It needs to be clarified at the very onset that this treaty
is a highly political and technical document, with varying interpretations
being derived from it over the years by both India and Pakistan. These various
interpretations of the document by each country is the reason for the
controversies occurring over the past 50 years. The author is analysing and commenting
on the treaty from the point of view of an inhabitant of Jammu and Kashmir,
having lived in the state and his experience of working at one of the
“controversial” dams in this region.
The Indus Water Treaty [1] was signed between
India and Pakistan in September 1960 in Karachi. The treaty, at that time was considered
as a major breakthrough between the two countries. Other than India and
Pakistan, the World Bank served as the third party in this treaty. The treaty
is a water-sharing treaty of the rivers in the Indus river system. The Indus
river system consists of Jhelum, Indus and Chenab classified as “Western
Rivers” and Ravi, Sutlej and Beas classified as “Eastern Rivers” according to
the treaty. It is important to note that the Western rivers originate in the
state of Jammu and Kashmir (A disputed territory currently under Indian control
with a plebiscite resolution passed by the United Nation still pending [2]). The Eastern Rivers
on the other hand pass through the state of Punjab in India and into Pakistan.
Figure 1
Indus Water Treaty- Rivers and there Tributaries
The Indus Water Treaty divided the water rights between the
two countries. It is interesting to see that the water rights were not
distributed on the basis of volume of water but directly dividing the rivers
among the two countries. India was given almost exclusive rights over the
Eastern Rivers flowing in Punjab. Pakistan was given almost exclusive rights
over the Western rivers flowing from Jammu and Kashmir. If we look at this
division carefully, we realize a few important points
- India secured the water rights over three rivers
flowing through its mainland. Over the years a huge canal system has been built
over the entire area and it has been a major factor for ushering of the Green
Revolution in India starting in the early 1960’s.
- The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been hindered
from building of any storage dams and any significant canal network.
- Pakistan was given rights over the waters of a
disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which it will have to renegotiate if
the status of the territory changes in future. Pakistan also built a canal
network over its rivers to ensure that the water loss due to the Eastern Rivers
is compensated.
The treaty is a technical document consisting of 12 Articles
and 8 Annexures. Since the Treaty is quite elaborate and deals with many of the
legal issues surrounding it, we will focus primarily on issues related to
Hydropower generation, primarily covered under:
Article 3 “Provisions Regarding Western Rivers”
Article 4 “Provisions Regarding Eastern Rivers and Western
Rivers”
Annexure D “Agricultural Use by India from the Western Rivers”
Annexure E “Generation of Hydroelectric Power by India on the
Western Rivers”
Although it is evident that most of the articles and
annexures are inter-related and have implications on each other, the primary
focus will be on implications of this treaty on the growth and development of
hydropower in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Over the years there has been a
growing discontent among the people of Jammu and Kashmir regarding this treaty.
Article 3 states “Pakistan shall receive for unrestricted use
all those waters of the Western Rivers which India is under obligation to let
flow under the provisions of Paragraph (2)”. In Paragraph (2) it is mentioned
that India can use the water for generation of hydro-electric power, as set out
in annexure D. The Part 3 of this annexure D further states that any new
hydro-power project that is built on the Western Rivers shall be a
run-of-the-river project with no live storage. Thus no storage hydro-power
project can be built in the area. Also annexure D specifies guidelines for
various technical parameters required for the design of a run-of the-river
power plant. The treaty lays down the precedent that the hydrological data and
technical design information regarding the hydropower plants needs to be passed
to Pakistan by India within a stipulated time frame (6 months). Also if
Pakistan has any objections, it needs to respond within 3 months from the time
it receives this information. It also lays down an elaborate mechanism to
resolve any disputes that arise between the two countries within the framework
of this Treaty.
The region of Jammu and Kashmir is a mountainous area in the
Himalayan region with rivers primarily having high gradients and small flows,
and a high seasonal variance. No storage in the reservoir seriously limits the
hydro-power potential, especially during winters when the flow is quite less.
The total hydropower potential of Jammu and Kashmir is
estimated at around 20,000 MW [3] and less than 15% of
that has been realised till date.
Over the years disputes have occurred between the two
countries over the building of Hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir. The following
are the major disputes that have occurred in the past
Salal Project- The 690 MW Salal project was the
first controversial project. Pakistan raised concerns about the storage of the
dam and the various particulars of the design. Also it feared that India might
use this water reservoir strategically during war time. The issue was however
resolved and India agreed to decrease the height of the dam by 2 metres.
Tulbul Navigation
Project (Wullar Project) – The Wullar Project aimed at building a barrage at the
mouth of the Wullar lake and artificially increase the maximum storage capacity
by 300,000 acre feet. This was planned with the aim of making a part of the
Jhelum river navigable and provide more water to the Uri power projects in
Jammu and Kashmir in the lean season. The work was started in 1984. However it
was stopped in 1987 as Pakistan objected to it as it violated the Indus Water
Treaty provision that the “Incidental Storage Work” must not have a capacity of
more than 10,000 acre feet, which in this case was 30 times more.
Baglihar Power
Project- This
900 MW project on Chenab River is till date the most controversial project. It
was the first time that the two parties decided to involve a “Neutral Expert”
as stipulated in Article 9 of the treaty. Pakistan had raised many objections
regarding the height of dam, pondage level, height of gates, gate spillway and
elevation of tunnels. The neutral expert, Professor Raymond Lafitte of
Switzerland suggested some design changes and also suggested to decrease the
height of the Dam by 1.5 metres.
Also there have been disputes regarding other projects like
Kishenganga, Nemo-Bagzo etc which are currently going on and have not been
resolved till date. The Kishenganga project involves inter-tributary transfer
of water which according to Pakistan is a violation of the treaty. The issue
has been referred to the Court of Arbitration. The government of Jammu and
Kashmir has many other projects in the pipeline including some mega projects
like Bursar (1020 MW), Sawalkote (1200 MW) and Pakul-Dul (1000MW). The future course
of these projects is also uncertain as these projects will be affected by the
Indus Water Treaty.
An interesting fact to note is that when the Indus Water Treaty
was being signed between the two countries of India and Pakistan, there was no
representation from the people of Jammu and Kashmir, whose utilization of water
resources has been severely hampered by the treaty. Another point to note is
that Jammu and Kashmir till date has not been compensated by the government of
India for its losses due to this treaty. However recently in 2014, the JKSPDC
(Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation) has initiated steps for
“Quantification of Losses Suffered by J&K on Accounts of Indus Water
Treaty” [4] with aim of
demanding compensation for the losses the state has suffered over the years
from both India and Pakistan.
Jammu and Kashmir is a land locked area with hydropower as its
major resource. Inability to utilize this resource has caused a huge deficit
between the energy demand and supply. This has also resulted in lack of
industries in the area and the job scenario in the region is pretty dismal.
Indus Water Treaty affects every individual of the state of Jammu and Kashmir
in some way, and over the years people also have been demanding renegotiation
of this treaty, in order to take into account the interest of the state and its
people.
