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Kosi Study Agreement 1997 By Dr. AB Thapa The Indus River Dispute
was the flash point in Indo-Pakistan conflict
soon after the independence. At that time
many feared that it was going to
end up into another war after the first
war over the control of Kashmir. Fortunately
the conflict was resolved to the full
satisfaction of both the countries. Politicians
of both the countries agreed to abide
by the recommendations of relevant experts who
had proposed comprehensive solution to the
problems at the roots of the Indus
dispute. The Kosi Study Agreement
1997 bears certain similarity to the way
the Indus dispute was resolved. There was
a complete departure from the earlier study
agreement signed between Nepal and India in
New Delhi in the presence of the
prime-ministers of both the countries that
covered only the Kosi high dam.. We tried to seek a
comprehensive solution to Kosi development problem. I
did my level best in my capacity as
the leader of Nepalese team assigned to
negotiate the agreement to present honestly
the new concept of Kosi development described
at length in a transparent way in my
study reports brought out well ahead of the
1997 meeting. The study to construct the
Kosi high dam is now firmly tied up
with the provision of a 165 km
long navigation canal out of it a 120 km
long section of such navigation canal
would be in Indian territory. The proposed
navigation canal would be linking Nepal with
the seaport through Ganges, Bhagirathi and
Hoogly rivers. The Kosi Study Agreement
1997 has shown beyond doubt that the
commencement of the construction of the Kosi
high dam would be contingent upon the
prior implementation of the Sun-Kosi high dam
project on technical grounds. The Sun-Kosi high dam
project, regarded to be benefiting almost
exclusively Nepal, prominently figured in
the talks to finalize the 1997 Study Agreement.
Indian side had wanted somehow to
exclude the Sun-Kosi dam project from the
Kosi development study. They did not want
to get bogged down into the relatively
big Sun-Kosi dam project Ultimately the
Indian side was convinced that it is no
more possible to sideline the prior
implementation of the Sun-Kosi dam project
despite the fact that it would be a
project to serve almost exclusively Nepal. They
realized the fact that the construction
of the Kosi dam would be further delayed
if the construction of the Sun-Kosi dam
project is not completed in time. As a
result, the Indian side even agreed to
provide financial assistance to carry out
expeditiously the detailed study of the
Sun-Kosi dam project also. A Complete Surprise
and Disbelief The 1997 meeting to
finalize the study agreement had completely
endorsed the concept of the Kosi
development described in my study reports
brought out well ahead of the meeting.
Unfortunately the news on the finalization of
the Kosi study agreement between Nepal and
India came as a bombshell in Nepalese
press because nobody was expecting that
we could make a breakthrough in
negotiation with India so quickly. I was
even personally criticized by some
politicians and news media alike on
suspicion of having compromised on the
Sun-Kosi project and inland navigation. However,
at that time nobody cared actually to
read the text of the study agreement.
Many people in Nepal never believe
that Nepal could ever be able to
negotiate a fair deal with India on water
resources. Quite often such concerns
might not be an exaggeration. We do not
mind participating in sensitive bilateral or
other important meetings virtually without
conducting prior homework. As a result we
land into great difficulties. At the Core of
Kosi Problems The Kosi river was
known as the “Sorrow of Bihar.” The
study of the Kosi high dam project was
commenced immediately after the Second World
War primarily to resolve the Kosi flood
problems. .. The Kosi river had shifted
laterally over a distance of about 120 km
from east to west within a period of
about 200 years. Embankments were built on
both sides of the Kosi about 50 years
ago. After that the lateral movement of
the Kosi river had come to a halt.
Now the Kosi river is flowing within
a narrow space confined between the two
embankments. The Kosi river bed particularly in
the stretch upstream of the barrage at
Hanumannagar is rapidly rising. The Kosi is on
the verge of shifting to the east.
Scientists are predicting that the Kosi would
again shift to the east far away from
its present course and might join the
Mahananda river which empties into the Ganges
in Bangladesh. Mr. F.A. Shilling Field who had
done study of the oscillation of the
Kosi channels for about 25 years had
made a forecast that the eastward movement
of the oscillation would probably be
accompanied with great loss of life and
property. This is the view echoed by
almost all scientists involved in the
Kosi study until now. India Underestimated
Flood Control Urgency Until few years back
Indian Government was seen to be drifting
away from the facts that it is absolutely
indispensable to provide storage dams in the
basin to control the Kosi flood
disasters. The Indian Government was saying
that the Kosi flood control problem has
already been resolved after the completion of
the construction of embankments on both
sides of the Kosi river. . So
right at the outset of the meeting held
in Kathmandu to finalize the Kosi Study
Agreement, I had to give a brief
presentation on Kosi flood problems. The
presentation was quite helpful in explaining
our viewpoint on Kosi development. Later on
in course of discussions the leader of
the Indian team expressed off the record
that from now on they are fully convinced
of the fact that the biggest benefit to
accrue from Kosi development would be the
flood control. Misunderstanding Over
Sun-Kosi Project Convincing Indian team to
accept our point of view on Sun-Kosi
development was the trickiest task The
Sun-Kosi dam project regarded to benefit almost
exclusively Nepal became a contentious topic
for considerably lengthy discussion. Indian
side had wanted somehow to exclude the
Sun-Kosi project from the Kosi development
study. They did not want to get bogged
down into the relatively big Sun-Kosi dam
project. Indian side had been saying all
along that it would not be necessary to
build the Sun-Kosi dam to irrigate lands
in Nepal Terai. They had proposed two
alternatives as described below. The first Indian proposal
to irrigate lands in Nepal Terai was
received in written form. It is proposed
to build a canal to deliver Kosi
water drawn near Chatra to irrigate lands as
far as Birjung in the west. It is
explained in the report “The Project ( Kosi
High Dam Project), therefore, envisages the
construction of a new barrage at Chatra
which would be 8 km downstream of the
proposed Kosi High Dam, with two high
level canals, one on each bank in Nepal.
These canals are expected to serve
one of the most fertile areas of the
Terai in Nepal. Preliminary assessment on the
basis of data available shows that it may
be possible to cover a gross command of
11.05 lakh ha on the right bank ( on
the western side of Kosi alone) 4.17 lakh
ha on the left bank. Another major
advantage of providing high level canals in
Nepal would be that dependence on smaller
rivers which are crossed by these canals
would not be necessary and it may be
possible to develop these rivers in an
integrated manner along with Kosi water……”
Indian side was explained that it would
not be advisable to provide such a long
contour canal because it could result in
widespread submergence inside Nepal. Indian
side was convinced and this option was
dropped. Leader of the Indian
team pointed out in the meeting that if
the height of the Kosi dam is further
raised, it would not be necessary to
build a separate Sun-Kosi dam at Kurule
to draw the Sun-Kosi water for
diversion into the Kamla river. The Indian
side had made such proposal on the
grounds that the Kosi reservoir would be
extending deep inside the Sun-Kosi valley
far beyond the dam site at Kurule
I was anticipating such counterproposal
from the Indian side Thus I was
able to explain them that the diversion
tunnel to deliver the Sun-Kosi water into
the Kamla would be quickly choked with
sediments being deposited in the upper reach
of the Kosi reservoir. Such phenomenon of
sediment deposition in the large storage
reservoir is well explained in the recent
studies carried out in India. Sediment Deposition and
Diversion Intake Studies carried out under
Dr. M.A. Chitale, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources
GOI in 1991 have come to the
conclusion that the silting takes place
not only in the dead storage but also
in the live storage of the reservoir. Such
silting is prominent near the mouth of
the river. The water level of the Kosi
storage reservoir could be expected to
fluctuate within a wide range of about 60
meters or even more. It would not
be possible to find appropriate location for
the tunnel intake to be provided to
deliver water from the Kosi reservoir into
the Kamla that would have to be at
the same time above the silting zone(
dead as well as live storage) and
also below the minimum operating .level
of the storage reservoir. Thus the Kosi
dam could not be a substitute for the
Sun-Kosi dam to divert Kosi basin water
into Kamla.. In Conclusion The Sunkosi development
has emerged as the most important project
for Nepal as well as India. This
project has become indispensable for
the safety of life and property of
millions in our region. The Kosi high dam along with a
navigation canal to link Nepal with the seaport is going to be a very big
project. It will take a very long time to implement such a mammoth
project. The Kosi River is now on the verge of shifting to the east. Fortunately
the Sun-Kosi dam could control the Kosi floods in the interim period
until the Kosi high dam would be completed. Luckily for us, the
Sun-Kosi dam project is also the
most attractive project. This project could
provide an excellent opportunity for swift growth
of our country's beleaguered economy. Moreover,
we might be able to implement this
project on our own without excessively increasing
the present level of foreign
assistance to our country. India would
be fully obliged to provide us every
possible help to implement this project in
time because at stake are the life and
property of millions in India. (Dr. Thapa writes on water resources) |
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