The Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan met for the first time in over two years in New Delhi in a bid to resolve a host of outstanding issues under the Indus Waters Treaty, including Pakistan’s objections to the design of Indian hydropower projects on the Chenab river. India is building the 1,000 MW Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Project on river Marusudar, a tributary of the Chenab. The project is located in Kishtwar district of Jammu & Kashmir. The second project, Lower Kalnai, is being developed on the Chenab river.

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On September 19, 1960, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which were mediated by the World Bank, was signed between India and Pakistan to share waters from the Indus rivers system (IRS). Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru went to Karachi, the then capital of Pakistan to sign the Indus Waters Treaty along with the Pakistani head of state, General Ayub Khan. The vice president of the World Bank, W.A.B. Iliff also signed the document.

                     The IWT allocates waters from three western flowing rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab – to Pakistan barring some limited uses for India in Jammu & Kashmir. India was given control of the entire water from the other three rivers – Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.

                      India would be under obligation to let flow the waters of the Western Rivers except for the following usage (Article-III):- i. Domestic Use; ii. Non-consumptive use; iii. Agricultural use as specified; iv. Generation of hydro-electric power as specified.

                       The treaty also established the Permanent Indus Commission, made up of one Commissioner of Indus Waters from each country. The two Commissioners would meet annually in order to establish and promote 7 cooperative arrangements for the treaty implementation; promote cooperation between the Parties in the development of the waters of the Indus system; examine and resolve by agreement any question that may arise between the Parties concerning interpretation or implementation of the Treaty; submit an annual report to the two governments.

                        In case of a dispute, provisions were made to appoint a “neutral expert.” If the neutral expert fails to resolve the dispute, negotiators can be appointed by each side to meet with one or more mutually agreed upon mediators. If either side (or the mediator) views mediated agreement as unlikely, provisions are included for the convening of a Court of Arbitration. In addition, the treaty calls for either party, if it undertakes any engineering works on any of the tributaries, to notify the other of its plans and to provide any data which may be requested.

            The growing number of multipurpose hydropower projects by India on the IRS rivers to effectively manage the available waters and generate electricity has become a cause for tension, between two nations. The issue of the Salal dam emerged in 1970 and was resolved by the two countries in 1978.The second one was over Baglihar dam which they settled in 2007; among latest objections by Pakistan was dispute over Kishanganga Hydro Electricity Project (KHEP).

Through leakage from India’s various water storage facilities – due to not fully stopping the flow of the tributaries of Ravi South West of Madhopur Head works, namely, Ujh, Basantar, Bein and Tarnah, and not utilising her full quota of Western river storage – plenty of water which belongs to India under the provisions of the IWT is flowing into Pakistan. Early Completion of Water Retaining Structures and Power Projects will ensure that the infrastructure which needs to be developed to fully harness the capacity as provisioned under the IWT.