Bihar, Jharkhand sign agreement on sharing Sone River water
Bihar and Jharkhand have signed a memorandum of understanding to resolve a 25-year-old water-sharing dispute regarding the Sone River. The agreement allocates specific water volumes to each state, aiming to improve irrigation and drinking water access for millions of residents.
Why it matters
This agreement highlights the effectiveness of cooperative federalism in resolving long-standing interstate resource conflicts in India.
Bihar and Jharkhand signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sharing Sone River water on Monday. The agreement was inked in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil.
Mr. Choudhary informed that a formal consensus has been reached to allocate 5.75 million acre-feet (MAF) of the river water to Bihar and 2 MAF to Jharkhand. The two States had a dispute over sharing 7.75 MAF of water allocated for the then undivided Bihar under a 1973 agreement.
Mr. Shah said the agreement had resolved a long-pending water dispute in eastern India. He said it would provide irrigation water to lakhs of farmers in rural Bihar and Jharkhand and drinking water for a large population.
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