33,000 cusecs of Teesta water to Bangladesh. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee, whose concurrence was vital for the agreement since Teesta enters Bangladesh from West Bengal, backed out at the last moment rendering the visit of the Prime Minister to Dhaka almost a damp squib.
Now, it emerges that the reluctance of the WB Chief Minister to agree to the pact has to do with the lack of an agreement with the state of Sikkim. Ms. Banerjee is reported as having highlighted this to the national media.
While the West Bengal CM is reported to have mentioned the lack of an agreement with Sikkim as the reason for her unwillingness, State government officials here inform that they have not been intimated or approached by the West Bengal government or even the Central government in this regard.
The complication of the issue and importance of Sikkim has emerged after it was made known that Bangladesh was to get 33,000 cusecs of Teesta river waters while West Bengal was willing to give only 25,000 cusecs. The remaining 8,000 cusecs, it is believed, was to be provided by the state of Sikkim as extra release into the Teesta to meet the total quantum of 33,000 cusecs.
It has been reported that there was an apprehension that Sikkim could deprive West Bengal of 8,000 cusecs in the absence of a formal agreement. Ms. Banerjee, as reported in the national media, was not willing to accept the Centre’s assurance of Sikkim’s “compliance”, saying that she could not agree to the proposed formula of sharing the Teesta waters in the absence of an agreement between West Bengal and Sikkim [on Sikkim’s 8,000 cusecs commitment].
In this regard, senior officials of the State government when approached said that it was not appropriate for the State to initiate any action on this in the absence of any intimation from either the Centre or the West Bengal government.
It was also reiterated that the State government here has not been approached by the Centre on the matter thus far.
On the other hand, experts at the NHPC dam site inform that meeting the requirement of 8,000 cusecs will not be a problem during the monsoons. It was stated that the amount of water discharged on 12 September by NHPC from Stage V HEP, for example, was 17,598 cusecs. The dam itself is designed to meet a limit of 10,594 cusecs water per day.
However, it was informed that there was absolutely no way that the figure of 8,000 cusecs could be met during the lean season. The average water flow during the lean season is just over 2,000 cusecs; and even if water from the Rangpo khola was added to it, it would fall much short of the 8,000 cusecs mark. Rangpo khola is after all is a much smaller stream.
The West Bengal CM has been blamed of scuppering the Teesta agreement by pulling out from the Prime Minister’s delegation to Dhaka at the last minute. She is said to have told the Centre that she was opposed to the quantum of Teesta water being assigned to Bangladesh, as it would be at West Bengal’s expense.
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