PATNA, Jan. 20 -- Bihar is expected to be allocated 900 cusecs of water during the lean season (January- May) to meet its drinking water and industrial demands as recommended in the final report of internal committee formed to review the 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty between India and Bangladesh, which is set to expire by end of this year. The allocation of water under a proposed new treaty would partially help Bihar as water would be available in drought-prone areas of South Bihar during lean season, top officials in the state government said. Talks between India government and Bangladesh are underway for renewing the treaty or inking a fresh treaty as the present treaty would be valid till December 12, 2026. An internal committee by the ministry of Jal Shakti , Union government, has been formed to review the 1996 treaty and formulate India's strategy for its renewal beyond 2026, officials in the state water resources department (WRD) said. The treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 between India and Bangladesh to share the Ganga water at Farakka barrage. It was valid for 30 years and set to expire on December 12, 2026. The treaty governs the international sharing of water between India and Bangladesh at Farakka during the lean season (January-May) based on availability and not internal allocation, officials said. There is no separate formal allocation of water for Bihar under the present treaty. Sources said the Bihar government had demanded 2,000 cusecs of water under the proposed new treaty for drinking and industrial requirements but the internal committee has recommended 900 cusecs for Bihar. There have been meetings going on between state WRD and Union ministry of Jal Shakti to discuss various aspects of the arrangement of the Ganga water sharing, as Bihar is one of the main stakeholders in the arrangement as Ganga flows through the state from upstream to the downstream into Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the river is known as Padma. "Bihar has sought 2,000 cusecs of water under the proposed new Indo-Bangladesh treaty of Ganga water-sharing at Farakka. But 900 cusecs of water has been recommended for Bihar for drinking water and industrial requirement during the lean season (January-May) as per the final report of the internal committee formed to look into the new water sharing treaty," said Santosh Kumar Mall, principal secretary, water resources department, Bihar. Significantly, the proposed allocation of water under the new treaty would partially help the state as it would facilitate availability of water to drought-prone districts of south Bihar. "The new proposed allocation to Bihar as recommended by the internal committee would provide water to the drought-prone areas of South Bihar during the lean season. That would be beneficial for the state in some ways," said Mall. The Bihar government has long sought the overhaul of the 1996 treaty that, state leaders rued, did more harm to the state than it brought benefits: the state faced acute shortage of water during the lean season while during the rainy season, it harms the state as overflowing water flooded many areas . Even chief minister Nitish Kumar , on many occasions, has raised the issue that Farakka barrage had led to siltation in Ganga and advocated the need for desiltation to mitigate the perennial problem of floods in Bihar. The Farakka barrage was built across Ganga at Farakka in Murshidabad (West Bengal) in 1975 for diverting a portion of water to river Hoogly mainly to keep the Kolkata port navigable and also to flush out sedimentation apart from other purposes like irrigation, etc. Later, the barrage served to regulate water distribution under the 1996 treaty. Meanwhile, reacting to the ongoing talks over renewing the 'Farakka treaty' (1996's treaty other name) and reports of Bihar likely to be allocated 900 cusecs of water under the proposed new treaty, WRD minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said that the state government would put its demand for availability of water by keeping Bihar's own interests in mind. "Water of Ganga is flowing from upstream and through Bihar to Farakka downstream. There is a need for retaining it as suits our needs. All aspects of availability of water and other issues would be discussed in the interest of the state under the proposed new treaty," Chaudhary said. Officials said that the draft of the new proposed treaty is yet to be published and the duration of the new or renewed treaty will be only clear once both the countries (India and Bangladesh) agree on the terms....