Early Times Report
JAMMU, May 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated two hydroelectric projects in Jammu & Kashmir much against the wishes of Pakistan, which considers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab waters its sole preserve. He inaugurated the 330-MW Kishanganga hydel station in Bandipore in Kashmir and laid the foundation of the 1,000-MW Pakul Dul project in Kishtwar in Jammu. It was obvious that the Prime Minister expressed his government's intent to follow through his decision to review water use within the ambit of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.
But more than that, the inauguration of two hydroelectric projects, one each in Jammu province and Kashmir region, indicated the Government of India's political will to respond to Pakistan's use of terrorism against India with every option at its command, including using in full India's share of water from western tributaries of the Indus, as possible leverage points.
The bold decision taken to maximize water use was taken after four Pakistan-backed militants attacked the Indian Army base at Uri in Jammu, killing 18 soldiers on September 18, 2016. "Blood and water cannot flow together", Modi had told a meeting of government officials on the Indus treaty 11 days later. His message to Pakistan was clear: "Stop backing terror attacks on India or lose the liberal water flow in excess of the treaty's provisions at present".
Soon after that decision, three hydel projects on Chenab and its tributary - Sawalkote (1,856 MW), Pakal Dul (1,000 MW) and Bursar (800 MW) - were fast-tracked. Building infrastructure on Indus, Chenab, Jhelum and their tributaries is, it needs to be underlined, a part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government's plan to utilize India's share of water from western tributaries of the Indus.
It also bears recalling that most of the projects proposed on the Indus and its tributaries had been held up for at least a decade awaiting clearances. Sawalkote, which was cleared by a government-constituted environment committee in January 2017, was first given techno-economic approval in 1991. Pakal Dul was stuck in litigation, which has now been resolved.
The inauguration of two hydroelectric projects by PM Narendra Modi has rattled Pakistan. Islamabad on Sunday said that it would approach the World Bank and register its complaint against India that it had violated the Indus Water Treaty.
A report said: "Pakistan's water supply is dwindling because of climate change, outdated farming techniques and an exploding population. A 2011 report by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said India could use these projects as a way to control Pakistan's supplies from the Indus, seen as its jugular vein. The cumulative effect of these projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit the supply to Pakistan at crucial moments in the growing season". |
