The utility of Farakka Barrage?

The recent proposal by Bihar's Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar to demolish the Farakka barrage caught attention both in Bangladesh and India. Many environmentalists in India are giving a thumbs up to the proposal while also raising concerns about potential damage to river ecosystems should such demolition of the barrage actually take place. Environmentalists in Bangladesh, on the other hand, have been demanding the decommissioning of the Farakka Barrage for a long time. They have also been asking the government of Bangladesh to demand compensation from the government of India for the loss incurred due to salinity ingress caused by the decline in water and sediment flow to coastal plain in Bangladesh.

Most of the write-ups in the Indian news media are only concerned with the well-being of ecosystems and the economy within India. Some of the environmentalists are raising concerns about the future of the newly proposed 105 national waterways in case water levels decline in the Ganges due to potential decommissioning of the Farakka Barrage. In a recent opinion piece in The Wire, Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar writes, "On the other hand, the experts have also cautioned that such a desiltation policy would require careful monitoring and supervision to ensure that the ecosystem of the river is not damaged. The environmentalists are also fearful that unmindful dredging of the Ganga and other rivers may be allowed under this pretence, as the Centre is also planning to create 105 national waterways for which a certain depth will be required in all the rivers for vessels to pass through."

After reading the opinion pieces written by some Indian environmentalists on the Farakka barrage issue, one leaves with the impression that the Ganges River is fully owned by India and it only flows within the territory of India. Opinion pieces, like the one written by Bhatnagar, sound like as though the decision to build or remove a barrage and to prepare a national silt management plan on the Ganges within India will have no consequences on downstream Bangladesh.

It is, however, heartening to see that Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), in his blog post titled "A tale of two dams: Is Bihar's unprecedented flood an avoidable man-made disaster?", posted on August 23, recognises the fact that" Farakka barrage has led to drainage congestion in the upstream, has led to increase in Ganga river bed level in upstream areas and also has reduced the carrying capacity of the river." He also points out the need to "institute an independent review of usefulness of the Farakka barrage, its costs, benefits and impacts in the upstream and downstream. The review must look into all options including operational and structural decommissioning of the barrage." I hope that the environmentalists in India will think more like global citizens who view the environmental issues from a systematic perspective, as opposed to assessing the issues from a national point of view. We can also hope that they will advocate for a partnership among co-riparian nations in managing water and silt in all transboundary rivers within the GBM basins, because these rivers impacts the life, livelihood, economics, and ecosystems in upstream and downstream regions that are outside the geographic confines of India.

Himanshu Thakkar highlighted very important aspects of the natural delta building process in his post while also claiming: "Today we do not seem to understand or appreciate the role silt and sediment plays in the functioning of our rivers and river basins. This neglect is playing havoc with our rivers and also river basins, right up to fertile plains and deltas, which are shrinking and sinking due to silt not reaching the deltas. So while deltas are deprived of silt that is necessary for their survival, the same silt and sand is creating havoc in the upstream riverbeds and reservoirs." While this statement would be true of any delta in the world, it is illusive and falls short in acknowledging the fact that the delta building process that is being hampered by reduction of silt and water flow in the Ganges River is the one that is located in downstream Bangladesh. Also, it should be pointed out that geoscientists all over the world recognise the role of silt and sediment in the functioning of river ecosystems and the delta building process. The Bengal delta, of which Bangladesh is a part, has been created by deposition of river-borne sediments. A delta can only grow seaward and upward against a rising sea level when river-borne sediment influx is adequate. Two-thirds of the sediment supply to Bangladesh is carried by the Ganges and its tributaries. The water and sediment carried by the Ganges is therefore vital to the existence of the country. Adequate flow of the Ganges River is vital for such basic functions as irrigation and navigation, as well as to preserve fisheries and other components of Bangladesh's ecosystem.

The Farakka barrage has been a major obstacle in India-Bangladesh friendship since its inception. The economy and environment in downstream Bangladesh have suffered tremendous losses due to the lack of natural flow in the Ganges River. The Bengal delta in Bangladesh has suffered accelerated rates of erosion and submergence due to decline in sediment flow from 2 billion tonnes/years in the 1960s to about 1 billion tons/year in recent decades.

The life and livelihood of over 40 million people in Bangladesh directly depend on the flow of the Ganges, and the natural delta building process completely depends on the water and sediment flow to the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Since the Ganges is a transboundary river, and since the Farakka Barrage has a direct impact on downstream Bangladesh, it would be expected that any decision to desilt, or decommission, or demolish the Farakka Barrage would involve the government of Bangladesh and other co-riparian nations. In addition, there exists the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996, which requires a bilateral decision on the management of the Ganges River and her tributaries. 

In this backdrop, the real question that begs an answer is: Will the government of India listen to the CM of Bihar Mr. Nitish Kumar and demolish the Farakka Barrage? We will have to wait for an official statement, and most importantly, the plan of action put forward by the central government of India before an answer can be found. However, based on the positions already taken by environmentalists in India, it is not clear if they are supporting the proposal because it will be beneficial for the people and the environment of India, or because it will be the right thing to do for all people and ecosystems in the Ganges basin. If the latter is the case, then it will be expected that the government of India will take initiatives to involve all stakeholders in the Ganges basin in all phases of the decision making process about the future of the Farakka Barrage and all transboundary rivers, because this is what is expected in light of the existing Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996 and the UN Convention on the Laws of Non-navigational Uses of International Water Courses 1997.

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The writer is Professor of the Department of Geology & Physics, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA 17745, USA. E-mail: mkhalequ@lhup.edu.