Route 1 54 rivers, only two under agreement → JRC idle since 2011 → water shared river by river, as volume → steps must move it to basin management

Route 2 what has failed is the frame, not the goodwill → each river negotiated separately, each deal a division of quantity → co-operation begins when the unit shifts from river to basin

institutional first: JRC revived, stronger mandate, mediation capacity (Raja Mohan) → procedural content: hydrological data exchange, joint feasibility studies for hydro sites, framework agreements on sharing / operation / disputes (Karim) → engineering reform: Farakka’s design ignored sediment → ecologically informed engineering + basin commissions with powers above the states (Nilanjan Ghosh)

commissions above the states collide with federal politics → Teesta framework fell in 2011 to West Bengal’s objections → five of its poorest districts live off the river → consent has to be carried, not overridden

Route 1 Muni: strategic interest not to be blocked by narrow domestic concerns → water linked to transit and trade → dividing volume becomes sharing benefit

Route 2 sequence the steps: data and institutions first, allocation last → a wider benefit is what makes the state’s consent affordable