Centre refutes Mamata Banerjee's claim on Ganga Water Treaty review

West Bengal was consulted on the review of the Ganga Water Treaty with Bangladesh, sources at the Centre said here on Monday, dismissing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that the state was kept out of the process.

The sources said the joint secretary (works) in the irrigation and waterways department of the West Bengal government conveyed in April the state's total demand for the next 30 years from the stretch downstream of the Farakka Barrage.

India and Bangladesh signed the Ganga Water Treaty in 1996. The 30-year treaty is due to expire in 2026 but may be extended by mutual agreement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that India and Bangladesh will begin technical-level talks for the renewal of the 1996 treaty.

In a letter to Modi, Banerjee had claimed that the decision to start talks for the renewal of the treaty was "unilateral" and urged the prime minister not to hold any such discussion with Bangladesh without involving the West Bengal government.

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