National 8 (Spotlight Weekly)

Joint Statement On Water Resources

Nepal and India agree on flood control and management. The two countries have agreed to prepare a comprehensive strategy on flood control and management and to constitute a joint task force (JTF) for this purpose.

The decision was reached at the two-day Secretary-level meeting of the Joint Committee on Water Resources of the two countries that concluded in New Delhi on October 8.

Following is the text of the Joint Statement issued on the occasion:

"The second meeting of India-Nepal Joint Committee on Water Resources was held on 7-8 October 2004 in New Delhi. Shri V.K. Duggal, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, led the Indian delegation and Mr. Mahendra Nath Aryal, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, His Majesty's Government of Nepal, led the Nepalese delegation. The meeting was held in a warm and cordial atmosphere. Both sides expressed satisfaction with progress on a wide range of issues at this meeting.

The two Secretaries drew attention to the decision of the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Prime Minister of Nepal Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba, during their meeting in Delhi in September 2004, to give priority to deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in water resources. The Secretaries decided to impart a new momentum to bilateral cooperation, including through regular and frequent meetings of the JCWR and various other bilateral forums in the water resources sector.

The JCWR recalled the mandate given by the two Prime Ministers to prepare a comprehensive strategy on flood control and management and agreed to constitute a joint task force for this purpose.

Recognizing the severity of floods this year and the suffering that it caused millions in both countries, the Committee directed the task force to prepare a comprehensive plan for the long term, and short-term strategy within three months for immediate implementation that would cover the most vulnerable areas along rivers in both countries.

The JCWR welcomed the recent opening of the Government of India-assisted Joint Project Office in Nepal for field investigations on Sapt Kosi High Dam-Sun Kosi Storage-cum-Diversion Projects. The two sides acknowledged that implementation of this project would bring immense flood control benefits, besides enhancing power, irrigation and navigational potential in the region.

The JCWR also agreed to consider, as part of long-term measures, technical options, including reservoir schemes, which could mitigate flooding problems from Kamala and Bagmati rivers. The flooding problems of Kamala will be taken up as part of the feasibility study of the Sun Kosi-Kamala Storage-cum-Diversion Scheme, and a preliminary study of the Bagmati problem will be conducted by the Sapt Kosi-Sun Kosi Joint Project Office. It also stressed that reforestation and conservation measures in Siwalik Hills in Nepal would have strong long-term
flood control benefits.

The JCWR adopted the jointly prepared Comprehensive Master Plan on Flood Forecasting and Warning and welcomed it as an important step in strengthening bilateral cooperation in flood management and mitigation.

The two delegations expressed satisfaction with the progress in strengthening mutual understanding on a set of inter-related issues relating to the preparation of the DPR of Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, including on the possibility of locating the re-regulating dam at Rupaligad and phased development of the 5600 MW capacity.

The Committee decided to constitute a small team of experts from both countries to submit a report to the JCWR by January 2005 on outstanding issues in order to accelerate the process of finalizing the DPR. Both sides expressed their governments' interest in early implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. The Indian side conveyed that the consultant for the implementation of the Tanakpur-Mahendranagar link road will be appointed shortly.

The JCWR welcomed the ongoing discussions between India's NHPC and Ministry of Water Resources, HMGN on the execution the 300 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project in Nepal, and expressed hope for its early implementation.

The Indian delegation reiterated its commitment to prepare the DPR for the 600 MW Burhi Gandaki project in Nepal and conveyed that the agency for preparing the DPR would be appointed soon.

The two delegations observed that collaboration between Indian and Nepalese enterprises for development of hydropower in Nepal would bring immense economic benefits to both countries. In this context, the two sides also reviewed steps needed for establishing the infrastructure for power transmission and power exchange between the two countries.

The JCWR further decided to re-activate the Karnali Coordination Committee to examine the possibility of implementing the Karnali(Chisapani) Multipurpose Project in Nepal.

The JCWR noted with appreciation the progress made in the meetings of Standing Committee on Inundation Problem and High Level Technical Committee, held in the last week of September 2004 in Kathmandu. The JCWR directed the two committees to look for technically feasible solutions for expeditious resolutions of outstanding issues, in a spirit of mutual understanding.

As part of its wide-ranging agenda, the JCWR also reviewed the work of other bilateral Standing Committee on Embankment Construction, Power Exchange Committee, Joint Committee on Kosi and Gandak Projects, etc.

The two Secretaries expressed their keenness to qualitatively transform bilateral cooperation in the water resources sector and agreed that this meeting has gone a long way in fulfilling the mandate given by the two Prime Ministers.

Mr. V.K. Duggal accepted the invitation by Mr. M.N. Aryal to visit Kathmandu for the next meeting India of JCWR in April 2005. The dates will be decided through diplomatic channels".

(Source: Press Information Bureau of India)