Bihar and Jharkhand on Monday signed an MoU  to share 7.75 million acre-feet of water from the Sone River, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, “permanently resolving” the nearly 25-year-old water dispute between the two states, officials said.

Shah said the agreement would ensure adequate irrigation and drinking water for large populations in Bihar and Jharkhand. “It will directly benefit lakhs of farmers in both states and give new momentum to the development of rural areas,” he said.