India is going to take the initiative to build a dam on the Chandrabhaga (Chenab) river in the Indus Valley to intensify the battle over the sharing of river waters and put pressure on Pakistan. For this, they have started trying to get a loan of Rs 3,119 crore.
This dam and the reservoir for it will be built from scratch (greenfield storage). Once this dam and reservoir are built, 540 MW of electricity will be generated from there. Indian media outlet CNN-News18 reported that the total cost of this project under construction will be Rs 4,526 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of this project on April 24, 2022.
According to sources, the news agency said that inquiries are being made with various banks and international financial institutions regarding this loan. However, some are interested in getting this loan from the World Bank. The Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 under the mediation of the World Bank.
Once the construction of this dam on the Chandrabhaga River in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir is completed, it can reduce the flow of water into Pakistan. For so long, there has been no significant initiative in implementing this project. The work of changing the course of the Chandrabhaga for the sake of the hydroelectric project will be completed in 2024. For this, a 609-meter-long tunnel will be built. The height of the dam will be 109 meters.
The government now wants to complete the construction of this project by 2027. Once this dam in Kishtwar district is completed, the industrial potential of Jammu and Kashmir will increase. The electricity shortage will also be resolved.
India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, which shares the waters of six rivers between the two countries, to increase pressure on Pakistan after the attack by militants in Pahalgam. The new dam project will accelerate the “water war” that India has started against Pakistan by suspending the treaty.
It is not possible to reduce the flow of water in the downstream area without building a large reservoir upstream. It is believed that this hydroelectric project in Chandrabhaga will help meet that goal.
According to the Indus Water Treaty, India has not been able to fully utilize all the developmental activities it can do in the Indus Basin for so long. After the Pahalgam incident and the attack on Pakistan under the name of Operation Sindoor, India has started showing interest in carrying out those activities under the treaty. The position of the World Bank on this project is still unknown. Pakistan’s reaction is also not yet known.
According to the Indus Treaty, the waters of six rivers in the Indus Basin were divided between the two countries. India controls 90 percent of the waters of the three eastern rivers, the Bipasha (Beas), the Irrawaddy (Ravi) and the Sutlej. Pakistan is supposed to get the majority of the waters of the three western rivers, the Indus, the Jhelum (Bitasta) and the Chandrabhaga (Chenab). India has rights over 20 percent of the total waters and Pakistan has rights over 80 percent.
Although India does not have rights over the waters of the three western rivers, the agreement states that it will have the right to generate hydroelectric power from them. India will also be able to use the waters of those rivers for irrigation purposes. Without violating the terms of the agreement, India has taken up the work of this dam project in Chandrabhaga. Now it remains to be seen whether this decision will receive international approval, including from the World Bank.
Source: Prothom Alo
