Nearly Three Decades On, Mahakali irrigation Canal Still Dry

Nearly three decades after Nepal and India signed the Mahakali Treaty, water has yet to flow through the main canal of the Mahakali Irrigation Project Phase III, raising questions about the implementation of one of the country’s most significant bilateral water agreements.

Under the treaty, India is required to release 1,000 cusecs of water during the monsoon and 300 cusecs in the dry season from the Tanakpur Barrage to Nepal. Although Nepal has constructed irrigation infrastructure in anticipation of the release, regular and consistent water flow has not materialised. India has released water only twice on a trial basis, project officials say.

Despite the lack of assured water, the project has continued construction and built several auxiliary canals while repeatedly urging full implementation of the treaty. Uncertainty over water release from the Tanakpur Barrage, however, continues to cloud the future of the project.

Read: Mahakali Irrigation Project Sees Only 22 Percent Physical Progress in 18 Years

Launched around 18 years ago as a national pride project, the Mahakali Irrigation Project aims to provide irrigation to 33,520 hectares of land in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts. So far, the project has achieved 27 percent physical progress, with an investment of about Rs 9 billion.

Project Engineer Rajesh Pokhrel said the project office has written to the concerned ministry seeking facilitation to ensure water release from India, but without concrete results. “Whenever we contact the Indian side, we are told that water will be released only after instructions from the higher level,” he said, stressing the need for political-level intervention.

Former Sudurpashchim Province minister and Provincial Assembly member Prakash Rawal said the federal government must treat irrigation for farmers as a priority. “There is still uncertainty over when water will flow through the main canal and reach farmers’ fields,” he said.

Mahendranagar-based social worker Leela Dhwaj Basnet said the treaty was signed hastily without adequate study, the consequences of which are now evident. He urged the federal government to take the issue seriously and ensure effective enforcement of the agreement.

Farmers in the project area continue to rely on groundwater and rainfall for cultivation. Bhim Chaudhary, a farmer from Bedkot Municipality, said hopes raised by the much-hyped project have yet to be fulfilled. “Years have passed with the expectation that irrigation would be available from the Mahakali project, but there is still no sign of it,” he said.

The Mahakali Treaty between Nepal and India was signed in 1996. -- RSS