The Times of India
May 21, 2013
Even as China has expressed its willingness to share hydrological information on the Brahmaputra with India, civil society groups in the northeast demanded that both Beijing and New Delhi should establish an independent international commission on water for better management of trans-boundary rivers and recognize the rights of indigenous people.
The Northeast Dialogue Forum (NDF), a conglomeration of over 20 human rights and anti-dam organisations in the region, has categorically said besides the independent international commission on water, the two sides should develop a management mechanism to share water among China’s Tibet, India’s northeast and Bangladesh by respecting the rights of the indigenous people.
In its “Dimapur declaration on water and indigenous communities’ rights”, NDF asked both the countries to recognize indigenous peoples’ rights over water, especially in the northeast, before making any intervention in trans-boundary rivers. “Any decision for intervention on water bodies, especially trans-boundary rivers passing through the northeast such as Brahmaputra and Barak River systems, should be with due recognition of the rights,” the NDF said in the declaration.
On the sharing of hydrological data pact signed during Chinese premier Li Keqiang visit, Guwahati-based NGO Jana Jagriti, which is against dam construction on the Brahmaputra in Tibet region by China, claimed that the agreement lacked transparency.
“We are demanding stopping of dam construction in the upper reaches of Brahmaputra and its tributaries by China as the northeast is going to suffer the most,” said Jana Jagriti president Ashokananda Singhal.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, however, thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for taking up the matter of construction of dams by China on the Brahmaputra with his Chinese counterpart. Gogoi said he has raised the concern with PM recently over the impact on water flow of trans-border rivers because of dam construction on the Brahmaputra by China. The chief minister added that the PM had also raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Durban BRICS summit in March this year.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his speech, said he had raised the issue of India’s concerns about the effects on lower riparians due to activities in the upper reaches of trans-boundary rivers with Chinese premier Li.
“It would be useful for the mandate of our expert level mechanism to be expanded to include information sharing on upstream development projects on these rivers. I am glad that we have agreed to expand cooperation on trans-border rivers. It would also be useful for India and China to collaborate on a better understanding of the stresses on our shared Himalayan eco-system,” the PM said.
