Bihar and Jharkhand Sign MoU Ending the 25-Year-Old Sone River Water-Sharing Dispute

2 September 2026National

Bihar and Jharkhand signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi on 31 August 2026 to share the waters of the Sone River, settling a dispute pending since Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in November 2000. Of the 7.75 million acre-feet (MAF) allotted to undivided Bihar under the 1973 Bansagar Agreement, Bihar will receive 5.75 MAF and Jharkhand 2 MAF. The pact was signed in the presence of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil, and Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary of Bihar and Hemant Soren of Jharkhand. It is the fourth inter-state water agreement of 2026.

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The Sone is the second-largest southern tributary of the Ganga after the Yamuna and rises near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh | Jharkhand was created as India's 28th state on 15 November 2000 | Inter-state river water disputes are adjudicated under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956

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