The Rising Tide: Rethinking India-Nepal Water Agreements Post 2024 Floods

Nestled in the Himalayas, Nepal, is a home to the headwaters of several significant rivers that flow into India. The Mahakali and Koshi Rivers prove to be the lifelines for both India and Nepal. These rivers support agriculture, hydropower and livelihoods. However, managing these rivers has been a challenge due to uneven power dynamics, increasing climate change and natural disasters, mainly floods.

As the skies above Nepal unleashed their torrential wrath during the monsoon season in 2024, the ripple effects of these floods have surged far beyond its borders. As both India and Nepal grapple the turbulent waters of both the Mahakali and Koshi rivers, it adds new layers of complexity to an age-old challenge about the transboundary river management between the two nations.

The recent floods in September, cannot be ignored as they are a force of nature, reminding both India and Nepal that water is not just a resource to be divided but acts as a lifeline that is shaped by the ever-changing forces of nature. Further with the rising water levels, damaged infrastructure and altered river flow patterns, these floods have highlighted the fragility of transboundary river management systems within South Asia. The rising water levels, submerged farmlands and displaced communities. These floods have underscored the urgent need to revisit and reinforce Nepal’s long-standing water-sharing treaties with its southern neighbour.

The Koshi Agreement signed in 1954 and the Mahakali Treaty signed in 1996 were treaties designed to regulate the joint use of these two rivers in order to control floods, increase irrigation and generate hydropower. Yet, the 2024 floods have exposed the weaknesses within these agreements, as both the countries have struggled to manage the rivers in ways that equitably serve their needs.

The Mahakali Treaty, which intended to ensure the equitable sharing of the Mahakali River also known as the Sarda River in India. The treaty cantered around the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, a massive dam envisioned to generate hydropower and control floods. However, despite being signed over three decades, this project remains largely unimplemented and is greatly hampered due to political disagreements and technical challenges among the two nations.

As floodwaters surged along the Mahakali River, they inundated vast areas on both sides of the border, emphasising the urgent need for robust flood-control infrastructure. The absence of the long-delayed Pancheshwar dam has left communities vulnerable, prompting Nepalese officials to call for renewed efforts to realize the treaty’s promises.

Critics in Nepal have long voiced their concerns that the Mahakali Treaty favours India, with unequal sharing of the river’s resources and the delayed implementation of key projects like that of Pancheshwar. Now that the floodwaters recede, the Nepalese officials have intensified calls for urging both nations for a renewed focus on the treaty’s implementation, demanding that both nations work together to expedite the project and enhance flood control measures.

Another major concern between the two countries is the River Koshi, which is one of the largest tributaries of the Ganga (Ganges) River. The Koshi River has historically proven to flood the Indian state of Bihar.

The Koshi Agreement signed in 1954, allowed the construction of the Koshi Barrage in Nepal to control floods and provide irrigation to both countries. However, the 2024 floods have once again exposed the limitations of this arrangement. In the wake of the floods, criticism in Nepal regarding the agreement’s perceived inequities. The Koshi barrage, which is controlled by India, has failed to safeguard Nepal’s Terai region, where villages and farms were submerged under several feet of water during the recent deluge. Thus, with worsened flood risks in Nepal, leading to calls for a revaluation of the agreement. The issues of silt buildup in the river and insufficient maintenance of the barrage have compounded the problem, leading to increased flood risks in Nepal.

However, as communities recover, there are renewed calls for a revaluation of the Koshi Agreement to ensure that both nations’ interests are addressed more equitably.

The 2024 floods have reinforced the need for enhanced cooperation between Nepal and India in order to manage shared rivers more effectively. Beyond immediate flood mitigation efforts, both India and Nepal must not only address the immediate challenges of flood mitigation but also the long-term impacts of climate change, which is expected to bring more erratic and intense weather in the coming years.

The 2024 floods have highlighted the inadequacy of current water-sharing treaties between India and Nepal, which experts say no longer address the growing challenges of climate change. Joint river basin management could improve coordination on critical infrastructure projects like dams and barrages, helping both nations equitably share water and mitigate flood risks. For Nepal, this crisis presents an opportunity to renegotiate terms with India and push for a more balanced approach. As both countries recover, there is a growing understanding that water must be managed cooperatively, as a shared resource essential to their future.

(The author is an educationalist. Views personal)