Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of the Republic of India on sharing of the Ganges waters at Farakka and on augmenting its flows.

The Treaty establishes arrangements for sharing by mutual agreement the waters of the international rivers flowing through the territories of the two countries and of making the optimum utilisation of the water resources of their region in the fields of flood management, irrigation, river basin development and generation of hydro-power for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries. The sharing between Bangladesh and India of the Ganges waters will be at Farakka from the 1st January to the 31st May every year will be with reference to the quantum shown in column 2 of the Schedule annexed hereto which is based on 75% availability calculated from the recorded flows of the Ganges at Farakka from 1948 to 1973. India shall release to Bangladesh waters by 10-day periods in quantum shown in column 4 of the Schedule: Provided that if the actual availability at Farakka of the Ganges waters during a 10-day period is higher or lower than the quantum shown in column 2 of the Schedule it shall be shared in the proportion applicable to that period; Provided further that if during a particular 10-day period, the Ganges flows at Farakka come down to such a level that the share of Bangladesh is lower than 80% of the value shown in column 4, the release of waters to Bangladesh during that 10-day period shall not fall below 80 percent of the value shown in column 4 of Annexes.
The two Governments recognise the need to cooperate with each other in finding a solution to the long-term problem of augmenting the flows of the Ganges during the dry season.