(a) whether the Union Government has joined hands with Nepal and Bangladesh by
creating a working group for maximum utilization and sharing of Ganga water;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether this co-operation with these countries proposes to chalk out a
project of building dams on the Ganga; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF WATER RESOURCES (SHRI HARISH RAWAT)
(a) to (d) During the visit of Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to
Bangladesh in September 2011, both sides agreed to harness advantages of regional
and sub-regional cooperation in power, water resources, transport and other forms
of connectivity, food security, education, environment and sustainable development
to mutual advantage. Further, during the visit of External Affairs Minister Shri
Salman Khurshid to Bangladesh in February 2013, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr.
Dipu Moni invited India to participate in the Joint Working Groups on Power and
Water resources and on Connectivity and Transit between Bangladesh-India-Bhutan
and Bangladesh-India-Nepal for exploratory discussions. Accordingly, first
meetings of the India-Bangladesh-Bhutan Working Groups were held on 18-19 April
2013 in Dhaka, which discussed the overall framework of cooperation for this sub-
regional initiative. The meeting of Bangladesh-India-Nepal working group has not
yet taken place, hence overall frame work of cooperation for sub-regional
initiatives amongst these three countries remains unexplored.