In a flagrant violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), India has finally given approval to the Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), reported on Sunday.
The project would cost 3,277.45 crore Indian rupees, and work could be started on the disputed hydropower project early next year. The project will be developed by a public sector Indian company, NHPC Limited.
Sources have told that the Dulhasti Stage-II project will generate up to 260 megawatts of electricity.
New Delhi’s decision is to be interpreted in the context of its decision to keep the IWT in abeyance following the Pahalgam incident, which led to the cross-border clashes between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after the former launched attacks inside Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to retaliate.
Despite India’s move, Pakistan has reaffirmed its commitment to the treaty, announcing that it will continue to fully participate in the Neutral Expert proceedings in good faith.
In August, the Permanent Court of Arbitration had declared India shall “let flow” the waters of the western rivers for Pakistan’s unrestricted use.
The waters of the Chenab River Basin have been shared between Pakistan and India under the 1960 IWT, but the Dulhasti Stage-II project has been transgressing the provisions of the treaty.
Under the IWT, Pakistan has control over the waters of the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers, while the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers were under India’s control.
Following the illegal suspension of the treaty, India has decided to fast-track several disputed hydroelectric projects in the Indus Basin. These projects include Sawalkot, Ratle, Bursar, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru, and Kirthai-1 and 2. Dulhasti Stage-II is considered part of this strategy.
Meanwhile, the latest project on the Chenab River could be detrimental from a defence and strategic point of view for Pakistan. The Chenab River falls within Pakistan’s territory, and Dulhasti Stage-II construction would negate IW,T which India has declared as suspended by defying international agreements.
Dulhasti Stage-II will utilise the existing infrastructure of Dulhasti Stage-I project. Notably, the 390 MW Dulhasti Stage-I is a run-of-the-river scheme that was commissioned in 2007. The project will utilise the existing dam, reservoir and power intake of Stage-I.
In this phase, water will be drawn from the Marusudar River, which will be brought to the Dulhasti Dam through the Pakal Dul project. The objective is to ensure additional power generation by making maximum use of available water resources.
However, while granting environmental clearance, the authorities concerned clarified that this change in water flow could affect the natural form and ecology of the river.
Approximately 25-kilometre stretch of the Marusudar River downstream of the Pakal Dul project will undergo significant hydrological changes after the project becomes operational.
Pakistan is concerned that India’s dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80% of its irrigated agriculture. It has asked for a neutral expert and then an arbitration court to intervene in two recent hydropower projects.