Patna: At its 11th meeting held over the past two days, the India-Nepal Joint Committee on the Kosi and Gandak Projects (JCKGP) resolved several long-pending issues related to the Kosi and Gandak barrages along the India-Nepal border. The two countries also agreed that municipalities and village bodies on the Nepal side will not levy taxes on Kosi project vehicles using service roads along the afflux bunds of the Kosi barrage.“Nepal agreed to take steps to ensure that local municipalities and gram palikas do not levy taxes on vehicles associated with the Kosi barrage project, as such charges are not in line with the India-Nepal agreement,” a Bihar water resources department communique said on Saturday.On the other hand, India agreed to take appropriate steps to address waterlogging and improve drainage in the command areas of the Kosi main canal of the Birpur barrage across the Kosi and the Valmiki Nagar barrage on the Gandak. Joint teams from both sides will conduct inspections of affected areas before initiating the necessary measures.Nepal also said the list of works to be undertaken should be shared regularly. India agreed to this and said it would provide the list via email, along with satellite imagery as requested by the Nepal side. They also agreed to take steps to keep the river’s main channel centred within its flow.For its part, India apprised them that as per the barrage gate operational manual, efforts are always made to keep the main channel at the centre of the river. Moreover, in the pre-flood season this year, the shoal loosening work is underway in the upstream of the river on the other side of the barrage, and the work is being also done on the 2.5 km pilot channel along the downstream.The Indian delegation was led by Bihar water resources department principal secretary Santosh Kumar Mall, while that of Nepal was led by their water resources and irrigation department director general Mitra Baral. India also had officers from the Union Jalshakti ministry, besides several Bihar officers and engineers of the WRD.The issues that figured at the talks were related to the 35-km stretch of the Kosi main canal that lies in Nepal, the eastern and western afflux bandhs of Birpur barrage on Kosi and embankments. The need to remove encroachments from the Gandak barrage area and main western canal was raised to which Nepal agreed. Nepal also gave its consent to shift electric poles from the bund of the western Kosi canal, so that the service road on it could be made free and the canal strengthening work could also be taken up.Nepal also gave its consent to India’s proposal to round-the-clock movement of materials to conduct anti-erosion work in the wildlife sanctuary area along the eastern Kosi afflux bund. Both the sides also agreed to the boundary fixation of the leased land of the Kosi barrage by the GPS technique and its completion on the ground within a time framework.The two teams also mutually agreed to create feasible structures on the Kosi barrage, or to find other ways to control the speed of the vehicles moving on the barrage. Nepal also consented to taking steps to stop the practice of fishing on the Kosi barrage or to carry woods on it.
