A parliamentary standing committee on water resources has discussed Bangladesh’s national interests in the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty and expressed hope that the Padma Barrage project could be inaugurated in February 2027.

The second meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Water Resources, chaired by its chairman Mohammad Shafiqul Haque Milon, MP, was held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Wednesday.

The meeting discussed whether the existing Ganges treaty would continue or be renewed, but no final decision has yet been taken on the matter, according to a press release.

It was informed that the relevant process was ongoing.

The committee also discussed a proposed inspection of the Padma Barrage project site in Sujanagar upazila of Pabna district on October 25.

At the beginning of the meeting, the minutes of the committee’s first meeting were confirmed subject to amendments.

The committee then reviewed the implementation progress of two riverbank protection projects adopted at its previous meeting.

The projects are aimed at preventing erosion along the Brahmaputra and Jinjiram rivers in Jamalpur district, and protecting the left bank of the Jamuna River, the Old Brahmaputra River and the Alai River as they flow through the district.

Reports were also presented on the Barnoi River Re-excavation, Pollution Prevention and Encroachment Removal Project in Rajshahi and Natore districts.

The committee reviewed the rehabilitation of polders 67/A, 67, 67/B and 68 along the Naf River in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district. The project aims to improve border security along the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier and is being implemented under its second revised version.

The emergency maintenance and rehabilitation activities of the Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation Project were also discussed.

The committee examined the implementation progress of all the projects and reviewed the reports presented at the meeting.