Farakka Water Treaty is set to expire in 2026A silent deadline is approaching in South Asia

After placing the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance, India is considering various options to review and amend a landmark treaty with Bangladesh on sharing waters of Ganga.

The Indo–Bangladesh Farakka Water Treaty is set to expire in 2026 and with it ends one of the most sensitive water-sharing arrangements in the region.

The agreement governs how the waters of the Ganga are shared during the crucial dry season through the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal.

Here’s where the stakes rise. Once the treaty lapses, the next government in Bangladesh will have to renegotiate its renewal — not with a neutral table, but directly with the Government of India led by Narendra Modi.

Until a new agreement is signed, India will no longer be under a legal obligation to share water under the existing framework.

According to sources, New Delhi is looking for a new treaty that reflects its current development needs.

Indo–Bangladesh Farakka Water Treaty

The Indo–Bangladesh Farakka Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996, by then Indian Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

It was meant to end decades of friction over the Ganga’s dry season flows after India built the Farakka Barrage in 1975 to divert water to the Hooghly river and protect Kolkata port.

This water treaty laid out a formula to divide the flow of the Ganges at Farakka Barrage in West Bengal during the crucial dry season from January 1 to May 31 every year.

People said there is a need to rethink the treaty to ensure optimum balance in water sharing between West Bengal and Bangladesh. India is seeking a revision of the treaty as per its requirements of irrigation, port maintenance, and power generation.

The 1996 treaty's aim on sharing the waters at Farakka was to settle differences over entitlement to the river's water flows between India and Bangladesh.

These differences emerged after the commissioning of the Farakka barrage in 1975 to divert water from the Ganges to the Hooghly River to maintain the Calcutta port's navigability.

Under the treaty, the upper riparian state, India, and lower riparian, Bangladesh, agreed to share the Ganges water at Farakka - a dam built on river Bhagirathi, around 10 km from the Bangladesh border.

The Farakka Barrage was built to divert 40,000 cusecs of water into a feeder canal for the Kolkata Port Trust. Under the current arrangement, 35,000 cusecs of water are provided alternately for 10 days each to both countries during the lean season - from March 11 to May 11. India is desiring 30,000 to 35,000 cusecs more during the same period to meet its emerging requirements, people said.

The West Bengal government is also understood to share the Centre's stand on the issue and is of the opinion that the current provisions of the treaty do not meet its requirements.

Negotiation begins 

India and Bangladesh have begun the formal process of renewing the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty, an agreement signed in 1996 that will expire in December this year. As part of the preparatory exercise, teams from both sides have started joint measurements of water flow in the Ganga in India and the Padma in Bangladesh.

These measurements will be taken every ten days until May 31, covering the critical dry season when water availability becomes a politically sensitive issue.

Officials from India’s Central Water Commission are currently in Bangladesh, while a Bangladeshi technical team is in India. Water levels are being recorded near the Farakka Barrage and upstream of the Hardinge Bridge, the two reference points used under the treaty.

Bangladeshi officials have said “special attention” is being given to the security of Indian officials, citing growing anti India sentiment in the country.

Why it will not be easy this time

This isn’t just about rivers — it’s about leverage, diplomacy, and timing. Water treaties shape agriculture, power generation, and political stability, especially during lean months.

The expiry shifts the balance from automatic obligation to active negotiation, giving New Delhi significant strategic room.

In South Asia, borders aren’t the only lines that matter. Rivers are leverage. Treaties are power. And 2026 is closer than it looks.

Note that; Under the treaty, water sharing is calculated using historical flow data from 1949 to 1988. If flows at Farakka fall below 70,000 cusecs, the two sides split the water equally. Above that, India receives a fixed amount before the surplus goes to Bangladesh.

Crucially, there is no minimum guarantee clause. If flows drop below 50,000 cusecs, the treaty merely calls for consultations, leaving Bangladesh dependent on diplomatic goodwill rather than enforceable rights.

Dhaka has long complained that India does not adhere to even these provisions. Bangladeshi experts claim that during several dry seasons, especially between March 11 and May 10 when demand peaks, the country received less water than stipulated. India, they argue, offsets shortfalls by releasing excess water in other periods and still declares compliance.

These allegations have fuelled domestic criticism in Bangladesh and hardened its negotiating posture.

From India’s perspective, the treaty has functioned through established mechanisms like the Joint Rivers Commission, which met for the 86th time in Kolkata in March 2025. New Delhi also has to factor in the concerns of Indian states, particularly West Bengal, whose approval is essential for any renewal. The state’s past opposition to the Teesta agreement serves as a reminder of how internal politics can derail bilateral deals.

As talks move forward, Bangladesh is pushing to reopen the treaty on climate change grounds, flooding, droughts and ecological risks to the Sundarbans.

India, however, sees many of these claims as politically driven attempts to extract more water without acknowledging upstream realities.

With mistrust high and anti-India rhetoric growing in Dhaka, renewing the Ganga Water Treaty is shaping up to be less about cooperation and more about managing Bangladesh’s persistent grievances.