Abstract
AbstractThis article reviews the relationship between Nepal and India, particularly in water resources cooperation. The two South Asian neighbours have entered into a number of agreements/treaties in water resources, namely, Sarada Agreement (1920), Kosi Agreement (1954), Gandak Agreement (1959) and Mahakali Treaty (1996). Nepal is criticized within the country for being unable to secure its benefits, and that all the agreements are in India's favour. However, the Indian side claims that overpoliticization of water issues in Nepal is the reason for not achieving the benefits from these agreements. Since the Mahakali Treaty, there has been deadlock in Nepal–India water cooperation as the implementation of the treaty has not materialized even after more than two decades since its ratification. Therefore, all the forms of cooperation in the past between Nepal and India can be viewed as the consequence of hydro-hegemony rather than mutuality. The article concludes that both nations need to move forward to create mutual trust for the equitable utilization of water resources, as there is huge potential for constructive cooperation.
Highlights
Nepal is a small landlocked country in South Asia surrounded by India in the east, south, and west and China in the north
Hydro-hegemony may produce unfair outcomes; but it may produce the stability that mitigates the prospect of water conflict, as the weaker party may choose to comply with the hegemony’s direction for reasons other than its apparent or immediate best interest in the matter (Hanasz, 2014)
The control over water resources is not achieved through violence but rather consent, which is gained through a suite of often subtle mechanisms (Zeitoun et al, 2011)
Summary
Nepal is a small landlocked country in South Asia surrounded by India in the east, south, and west and China in the north. The Gandak Agreement signed between Nepal and India in 1959 (amended on April 30, 1964) permitted the latter to build a barrage on the Gandak River at Bhaisalotan (Balmiki Nagar) for the purposes of irrigation in both nations and the construction of a hydroelectric power plant. It reaffirmed the Nepalese sovereignty, on Tanakpur, over 2.9 ha land needed for building the eastern afflux bund as well as the 9 ha of pondage area, for the unilaterally constructed hydroelectric power plant of India with 120 MW capacity. The Columbia River Treaty is an international agreement between Canada and the United States of America signed in 1961, to coordinate flood control and optimize hydroelectric energy production in both countries. The example from Itaipu suggests that trading Nepal’s surplus energy to India may not be the ultimate idea for economic prosperity
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