Context
- Bihar and Jharkhand have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to resolve a 25-year-old inter-state dispute over sharing the Sone River waters.
- The division of water allocated to undivided Bihar under the 1973 Bansagar Agreement.
Strategic Significance
- Storage & Hydropower: The pact removes legal bottlenecks for constructing the long-pending Indrapuri Reservoir (between Garhwa, Jharkhand and Rohtas, Bihar) along with a proposed 300 MW hydroelectric project.
- River Linking & Drought Relief: Accelerates the proposed Sone–Falgu river link, boosting irrigation and drinking water security in drought-prone districts of South Bihar (Bhojpur, Rohtas, Gaya) and Jharkhand (Palamu, Garhwa).
About Sone River
- Originates near Amarkantak Hills (Maikal Range) in Chhattisgarh/MP border, just east of the Narmada River’s source.
- It flows through Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.
- Joins the Ganga River on its right bank near Maner (Patna district, Bihar).
- It is the second-largest southern (right-bank) tributary of the Ganga, after the Yamuna.
Key Tributaries:
- Right-bank: Rihand, North Koel, Kanhar, Gopad.
- Left-bank: Johilla, Ghaghar, Chhoti Mahanadi.
- Major Water Infrastructure:
- Bansagar Dam: Located in Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh.
- Indrapuri Barrage: Located at Dehri-on-Sone (Rohtas, Bihar), feeds the extensive Sone Canal System.
- Rihand Dam (Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar): Built on the Rihand River, a chief tributary of the Sone.
| Important Current To Concept from This Article for UPSC Sone River |
Q. With reference to the Sone River system, consider the following statements:
1. It is the largest right-bank tributary of the Ganga River system.
2. It originates near the Amarkantak Plateau, close to the source of the Narmada River.
3. Rihand and North Koel are major right-bank tributaries of the Sone River.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
• Statement 1 is Incorrect: Yamuna is the largest right-bank tributary of the Ganga. The Sone is the second-largest southern (right-bank) tributary.
• Statement 2 is Correct: Sone originates near the Amarkantak Plateau in Anuppur district, Madhya Pradesh, in close geographic proximity to the source of the Narmada River.
• Statement 3 is Correct: Both the Rihand (which feeds the Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar) and the North Koel are major right-bank (southern) tributaries joining the Sone.