The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Bihar and Jharkhand on sharing of Sone River water, resolving a 25-year-old water dispute in eastern India. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, Union Home Secretary, and senior officials from both state governments and the central government in attendance.
This agreement will provide irrigation water to millions of farmers across vast rural areas of both states while ensuring access to drinking water for the population. Specifically in Bihar, water will be available across eight districts: Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Arwal, Gaya, and Patna. In Jharkhand, the Palamu, Garhwa, and other regions will benefit from irrigation and drinking water availability.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah characterized this as the fourth water agreement between states facilitated this year through the Inter-State Council under his initiative, representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Team Bharat' and cooperative federalism. The previous agreements include: the July 7, 2026 settlement among Narmada Award beneficiary states (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh) regarding outstanding payments for Sardar Sarovar Project construction costs through one-time settlement; the June 29, 2026 agreement between Rajasthan and Haryana regarding construction and implementation of Yamuna Water Project involving approximately 580 MCM of water conveyance via three underground pipelines from Western Yamuna Canal to Rajasthan; and the June 16, 2026 consensus on Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project among Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan, where the Central Government will provide 90% funding for the water component as central assistance with states bearing the remaining 10%, and water allocated to Himachal Pradesh will be transferred to Delhi and Rajasthan in exchange for sharing the power component costs.
Chief Ministers of both Jharkhand and Bihar expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah for resolving the Sone River water sharing issue, which exemplifies how long-pending interstate disputes can be resolved through dialogue and cooperative federalism.