Bihar cabinet clears Sone river water-sharing pact with Jharkhand

Patna/Ranchi: The Bihar cabinet on Tuesday approved the resolution of the long-pending interstate dispute with Jharkhand over the sharing of Sone river water, a move that clears the decks for the construction of the Indrapuri reservoir in Rohtas district. The decision follows an agreement reached with Jharkhand at the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Ranchi and is expected to boost irrigation in south Bihar.

Under the resolution, Bihar will receive 5.75 million acre feet (MAF) of Sone river water while Jharkhand will get 2 MAF. The agreement has been welcomed by some quarters in Jharkhand as a pragmatic settlement of a dispute that dates back to the state’s formation.


As per the Vansagar agreement signed in 1973 between Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and undivided Bihar, Bihar was entitled to 7.75 MAF of Sone river water. However, after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in Nov 2000, the sharing of the allotted water became contentious. The matter was finally resolved at the Eastern Zonal Council meeting held in Ranchi on July 10 last year, chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah, where Bihar’s case was presented by deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and water resources department minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, cabinet secretariat department additional chief secretary Arvind Kumar Choudhary said, “The resolution of the dispute has cleared the main obstacle and paved the way for the construction of the long-pending Indrapuri reservoir in Rohtas district.” He added that water from the reservoir would be used to irrigate land in eight districts — Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Patna, Gaya and Arwal.

When contacted, Jharkhand water resources minister Hafizul Hassan said he had just learned about the decision and would comment after taking proper feedback. Water resources department secretary Prashant Kumar could not be reached for comment. Former chief engineer of the department in Jharkhand, Vijay Shankar, who retired in April last year, welcomed the move. “It was a long-fought battle between the two states. The issue cropped up after the formation of Jharkhand,” he said. Explaining the background, he added, “As per the original norms, Bihar was already using 5.5 MAF. We were fighting for the remaining capacity, but the matter dragged on. Ultimately, the power to decide rested with the Central Water Commission. Later, at the highest levels, the govt decided to cede some claims in the larger interest. Whatever decision has been taken is welcome for both states.” Another source said the sharing formula had been agreed upon during the last eastern zonal council meeting in Ranchi.

The Bihar cabinet also cleared a series of other proposals. It sanctioned Rs 138.82 crore for acquiring 50.0004 acres of land near Darbhanga airport for developing a logistics park and cargo hub to boost air cargo movement of agricultural and agro-based products from Mithila and north Bihar. The cabinet approved the creation of 956 new posts across departments, sanctioned Rs 314 crore for constructing Bihar Bhavan in Mumbai, and cleared funds for CCTV installation and infrastructure upgrades in the state’s jails.

Further approvals included industrial investment proposals in Begusarai, Vaishali and Rohtas districts, distribution of professional tax proceeds among urban local bodies, funding under PM Shree Yojana for implementing NEP-2020 in selected schools, road widening projects in Supaul district and allotment of houses from the central pool to eligible public representatives.