Mohammad Jamil
According to a national daily report, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued orders to change direction of River Chenab to Indian River Beas, and complete the under-construction Jaspa Dam on war-footing, which is violation of Indus Water Treaty. If completed it would make River Chenab dry from Marala Head to Trimo, render that part of the river completely dry or substantially reduce the water. According to India, the treaty allows India to draw power from the rivers and that would mean storing some water to flush the silt that is accumulated in the power projects. This was not originally an issue in 1960 as it was not thought out. According to Pakistan, the treaty doesn’t allow India to store water and “rob” Pakistan of its water. When Indus Water Commissioner Mirza asif Beg was contacted by the daily, he said that he was not aware; however he promised to investigate the matter.
Pakistan in the past has been the loser because of such lackadaisicalness on the part of Pakistani officials. Kishanganga project was planned by India before 2005; and since then many meetings were held between India and Pakistan officials but without any results. In 2010, Pakistan had appealed to the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCoA), complaining that the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant violates the Indus River Treaty by increasing the catchment of the Jhelum River and depriving Pakistan of its water rights. In June 2011, the PCoA visited both the Kishanganga and Neelum-Jhelum Projects. In August 2011, they ordered India to submit more technical data on the project. India had previously reduced the height of the dam from 98 m (322 ft) to 37 m (121 ft). In February 2013 The Hague ruled that India could divert a minimum of water for their project.
The problem is that by being engaged in negotiations with Pakistan, India cunningly secures sufficient time to continue the unnoticed construction of its controversial dams. For that reason India balks at the indulgence of third party in all water related issues between both the countries, and instead it insists on bilateral talks. Earlier, Pakistan had invoked article IX of 1960 Indus Basin Water Treaty due to inconclusive talks on Baglihar dam. The World Bank had nominated the arbitrator with the consent of both the countries, but the verdict was in favor of India. The treaty prohibits the two countries from undertaking any obstruction to cause change in the volume of daily flow of water, and in concrete terms bars India, being upper riparian state, from constructing any reservoirs on the western rivers except for limited storage to control floods.
Any construction on the Neelum river upstream will affect power generation capacity of Pakistan’s Neelam-Jhelum power project in which Pakistan has already invested 71 million rupees. Experts say that the Kishanganga dam could reduce Pakistan’s total water availability from an estimated 154 MAF to about 140 MAF per year. It would also leave significant portion of the Mangla dam’s storage capacity unutilized. It is also feared that the diversion would result in an ecological disaster for the area. Unfortunately many rounds of talks on Kishanganga dam ended without producing any fruitful results. India has constructed about 45 dams, big and small, on Chenab and Jhelum rivers.
India’s stance on Kishanganga Project is that it is meant for power generation, and no canal would be dug out to take water from the dam for irrigation purposes, and that the withheld water would be released to Pakistan after using for power generation. The question is who will guarantee that no canal will be taken out, and that the flow of water will not be disturbed. There is a perception that India has planned these violations of Indus Basin Treaty to create water shortages and to sow seeds of disharmony between Pakistan’s provinces, as they are already embroiled in the nasty wrangle over water distribution due to water shortages. The international community should not turn a blind to India’s machinations because of its size and 1.2 billion population, as the region is already considered a flashpoint in regard to Kashmir dispute.
As to the Nimoo-Bazgo dam project, Pakistan itself decided not to pursue it, mainly because it is small scale and comes under the exclusion clause of the treaty: Pak not to challenge Indian Nimoo-Bazgo dam in ICA. India is getting undue advantage in construction of Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects following delay from Islamabad in approaching World Bank for appointment of a neutral expert to resolve the dispute between two countries. Indus Water Commission had raised serious objections on the projects being built by India in Occupied Kashmir and termed them violation of Indus Water Treaty. A year ago it had announced to approach the World Bank for arbitration which is broker of the treaty. Sources said Indus Water Commission of the country had prepared the case but delay was at government’s end. This situation is favoring India, as Kishanganga project (330MW) is at final stage of construction.
It has been designed to divert water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the River Jhelum Basin. The multipurpose dam is located 5km north of Bandipore in Occupied Kashmir. Ratle project (850MW) is located at River Chenab and it would take a year and a half for completion. An official water expert said that if India managed to construct Ratle Hydropower Project on Chenab under its existing objectionable design, the water flow of Chenab river at Head Marala would be reduced by 40 percent which would be disastrous for irrigation in (Pakistani) Punjab and Sindh provinces.”The government is not looking serious in taking the case against India at international level. The situation has turned like in the case of Baglihar Dam,” said sources. Pakistan had lost that case at international court for its failure to take up the matter on time.
