Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she would “give priority” to India in implementing the “Teesta project”, an assertion that will gladden New Delhi at a time China is eyeing the $1-billion project for the conservation and management of the transboundary river.

Hasina made her preference for India over China clear on Sunday evening while replying to a question on the river project, in which New Delhi too is interested.
She was addressing a news conference on her return from a four-day bilateral visit to Beijing.

“The Teesta project is a longstanding issue. We will have to implement the Teesta project. China has made an offer and conducted a feasibility study. India also has made an offer. India will also conduct a feasibility study, and then we will accept the one that (is) rational for us,” Hasina said.

“But I will give priority to India for the project,” she added. “...India holds back
the Teesta’s waters. If we want to realise (a share of the Teesta’s) waters, India should implement the project.... This is diplomacy. There is no hide ’n’ seek about this; it’s simple and clear.”

Diplomatic circles in both Dhaka and Delhi were keenly watching whether Bangladesh and China engaged in any discussions on the Teesta — which flows through Sikkim and Bengal before entering Bangladesh — though it was not on the agenda. It could not be independently confirmed whether the Teesta featured in the diplomatic dialogue.

“It seems increasingly evident that India is more likely to be involved in the Teesta conservation and management project, which will be a win-win for both countries,” said Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, former foreign secretary of Bangladesh.

Multiple issues — from Beijing’s $2-billion financial assistance to Bangladesh to Chinese cooperation in creating infrastructure in the country — were discussed during Hasina’s China visit, which included a meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during Hasina’s India visit last month announced New Delhi’s intention to carry out a conservation and management project for the Teesta. Since then, the project, first proposed by China four years ago, has become a key pillar in India’s hydro-diplomacy with Bangladesh.

Modi’s offer came days after Hasina had told the Bangladesh national assembly that she had asked the government departments concerned to look into the Chinese proposal. These comments suggested she might be thinking of giving the project to China, a possibility that kept diplomatic circles agog ahead of Hasina’s China visit --- for three reasons.

First, it would signal the failure of India’s hydro-diplomacy. Second, it would lead to Chinese presence within 100km of the Chicken’s Neck, the narrow strip of land in north Bengal that connects the Northeast with the rest of India. Third, Chinese authorities would have access to sensitive information on water flow in the region.

Hasina’s latest comment would soothe the taut nerves in New Delhi, which has been trying to find an alternative to a water-sharing agreement on the Teesta, stuck since 2011 because of resistance from Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Hasina’s comment seemed to underline the contents of the shared-vision statement that she and Modi had unveiled during her India visit.

“…We will also undertake conservation and management of Teesta River inside Bangladesh with Indian assistance within a mutually agreed time frame,” the statement had said.

The phrase “inside Bangladesh” held the key, a source in New Delhi said.

“Unlike water sharing, for which the Centre needs the concurrence of the Bengal government, it can go ahead implementing the project inside Bangladesh freely,” the source said.

Sources said India had already initiated steps to carry out the project, which will include the augmentation of water in the Teesta from the Dharala (known as Jaldhaka on the Indian side) and the Brahmaputra.

“India is opening an assistant high commission in Rangpur, the division through which the Teesta enters Bangladesh,” a source said. “It seems this office will be used to oversee the implementation of the project. Pranay Kumar Verma, the Indian high commissioner, has visited Rangpur several times to assess the ground situation.”