Question: How can the water-sharing arrangement between India and Bangladesh exemplify cooperative federalism? (150 Words, 10 Marks)

🔹 Shared Institutional Mechanisms
 

• Joint Rivers Commission (JRC):
   
  • Platform for regular dialogue (e.g., March 2025 meeting in Kolkata).
     
  • Promotes technical transparency and participatory decision-making.
    
     

🔹 Common Goals and Shared Resources
 

• Water Security & Ecosystem Protection:
   
  • Joint management ensures sustainable use of Ganga, Teesta, and Feni rivers.
     
• Addressing Riparian Concerns:
   
  • Treaty assures minimum flows to Bangladesh during dry season – balancing upstream/downstream rights.
     

🔹 Regional Trust Building
 

• Inter-State and International Model:
   
  • Treaty echoes India’s internal federal water-sharing practices (e.g., Cauvery tribunal).
     
  • Reinforces South Asian cooperative federalism in transboundary river governance

 

Conclusion:

Such arrangements go beyond treaties—they embody principles of shared responsibility, trust, and democratic negotiation, core to cooperative federalism.