The Hindu : National : Payment by Indian farmers not for water: Bhutan official

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006

National

National

Payment by Indian farmers not for water: Bhutan official

Sangay Dorji, Dzongdag (District Commissioner), Samdrup Jongkhar, Bhutan, writes:

Please refer to the article, ``Indian farmers paying tax to Bhutan'' ( The Hindu , March 19, 2006) wherein it was mentioned that Indian farmers have been paying taxes to the Royal Government of Bhutan for using water from rivers flowing from the Himalayan Kingdom into India to irrigate their paddy fields. In this connection, we would like to clarify that the payment made by the Indian farmers is not for water but for the construction of reservoirs, storage and conveyance structures of water within the Bhutanese territory, namely a `Water Guide Bund Rent' and not a tax.

Hence, it may be informed that Water Guide Bund Rent charged was for the land occupied by the wide and lengthy channels, big reservoirs and pipes of various sizes taken through towns and cultivated land deep inside the Bhutanese territory.

Further, these reservoirs and irrigation channels often burst and the overflow water causes great damage to the land and the standing crops inside the Bhutanese territory during the monsoon.

However, in view of the importance of water to our neighbours in Assam, India, and the excellent relations between our two peoples, neither the affected owners nor the authorities in Bhutan have made them an issue.

Beneficiaries

It may be reminded that the majority of the beneficiaries have not paid the Water Guide Bund Rent for many years. Nevertheless, the local authorities in Bhutan have not insisted on the payment of the same, given the good neighbourly relationship existing between the two countries.

The said issue was also raised by the authorities of the bordering districts of Assam, India, with their counterparts in Bhutan.

Accordingly, the Bhutanese counterparts have agreed to suspend the collection of the same from the year 2004.

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