Daijiworld Media Network - Patna

Patna, Jan 14: Bringing an end to a nearly two-and-a-half-decade-long dispute, Bihar and Jharkhand have resolved the long-pending issue over the sharing of Sone River water, with the Bihar cabinet on Tuesday approving the draft agreement between the two states.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar. The agreement will be formally signed by the chief secretaries of Bihar and Jharkhand in the coming days, officials said.

The Bihar government has also formally informed the Centre about the development. Under the agreement, Bihar will receive 5.75 million acre feet (MAF) of water, while Jharkhand will get 2 MAF out of the total 7.75 MAF allocated to undivided Bihar under the Bansagar Accord of 1973, signed between Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and the then undivided state.

The breakthrough came during a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah in Ranchi on July 10 last year, where representatives of both states held detailed discussions to resolve the issue.

State cabinet secretariat department additional chief secretary Arvind Kumar Chaudhary said the cabinet approved the draft agreement issued by the Central Water Commission, adding that the settlement would clear the way for the construction of the Indrapuri reservoir.

The Bansagar dam, which plays a key role in the water-sharing arrangement, is located on the Sone river in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.