Ganga Water Treaty is ‘flawed’, needs to be updated: Bangladesh river expert
A Bangladeshi river expert has criticized the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty as flawed due to the lack of a guarantee clause and failure to account for climate change. He suggests a short-term replacement treaty that includes Nepal to better manage the river's ecosystem.
Why it matters
The potential expiration of the treaty in December necessitates a re-evaluation of water-sharing agreements between India and Bangladesh, with implications for regional environmental stability.
The 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty is “flawed” as it lacks a guarantee clause and does not account for factors like climate change impact, a leading Bangladesh river water expert has said. Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday (October 6, 2026), Manjur A. Chowdhury, former Chairman of the National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) of Bangladesh said the Treaty will expire in December and should be replaced by a short-term treaty of three years. This should be followed by a better researched trilateral treaty that also brings in Nepal since that nation’s rivers carry Himalayan snowmelt to the Ganga.
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