The 38th Meeting of Ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission

The 38th Meeting of Ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission

Subject : Polity

Section:Federalism

Context: The 38th Meeting of the Ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was held in New Delhi on 25th August, 2022. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Jal Shakti.

Concept:

• The Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was constituted in the year 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common / border / transboundary rivers.
• India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which 7 rivers have been identified earlier for developing framework of water sharing agreements on priority.
• During the meeting, it has been agreed to widen this area of ongoing cooperation by including 8 more rivers for data exchange.
• One of the important areas of cooperation, where India has been assisting Bangladesh, is sharing of real time flood data.
•  Both sides finalized the text of MoU on Interim Water Sharing ofKushiyara river.
• Both sides also welcomed finalization of the design and location of water intake point on the Feni River to meet the drinking water needs of Sabroom town in Tripura as per the October 2019 India -Bangladesh MoU on this subject.