NEW DELHI: India has set up a high-powered committee to examine the restoration and future management of the Teesta Barrage Project (TBP) in West Bengal, a move that comes amid growing Chinese involvement in Bangladesh’s plans for the Teesta River. The panel will assess current water utilisation, future demand and management of the river basin, including the impact of climate change, while also examining measures to strengthen the barrage and associated infrastructure, sources said.
The 12-member committee, constituted on July 10 and chaired by the Chairman of the Central Water Commission, has been given six months to submit its report. It includes representatives of Sikkim and West Bengal at the Joint Secretary level or equivalent. The Joint Detailed Technical Study, which brings together stakeholders for preparation of a Teesta River Basin Comprehensive Management Plan, held its first meeting on August 6.
The timing of the exercise is significant. During Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to China in June, Beijing agreed to support Dhaka’s plans for management and restoration of the Teesta, including technical cooperation. Bangladesh has also sought Chinese involvement in a long-pending Teesta project aimed at improving flood control, irrigation, river navigation and dry-season water availability.
China has described its cooperation with Bangladesh on the river as not being directed at any third country.
Rahman has subsequently described the Teesta Barrage Master Plan as a national priority and said it would be implemented “at any cost.” The development has added a geopolitical dimension to what has long been a water-management issue involving India and Bangladesh, given that the Teesta originates in the Himalayas, flows through Sikkim and West Bengal and then enters Bangladesh.
India’s committee has been tasked with looking beyond the existing barrage infrastructure. Its mandate includes examining siltation, water availability and augmentation, present water use and future demand, besides proposing climate-resilient strategies. It will also study regulatory measures governing releases from upstream dams and storage facilities, including the Gajaldoba Barrage, and ways to increase the carrying capacity of the Teesta and its drainage channels.