Padma Barrage Project gets final approval from ECNEC

The Padma Barrage Project has received final approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) with a proposed budget of approximately 33,474 crore taka. This decision marks a significant government initiative to address long-standing water, agriculture, and biodiversity challenges in the country’s southwest region.

The approval came during the ECNEC meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on May 13 at the Secretariat’s Cabinet Room. The project was listed as item number 11 out of 16 projects presented for review.

Although the project was previously brought before ECNEC several times, including during the caretaker government period, it had not received approval until now.

Officials state that around 37 percent of the country’s population will directly benefit once the project is executed. It is expected to reduce salinity in water, revive nearly dead rivers, and positively impact agriculture, fisheries, and the environment.

India constructed the Farakka Barrage in 1975 on the Ganges to divert 35,000 to 40,000 cubic feet of water per second into the Hooghly River for navigation improvement of the Kolkata port. This diversion has drastically reduced the flow of the Padma River in Bangladesh, causing severe drying of rivers in the south-west and north-west regions, such as Hisna-Mathabhanga, Gorai-Madhumati, Chandana-Barashia, Ichhamati, and Boral.

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To shield Bangladesh from the detrimental effects of the Farakka Barrage, the government is now prioritizing the Padma Barrage project. The Ministry of Water Resources estimates the total project cost at 50,443 crore taka.

The primary goal is to preserve and regulate the Padma River’s water during dry seasons, ensuring the flow of fresh water into the southwest and northwest river systems.

However, a significant uncertainty remains due to geopolitical issues surrounding India's Farakka Barrage. The current water-sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh, signed in 1996, is set to expire in December this year.

Sources highlight that since the 1970s, the Farakka Barrage’s water diversion has severely reduced natural Padma River flow during dry seasons, increasing salinity in surrounding rivers. This rise in salinity threatens agriculture, fisheries, forestry, navigation, drinking water availability, and the delicate biodiversity of the Sundarbans, damaging the overall ecosystem.