The Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan has been in limelight for so long that both the countries have kept the issue unresolved for political reasons. But the recent change in thinking has cropped in India’s political corridors with an ambitious plan to utilise its share of water from western tributaries of the Indus. It looks the decision driven by the geopolitics may see work begin on a major hydel project on the Chenab early next year. It is a long haul to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s September 27 decision to review water use within the ambit of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, but the government has prioritised three hydel projects on Chenab and its tributary -Sawalkot (1,856 MW), Pakal Dul (1,000 MW) and Bursar (800 MW) -in a time-bound manner. Building infrastructure on Indus, Chenab, Jhelum and their tributaries is a huge task but the short-listed projects are intended to express India’s political will and preparedness to respond to Pakistan’s use of terrorism against India with every option at its command including a new preparedness to use all possible leverage points. Maximising use of water must be priority. It is good that the government has sincerely moved to execute pending projects to legitimately use its share of water within IWT. The Centre has constantly been in touch with Jammu and Kashmir government for all necessary ground work. Execution of Sawalkot project is expected to start early next year. The under-construction Pakal Dul project has already received an impetus after the government displayed an urgency to complete it on time. The Sawalkot project envisages a 193-meter-high dam on Chenab for generating 1,856 MW. It will be constructed in two phases. Since 629 families consisting of 4,400 individuals are likely to be displaced, the state government has been working on a proper rehabilitation plan before actual work begins. The Bursar project will, however, take time before it gets clearances. As previous cost and viability calculations are revised in view of the political imperative, India could be looking to use as much of Indus water as it can by enhancing the storage capacity under the 1960 treaty which permits storage capacities on the western rivers up to 3.6 million acre feet (MAF) for various purpose including domestic use.
