Historic Son River Water-Sharing Pact Resolves 25-Year Bihar-Jharkhand Dispute

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, the Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers, Union Home Secretary and senior officials from the Centre and both states were present on the occasion.

New Delhi: In a significant development, Bihar and Jharkhand on Sunday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sharing of Son River water in the presence of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The agreement is expected to resolve a long-pending water dispute between the two eastern states and improve irrigation and drinking water availability across large rural areas.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, the Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers, Union Home Secretary and senior officials from the Centre and both states were present on the occasion.
Amit Shah said the agreement would provide water for irrigation to millions of farmers in large rural areas of Bihar and Jharkhand while also helping meet drinking water requirements. He described the pact as an example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Team Bharat” and cooperative federalism.
Shah said the resolution of the nearly 25-year-old dispute demonstrated that sustained dialogue and cooperation between states could resolve even long-standing issues. He said people in Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Arwal, Gaya and Patna districts of Bihar would benefit from improved water availability. In Jharkhand, Palamu, Garhwa and adjoining areas are expected to gain better access to water for irrigation and drinking purposes.
Both Chief Ministers thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for facilitating the resolution.
The agreement is part of a series of inter-state water-related settlements pursued through the Inter-State Council mechanism this year. These include agreements related to the Kishau Multipurpose Project, the Yamuna water project between Rajasthan and Haryana, and the settlement of long-pending financial issues concerning the Narmada project.
The Son River pact is being viewed as a major step towards strengthening irrigation, rural development and drinking water security in Bihar and Jharkhand.