Written question asked by Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative) on Thursday, 22 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 March 2012. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Monday, 16 April 2012 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

India

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of the construction of the Teepaimukh Dam in India on people living in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh; what representations he has made to the Indian government regarding their compliance with the 1997 UN Convention on non-navigable watercourses; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Government are aware of concerns about the Teepaimukh Dam and the effect its construction may have on people living in Bangladesh. The UK has not made any formal representations on this to the Indian Government. However the Department for International Development is already supporting discussions between both countries and others in the region about sharing the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra and their tributaries through the South Asia Water Initiative. We are looking at what else we could be doing to support a good resolution of the issues through our programmes.The 1997 UN Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of Watercourses has not entered into-force to date as too few countries have either ratified or acceded to this convention. The UK has not ratified nor acceded to the convention and neither has India or Bangladesh. As a consequence, they are not legally bound by the provisions in the convention.

Secondary information