Teesta river surveys throw up divergent findings

Two hydrological surveys of the Teesta river, one conducted by the West Bengal government and the other by a team of experts appointed by state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have come up with conflicting results that will likely have implications on the India-Bangladesh treaty on sharing the river waters.

Contrary to Banerjee’s claim that sharing the waters of the Teesta River with Bangladesh would cause hardship to the population in North Bengal, a hydrological survey by the state Irrigation and Waterways department has come up with startling results: the volume of water in the Teesta Barrage reservoir has increased from 4.3 million cubic metres (2007) to 5.5 million cubic metres (2012).

The findings of the survey, called the Teesta Cubature Study, comes at a time when Banerjee, in September last year, created a hue and cry over New Delhi’s decision to share Teesta waters with Bangladesh. At that time, Banerjee refused to be part of the Indian delegation, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to Dhaka where the Teesta river water sharing treaty was to be signed.

After scuttling the deal, Banerjee announced in November 2011 formation of an experts committee headed by Geography professor Dr Kalyan Rudra to assess the ground reality of sharing the Teesta waters between India and Bangladesh. While declaring the setting up of the experts panel, Banerjee had reasoned that the “water problem” was the result of expansion of the Teesta Barrage and operationalisation of four to five thermal plants.
When contacted Dr Rudra refused to comment on his findings.

Dr Rudra only said: “There is not much water in the river.” Knowledgeable sources said that although Dr Rudra’s survey indicated that the flow of the Teesta has reduced and that “it is not in excess of human demand, especially during lean season when demand is high,” and that the ground water level had fallen too.

According to the results of the Irrigation and Waterways department’s survey, which began in November 2011 and concluded last month, because of high levels of erosion, there has been more than 20 per cent increase in the capacity of the barrage at Gajoldoba in Udalbari in the Dooars. Senior West Bengal government sources disclosed to Deccan Herald that “if there is good spell of rains, there could be an overflow and as per the barrage’s design, there will be a discharge 700,000 cu secs of water”.

The sources said that barring three months during the winter season, the volume of water in the reservoir “remains high.” But state government sources are not sure how the survey data, which are being given final touches before they are presented to the chief minister, will be utlised once Indian and Bangladesh officials meet to exchange statistics before the treaty is signed.

The fiasco in September 2011, when Banerjee refused to be part of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led delegation to Dhaka, put paid to the accord since the West Bengal chief minsiter did not agree with the quantum of water that India could share with Bangladesh. Needless to say, this had caused a huge embarrassment to India, especially because expectations that the treaty would be signed between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Singh were high.

Last month, officials of the Joint River Commission of the two countries met in Kolkata to discuss, among other things, exchanging data on Teesta waters that more often than not did not tally. Besides, a decision was taken separately to make West Bengal a party to the India-Bangladesh engagement on Teesta water sharing.