THF. FORD FOUNDATION 26b 



Mr. Roger Revelle -2- July T, 196? 



Hanson goes on to say: 



"I can add one observation which may be under-played in 

 Revelle 's paper, and actually favors his argument. He 

 observes that in his initial review, the advantages seem 

 to accrue largely to India. If one looks only at water 

 storage and controlled irrigation, this is true. 



"But i^kistan is just now realizing that the annual 

 flooding of SA o^ i'ts rice land in East Pakistan to a 

 depth of 10 inches up to 25 feet is the biggest obstacle 

 to agricultural improvement, and any system of flood 

 control, whether by upstream dams, or by poltering, 

 would be the first condition for a really great break- 

 through in food production, Revelle 's proposals for up- 

 stream dams might provide this desired effect. East 

 Pakistan estimated that SA of its floods come over the 

 border from India, and are not the result of rainfall 

 within Pakistan. 



"Dutch advisors presently in East Pakistan are advising 

 a massive program of polters (dike enclosures) comparable 

 to the Dutch reclamation of the Zuyder Zee. There is no 

 economic cost/benefit study yet. 



"Moreover, the Pakistanis have just begun to attack India 

 in the UN for its construction of Farakka Dam in West 

 Bengal, which will deprive East Pakistan of down-stream 

 irrigation water on a project called the Ganges -KobadaJc, 

 which is a very costly pumping system for lifting Ganges 

 water into raised canals in East Pakistan, and intended 

 to serve 250,000 acres. 



"Thus, the opening blows are being struck now for a dia- 

 logue on this India-Pakistan water problem in the east, 

 counterbalancing the Indus Basin treaty for West Pakistan, 

 reached in I960 . Revelle ' s paper could be a very useful 

 contribution." 



Although we agree with Hanson that the political moment is not 

 ripe and that the World Bank is a more suitable place for such a project 

 to be initiated, none of this affects our view that you have got hold of 

 something very interesting which could be, as Hanson says, a most useful 

 contribution. 



Sincerely, 



Eugene S. Staples 

 Deputy 



