• Source:JND
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The Centre has accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of spreading "false claims" regarding the consultations over the review of the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty between India and Bangladesh. The sources from the government stated that the state government was kept in the loop throughout the process and was actively involved in the review. They refuted the allegations made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the state was not consulted.

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According to the sources, on July 24, 2022, the Centre had sought a nominee from the West Bengal government to be part of the committee tasked with carrying out an "Internal Review of the India-Bangladesh Treaty of 1996 on Sharing of the Ganga/Ganges Waters at Farakka." The state government responded by conveying the nomination of the chief engineer (design and research) in the irrigation and waterways directorate to the committee on August 25, 2022.

Following this, on April 5, 2023, the Joint Secretary (Works), Irrigation and Waterways Department, West Bengal government, conveyed the state's total demand for the next 30 years from the stretch downstream of the Farakka Barrage.

The tussle between the Centre and the West Bengal government over water sharing has emerged as the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty between India and Bangladesh is set to expire in 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that the two countries will begin technical-level talks to renew the treaty.

In response, Banerjee wrote a letter to PM Modi, saying the decision to start talks for the renewal of the treaty was "unilateral," and urged him not to hold any such discussion with Bangladesh without involving the West Bengal government. She also accused the BJP-led Centre of having a "Bangla-Birodhi (anti-Bengal) mindset" and claimed that the people of Bengal will "not remain silent" while their rights and resources are "bartered away."

"Without any consideration for the livelihoods of the people of Bengal, PM Narendra Modi is in the process of renewing the India-Bangladesh Farakka Treaty. This is yet another demonstration of the @BJP4India-led Centre's Bangla-Birodhi mindset," CM Mamata said in the meeting. "The people of Bengal will not remain silent while their rights and resources are bartered away by a government that has consistently shown contempt for their needs and aspirations," she added.

Under the Farakka Agreement, India and Bangladesh agreed to share the water of River Ganga at Farakka, a dam on the Bhagirathi River around 10 km from the Bangladesh border. The deal lapses in 2026.

(With ANI Inputs)