New Delhi [India], August 31 (ANI): With an settlement signed on the sharing of Sone River water within the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah within the nationwide capital, resolving a 25-year-long-awaited water dispute in jap India, Bihar’s eight districts and Jharkhand’s two key districts, amongst different areas in these states, will now have entry to irrigation and ingesting water.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would guarantee the provision of satisfactory water for ingesting and irrigation to a big inhabitants throughout the districts of Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Arwal, Gaya, and Patna in Bihar. Moreover, water would develop into obtainable for irrigation and ingesting functions within the Palamu, Garhwa, and different areas of Jharkhand.
As the settlement was signed within the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren, Shah mentioned it’ll present irrigation water to lakhs of farmers in giant rural areas of each the states, together with ingesting water for the folks.
The minister additional mentioned that ‘points regarding huge geographical areas, farmers, rural areas, and ingesting water provides in each states have been completely resolved at this time.’
The Sone River water dispute was a 25-year-long sharing disagreement between Bihar and Jharkhand over the allocation of Sone River water originating from the 1973 Bansagar Agreement. When Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000, Jharkhand demanded a proper, outlined share of that water.
The Sone is a perennial river that rises within the Amarkantak hills of Madhya Pradesh and traverses round 784 km throughout Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar earlier than merging with the Ganga at Koilwar close to Patna. The river performs a vital position in Bihar’s irrigation community by way of the Sone canal system and helps agriculture throughout a number of districts within the state’s southern and central areas.
The distribution of Sone waters has been ruled since 1973 by the tripartite Bansagar Accord involving Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and undivided Bihar. Under the settlement, undivided Bihar was allotted 7.75 million-acre-feet (MAF) of water.
The challenge gained prominence after Jharkhand was created out of Bihar in November 2000, with a portion of the Sone basin falling throughout the newly fashioned state. However, the water entitlement initially assigned to ‘Bihar’ underneath the Bansagar Accord was by no means formally apportioned between Bihar and Jharkhand. Jharkhand subsequently started searching for a clearly outlined share of the allocation quickly after its formation.
‘Today’s settlement between Bihar and Jharkhand has resolved a long-awaited water dispute in jap India. The settlement reached at this time concerning the sharing of the Sone River’s waters is a wonderful instance of the ‘Team Bharat’ imaginative and prescient and cooperative federalism championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,’ Shah mentioned after the signing of the MoU.
He mentioned that whereas all states possess their very own distinct identities, in the event that they transfer ahead as ‘Team Bharat’ throughout the nationwide context, there is no such thing as a downside which can’t be resolved.
Union Home Minister mentioned the MoU marks the fourth water settlement between states this yr, which can improve water availability for irrigation, rural growth, and ingesting functions. He added that ‘the settlement reached at this time to resolve the almost 25-year-old water dispute between Bihar and Jharkhand exemplifies that any downside may be solved by way of dialogue performed with the spirit of cooperative federalism.’
As per the MHA, Jharkhand and Bihar chief ministers expressed their gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah for resolving the problem of Sone River water sharing.
On the initiative of the Home Minister, long-pending water disputes between varied states that had been unresolved for a number of many years are being resolved by way of the Inter-State Council; up to now this yr, 4 historic agreements have been reached.
On July 7, 2026, a historic settlement concerning the settlement of excellent funds was signed among the many ‘Narmada Award’ beneficiary states Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh within the presence of the Union Home Minister. This settlement marks a milestone in resolving long-standing disputes amongst these states regarding cost-sharing for the development of the Sardar Sarovar Project, with the excellent dues being resolved by way of a one-time settlement.
On June 29, 2026, a major settlement was signed between the governments of Rajasthan and Haryana concerning the development and implementation of the Yamuna Water Project. Under this settlement, roughly 580 MCM of water will likely be conveyed from the Yamuna Canal to Rajasthan by way of three underground pipelines.
The mission goals to ship Rajasthan’s share of Yamuna water from the Western Yamuna Canal by way of these underground pipelines. This will allow Rajasthan to successfully utilise the water allotted to it underneath the 1994 settlement concerning the sharing of usable floor water within the Upper Yamuna Basin. The mission will guarantee a steady provide of ingesting water to the arid and low-rainfall areas of Rajasthan and foster socio-economic growth, thereby benefiting hundreds of thousands of individuals.
On June 16, 2026, a consensus was reached among the many involved states concerning the long-pending ‘Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project’ throughout a vital assembly held in New Delhi underneath the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. During the assembly, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan agreed to an MoU for the implementation of the ‘Kishau Multipurpose Project.’
Regarding the mission, the Central authorities will present 90 per cent of the funding for the water part as central help, whereas the six states will bear the monetary burden of the remaining 10 per cent. An settlement was reached to allocate the water assigned to Himachal Pradesh to Delhi and Rajasthan in trade for sharing the price of the mission’s energy part.
Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Union Home Secretary, and senior officers from the Central authorities and each states have been current through the signing of the MoU on Monday. (ANI)