Drawback of River Indus

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/paki...r-dispute-with-india-undp-report_1972886.html


Islamabad: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said in a report that Pakistan is using the `clear ambiguity` in Indus Water Treaty, 1960, to not settle its water disputes, and added that its negligence in conducting a sound analysis of trans-boundary water issues and delays in presenting the cases of dispute with India to the Indus Water Commission or the World Bank has caused the matter to linger on and remain unaddressed.


Focusing on water security situation in Pakistan which is the most critical development challenge for the country, a UNDP report titled "Development Advocate Pakistan" points out that awareness about trans-boundary water issues is a recent phenomenon and systematic studies are needed in this regard, reports the Dawn.

The report was released by the UN global development network on Wednesday.

According to the report, an increase in water stress in the basin states since the early 90s has brought the treaty under strain.

In fact, its survival appears weak, although there is no exit clause.

The report says that the Indus Water Treaty fails to address two issues: the division of shortages in dry years between India and Pakistan, when flows are almost half as compared to wet years, and the cumulative impact of storages on the flows of the River Chenab into Pakistan.

The Wular Barrage and Kishenganga project on the Jhelum and Neelum rivers present a similar problem whereby water storage during the Rabi season is critical as flows are almost one-fifth of the Kharif season.

The report adds that Pakistan has gone as far as calling the treaty an inefficient forum for resolving water issues, elevating the water issue to a "core issue" and including it in the composite dialogue.

Meanwhile, India has refused to include the issue in the composite dialogue because it is not ready to discard the treaty.

The treaty permits India to create storages on the western rivers of 1.25, 1.60 and 0.75 million acre feet (MAF) for general, power and flood storages, respectively, amounting to a total permissible storage of 3.6 MAF.

The report says: "A clear ambiguity in the treaty occurs in its permission to be interpreted differently, thereby creating conflicts between Pakistan and India. The treaty also fails to clearly address India`s share of shortages in relation to storage dams on the western rivers, an issue of major concern."

As a consequence of climate change, shrinking glaciers and changing precipitation patterns render the need to address issues of water scarcity and resources, it says.

It adds that with control of the River Chenab through the Salal dam, India has several plans under way for development of hydropower with enhanced water storage on the western river.

Pakistan continues to face reduced flows from the Chenab owing to the recent storage of water in the Baglihar dam.

According to the report, annual flows in the Chenab during wet years have continued to decline since 1958-59 with an increase in droughts since 1937-38.

Same is the case with the River Jhelum being controlled by India. Since the river is a major source of irrigation and hydropower for Pakistan, it will pose dire impacts for the country if India chooses to close the gates of the barrage.

Although the treaty does not allow Pakistan to prohibit construction of hydropower dams by India, it grants it right to voice issues regarding Indian developing strategy on water storage during dry periods.

Although Pakistan benefits from international legal frameworks for water resources management, it is largely dependent upon the treaty for resolving trans-boundary water conflicts with India, it points out.

In its conclusion, the report says that water has been a highly politicised issue in Pakistan and there is an extreme deficit of trust among the provinces. The trust deficit is largely due to a lack of access to data and information. It suggests that popular papers should be prepared along with posters and stickers for creating mass awareness. Without awareness, water cannot be made a `business for everyone`.

It says that past efforts to create a single central data repository have been unsuccessful owing to data collection being conducted by a mix of several agencies in the federation and provinces.

The solution lies in developing a decentralised database by different agencies, followed by centralising the database by feeding the data into one single central data repository. The federal statistics division will be the pertinent authority to take charge of coordination and networking in this regard.


First Published: Thursday, February 2, 2017 - 14:53

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/society/Blue-skies-and-butter-tea/article17283316.ece?homepage=true

Leh’s Lamayuru monastery

‘By courtesy of Deptt. Of Tourism Leh’, oil-painted and shining, was an endearing blend of faith, myth, history and annual festival announcement. It said the valley had been under water and votive water offerings to serpent spirits caused the water to drain. It said a swastika grew, after which the monastery was built. And of the place being declared a sanctuary in the 16th century, it went on to talk about a well-preserved statue of Vairocana and concludes with English explorer William Moorcroft’s discovery of letters from Aurangzeb’s court, exempting the monastery from taxes, and its inhabitants from forced labour.

The day stretched blue and bright, the quality of light and air pure, and a raptor hovered lazily in the air currents far above. There was nothing to show how it had been sacked in 1834 in a raid by Zorawar Singh. The monks had fled, and only a few survived and returned to find their home in ruins and their friends murdered.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indu...-parleys-in-islamabad-this-month_1982928.html

New Delhi: India and Pakistan are expected to hold parleys on various aspects of the Indus Water Treaty in Islamabad later this month.

Government sources told PTI that the meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission will be held before March 31 "as it is mandated" under the treaty.

Declaring that "blood and water cannot flow together", Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a meeting in September to review the treaty in the backdrop of the terror strikes, including the Uri attack.

India, Pakistan and Pakistan are the signatories of the water treaty and are in discussions about how to resolve the disagreements the two countries have over New Delhi's construction of two hydroelectric power plants.

Maintaining its neutral role as a Treaty signatory, the World Bank in December announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements. The hope with announcing the pause was for the two countries to begin to resolve the issue in an amicable manner and in line with the spirit of the treaty rather than pursuing concurrent processes that could make the treaty unworkable over time.

The treaty was signed on September 19, 1960 by India`s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan.


It is one of the most liberal water-sharing pacts in the world.


The agreement covers six rivers - the three eastern rivers of Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and their tributaries and the three western rivers of Indus, Jhelum, Chenab and their tributaries.


Water from the eastern rivers has been allocated to India, and New Delhi is obligated to let 80 percent water from the western rivers flow to Pakistan. The treaty gives the lower riparian Pakistan more `than four times` the water available to India.


First Published: Friday, March 3, 2017 - 10:45


http://zeenews.india.com/india/paki...-permanent-indus-commission-meet_1983004.html

Defence Expert Major General (Retd.) P.K. Sehgal said the treaty allows India to use 19.8 percent water of the western rivers.


"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has categorically made a statement that we will use that water irrespective of whatever may be the consequences.

Pakistan has been acting as a crying wolf and has been going to the United Nations and elsewhere to seek arbitration," Major General (Retd.) Sehgal told ANI.

"India is giving a message loud and clear that we are keen to discuss everything that is part of the treaty and we do not want to do anything which is illegitimate and which is not indicated in the treaty," he added.

He emphasized that there are built in methods to deal with any dispute but Pakistan wants to go beyond that.

"We can bilaterally discuss it because we are going to use only what is the legitimate right of ours as per the treaty, which we have so far not used," he added.

Echoing similar sentiments, another defence expert Sunil Deshpande said India has realized that it should utilize the assigned amount of water of the Indus River and must take advantage of the liberty which the treaty has provided.

"This particular issue must be raised properly in the meeting and we must utilize the water which we are authorized to," Deshpande said.Flying Officer Shivali Deshpande on her part said that India should take a firm decision and make an attempt to utilize the water which is in its share.


"India has not been so far using the authorized water, but now the government is planning to utilize the water which is on India`s side," she asserted.India will be participating in the meeting of Permanent Indus Commission held in Lahore later this month.

Sources said Pakistan forwarded the invitation to India to resolve the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

As per the provisions in the treaty, India can use only 20 percent of the total water carried by the Indus River.


The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

The development comes after the relations between the two nuclear-armed nations plummeted following the Pathankot terror attack that took place in January last year.


First Published: Friday, March 3, 2017 - 13:58

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...th-pakistan/story-A2OJOMfdlmwiDe5NJQSAhI.html

India on Friday downplayed its participation in an upcoming meeting in Pakistan to discuss various aspects of the Indus Waters Treaty, saying it does not amount to resumption of government-level Indo-Pak talks, which have been stalled over terrorist strikes by Pak-based groups.

Senior government officials insisted that the Permanent Indus Commission, which will meet in Lahore later this month, deals with technical matters concerning implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty and not with any political aspect.

India’s participation comes nearly six months after New Delhi decided to suspend talks on the pact in the wake of the terror strikes by groups based across the border.

Noting that the commission has met 112 times since 1960, they said the Indian representative to the commission has accepted an invitation by his Pakistani counterpart for the meeting. No date has been set for the meeting.

“Mutually convenient dates and mutually agreeable agenda are worked out directly by the commissioners themselves and the government has no role in this regard,” said a senior government official.

“The commission is not concerned with political aspects,” he said, adding that “there is no shift” in the government’s stance.

Declaring that “blood and water cannot flow together”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a meeting in September to review the treaty in the backdrop of the terror strikes, including the Uri attack.

After the meeting, officials had announced that the government has decided to suspend further talks and increase the utilisation of rivers flowing through Jammu and Kashmir to fully exercise India’s rights under the pact.

The last meeting of the commission was held in May 2015.

The commission, which has officials from both the countries as its members, was set up under the 57-year-old treaty to discuss and resolve issues relating to its implementation.

The commission is a body entrusted with everyday implementation of the IWT, which mandates it to meet at least once every year, alternately in India and Pakistan.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/ahea...talled-shahpur-kandi-dam-project_1983389.html

New Delhi: The Centre has persuaded Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to resume work on the stalled Shahpur Kandi dam project, which comes under the Indus Water Treaty, thus helping India utilise its rights on eastern rivers of the basin.

The work on the hydroelectricity project, which was stalled after a dispute between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir over its design, will "resume soon", an official statement said.

Punjab's Secretary (Irrigation) KS Pannu and his Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Saurabh Bhagat had signed the pact in this regard in the presence of Union Water Resources, Secretary Amarjit Singh here last evening, it said.

The two states reached the understanding even as the Permanent Indus Commission is expected to meet later this month to discuss various issues related to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).


India had last year decided to suspend talks with Pakistan over the treaty in the wake of Uri terror attack.

The NDA government at the Centre had also decided to exercise India's rights under the treaty by increasing use of the basin river waters. India has under-utilised its share of the river water until now.

"It was unanimously agreed that the work on the Shahpur Kandi dam would resume soon after both the governments (of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir) formally approve the agreed decisions," the statement said.

A Water Resources Ministry official said the respective state governments will have to ratify the agreement for the project work to resume.

"We hope it happens soon," he said.

The construction of Shahpur Kandi project, located in Punjab's Gurdaspur, was taken up in May 1999. It, however, was discontinued in 2014 following dispute between the two states.


The project, tagged as a "national project" by the Centre, is being built with an estimated cost of Rs 2,285.81 crore (as per April, 2008 price level). It is expected to generate 206 mega watt electricity, the statement said.

The project will continue to be implemented by Punjab and its design shall be as agreed by both the states recently.

"...Model studies will be carried out concurrently to ensure Jammu and Kashmir gets its mandated share of 1,150 cusecs of water," it said.

It has also been decided to form a team comprising Central Water Commission member and chief engineers of the two states to check whether the construction is in line with the agreement.

Among other decisions, it was decided that Punjab will bear the balance costs on account of compensation for land acquisition in respect of Thein dam, located nearly 10 km upstream of the Shahpur Kandi dam.

"Punjab would also share with Jammu and Kashmir 20 per cent of the total power generated at Thein dam at the mutually agreed rate of Rs 3.50 per unit immediately. This is subject to confirmation of the rates by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (though)," it said.

Both the states also agreed that other issues will be referred to arbitration mechanism provided in the agreement signed between the states in 1979, without affecting the progress of work.


First Published: Saturday, March 4, 2017 - 14:24

 

[Hindustani78]

A view of Ravi. | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena


March 04, 2017 23:02 IST
Updated: March 05, 2017 01:05 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...e-work-on-dam-across-ravi/article17409573.ece

Though the Punjab govt. started construction in 2013, the J&K govt. stalled it, saying there was no water-sharing deal
Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir have agreed to resume work on the Shahpur Kandi Dam across the Ravi, which had been stalled by the latter since 2014.

The proposed 55.5-metre-high dam in Gurdaspur district will potentially irrigate 5,000 hectares of land in Punjab and 32,173 hectares in J&K, besides generating 206 MW of power.

The Irrigation Department of the Punjab government started building the dam in January 2013, but the Jammu and Kashmir government stopped the construction, saying there was no agreement for sharing of waters and power from the project.

Water, power sharing
Jammu and Kashmir had asked Punjab to guarantee that a fresh agreement was signed in which the Centre would also be involved. Punjab had terminated water-sharing agreements with several States in 2004 and J&K said it was uncertain about Punjab’s commitment to share power, water and economic benefits that would flow from the project. There have been several meetings between both States and the Centre to chalk out a solution.

In a press statement on Saturday, the Water Resources Ministry said it had “persuaded” both States “to reach an agreement to resume work on Shahpur Kandi Dam project” and that it was part of the Indian government’s stated mission to “utilise its full rights on Eastern rivers of Indus basin”.

Indus Water Treaty
The Hindu had reported on Friday that India was likely to attend a meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) to be held in Lahore later this month. The government was considering reviewing the Indus Water Treaty in the wake of the Uri attacks, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that “blood and water couldn’t flow together”.

However, Friday’s agreement is still to be ratified by the State governments for it to come into effect. The dam was to have been built by July, though officials said there was no timeline for completion agreed upon after the fresh agreement was signed.

Another official told The Hindu that India and Pakistan’s dispute on the Indus Water Treaty did not have a “direct bearing” on the inter-State dispute. “We’ve been working on this for a while. We must utilise our rights on the eastern Indus fully, but there was no directive by the government to resolve this inter-State issue in light of the Indus Treaty issue.”

Though there are still pending disputes between the States, the Ministry statement said these would be solved by arbitration and that the project would continue to be implemented by the Government of Punjab and jointly monitored by the Central Water Commission and the Chief Engineers of the two States.

 

[Tiger Genie]

why did Nehru agree to give 80% of anything away? and these guys are still whining?

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/worl...ese-firm-for-hydropower-project-on-indus.html

Islamabad: Energy-deficient Pakistan has awarded two contracts worth Rs 180 billion to a Chinese firm for constructing part of a hydropower project on the Indus River in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and China Gezhouba Group Company (CGCC) signed the agreements on Wednesday for carrying out the main civil works in the first stage of the Dasu hydropower project.


This stage of the project, expected to be completed in 2021, will generate 2,160 MW of electricity. The selection of the contractor was done through international competitive bidding among pre-qualified Chinese firms, Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.

The project is being constructed on the Indus river, upstream of Dasu town in Kohistan district of the province. The World Bank is partially funding stage-I, while a major chunk of funds is being arranged by Wapda from its own resources and with the sovereign guarantee of the Pakistan government.

Power minister Khwaja Asif said the project is critical to Pakistan’s energy needs and will herald a new era of affordable electricity generation. Pakistan faces a huge energy crisis and governments have failed to rapidly augment the country’s electricity generation capacity.

The country faces a shortage of up to 8,000 MW, according to reports, leading to power cuts for hours in several parts. Asif said the government will lay foundation stones for two other dams this year. Wapda chairman Lt Gen (retired) Syed Muzammil Hussain said the total cost of the first phase of the Dasu project was estimated at $4.2 billion.

Hussain said the second phase - capable of generating 2,160MW - would not take a long time given the fact that the main dam will already be available and the second stage will involve only setting up a power house at an estimated cost of $2 billion.

Dasu project director Javed Akhtar and CGGC representative Tan Bixuan signed the contracts on behalf of the two firms.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...-fast-tracks-kashmir-hydropower-projects.html

New Delhi: India has fast-tracked hydro-power projects worth $15 billion in Kashmir in recent months, which based its report on three unnamed central and state officials. The acceleration by India ignores warnings from Islamabad that power stations on rivers flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies.

The swift approval of projects that had languished for years came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested last year that sharing the waterways could be conditional on Pakistan clamping down on anti-India terrorists.

Pakistan has opposed some of these projects before, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus river and its tributaries upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.

The schemes, the largest of which is the 1,856 MW Sawalkote plant, will take years to complete.

Six hydro projects in Kashmir have either cleared viability tests or the more advanced environment and forest expert approvals in the last three months, two officials in India's Water Resources Ministry and the Central Electricity Authority said separately, according to Reuters.

Together, these projects on the Chenab river, a tributary of the Indus, would triple hydropower generation in Jammu and Kashmir from the current level of 3,000 MW, the biggest jump in decades, added the officials, declining to be named because the approvals had not yet been made public.

"We have developed barely one-sixth of the hydropower capacity potential in the state in the last 50 years," the senior official at the Water Resources Ministry said. "Then one fine morning, you see we cleared six to seven projects in three months; it definitely raises concern in Pakistan."

Pakistan's water supply is dwindling because of climate change, outdated farming techniques and an exploding population.

A 2011 report by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said Delhi could use these projects as a way to control Pakistan's supplies from the Indus, seen as its jugular vein.

"The cumulative effect of these projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit the supply to Pakistan at crucial moments in the growing season," it said.

India says the projects are "run-of-the-river" schemes that use the river's flow and elevation to generate electricity rather than large reservoirs, and do not contravene the treaty.

Modi told a meeting of government officials on the Indus treaty last year that "blood and water cannot flow together", soon after a deadly terror attack on the army base in Uri in Kashmir which left 19 people dead.

Modi's message was two-fold, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay said. Terrorism had to stop and India must fully utilise the economic potential available to it within the Indus treaty.

The projects that have won technical approvals in recent months are Sawalkote, Kwar, Pakal Dul, Bursar and Kirthai I and II.

"I say the way you look at these projects, it is not purely a hydro project. Broaden it to a strategic water management, border management problem, and then you put in money," said Pradeep Kumar Pujari, the top ranking official in the Power Ministry.

Most of the projects have been held up for at least a decade awaiting multiple clearances. Sawalkote, which was cleared by a government-constituted environment committee in January, was first given techno-economic approval in 1991.

It is now up for forest clearance from the state authorities, after which the government will finalise financing and begin construction.

Some projects like Pakal Dul were stuck in litigation, but that has been resolved, Jammu and Kashmir's Power Minister Nirmal Singh told Reuters in the summer capital Srinagar. "Things are now in a position of take-off," he said.

Environmental groups have questioned whether the government has followed proper procedures in fast-tracking projects located in a highly seismic area.

"It's on one river, the Chenab, where you are doing so many projects. This is a very vulnerable region. It's landslide-prone, it's flash flood-prone, earthquake-prone," said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said India will be attending a regular meeting of the Indus Commission later this month in Lahore, even though a broader peace dialogue is on hold.

"It seems that finally India has realized the importance of this mechanism under the IWT (Indus Waters Treaty) for resolving water disputes related to the Indus water and its tributaries," he claimed.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indian-delegation-to-visit-pak-to-attend-permanent-indus_1987861.html

New Delhi: A nine-member Indian delegation will travel to Pakistan to attend 113rd Permanent Indus Commission meeting in Pakistan's capital Islamabad starting from Sunday.

Pakistan had reportedly forwarded an invitation to India to resolve issues related to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), sources said.

The Permanent Indus Commission is a bilateral commission of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage goals of the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.It comprises the Indus Commissioners from both sides and discusses technical matters related to the implementation of the treaty.

It has met 112 times since 1960. It is Pakistan`s turn to host its next meeting and the Indian Commissioner accepted his counterpart`s invitation for a meeting to take place from March 19.

Mutually convenient dates and mutually agreeable agenda are being worked out directly by the commissioners themselves and the government has no role to play in this regard."No shift in the stand as government and Commission are different, including for purposes of commission meetings," said sources.

The development comes after relations between the two nuclear-armed nations plummeted following the Pathankot terror attack in January last year.

Pakistan has firmly stated that it will not accept any alterations or changes to the IWT after India had said that it is ready to engage in further consultations with Islamabad on the matter of resolving current differences over the Kishenganga and Ralte projects under the treaty.

Islamabad has argued that India was buying time to complete its two disputed water projects and then insisting that since the project was already complete, it could not be modified.

Pakistan has raised objection to the building of the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric plants by India saying that it violates the provisions of the treaty.

Tensions increased over the water dispute when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened to block the flow of water into Pakistan.

The World Bank had earlier asked both the countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements over the Indus Water Treaty Dispute 1960.The World Bank had said that it was temporarily halting the appointment of a neutral expert as requested by India, and the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration, as requested by Pakistan, to resolve issues regarding two hydroelectric power plants under construction by India along the Indus Rivers system.

The treaty which was signed in 1960 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan gives India control over the three eastern rivers of the Indus basin, the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej while Pakistan has the three western rivers, the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum.

As per the provisions in the treaty, India can use only 20 percent of the total water carried by the Indus River.

The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 is seen as one of the most successful international treaties and has withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including conflict.

The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries. It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties.


First Published: Saturday, March 18, 2017 - 22:28

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...kistan-meet/story-bySEKcO2EHFQLTv2kSpdfN.html

The differences over five hydroelectric projects will likely be the key areas of discussion when Indus water commissioners of India and Pakistan meet in Islamabad next week.

Prodded by World Bank, which brokered the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) of 1960, the two sides seem to be again leaving it to their experts to discuss the technical issues related to water-sharing which often get tangled in hostility.

The commissioners will meet on March 21 and March 22. For the Indian side, the main issue is resolving differences the over Kishenganga and Ratle hydro power projects.

The two projects are being constructed on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers respectively. Pakistan while objecting to the design of the 330-MW Kishenganga project maintains it would result in a 40% reduction of water flowing into the country, which is the neighbour says is against the provisions of IWT, a charge denied by India.

For the 850 MW Ratle power plant, Pakistan wants the planned storage capacity of the project to be reduced from 24 million cubic metres to eight million cubic metres. Pakistan also wants the height of the dams to be further reduced.

But India maintains it never reduced the water flow to Pakistan.

Pakistan is set to raise issues related to three dams — 1000 MW Pakuldul on Chenab, 120 MW Miyar, located across Miyar Nalla which is a right bank main tributary of River Chenab and the 43 MW Lower Kalnai hydro project— on Lower Kalnai Nalla, a tributary of river Chenab. “Pakistan has listed these three projects in their agenda for discussion,” said a source.

Differences

Pakistan maintains the design of the 330MW Kishenganga project would result in 40% reduction in water flow into the country which is against the provisions of IWT, a charge denied by India.

For the 850 MW Ratle power plant, Pakistan wants the planned storage capacity to be reduced from 24 million cubic metres to eight million cubic metres.

However, India maintains it never reduced the water flow to Pakistan and the project is run of the river.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indu...talks-in-us-in-april-says-report_1988662.html

New Delhi: The Indian and Pakistan government is all set to hold three-day secretary-level talks over the disputed hydropower projects in the Indus Valley in April this year, according to an IANS report.

As per the report, the two nations will be returning to the negotiating table to sort out the differences following the intervention of the United States and the World Bank on the matter.

Yesterday, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said that the two nations would hold three-day secretary-level talks on the Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects, under the aegis of the World Bank, in Washington from April 11, reported Dawn on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the two-day talks between Indus Water Commissioners from both sides, the minister welcomed New Delhi's decision to resume negotiations under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty on the proposed Pakul Dal, Miyar and Lower Kalnai hydropower projects, to which Pakistan has raised objections.

"The US has intervened at the highest level to help both countries resolve the issue. There will be secretary-level talks on the Ratle and Kishanganga hydropower projects in Washington on April 11, 12 and 13," Mohammad Asif said at a press conference here.

"We are happy that India has finally agreed to resume talks at the commission level. We welcome this decision and the visit of the Indian delegation," he added.

The 10-member Indian delegation currently in Islamabad is led by Indus Water Commissioner P.K. Saxena.

Pakistan has been protesting over the design and construction of two controversial projects, the 330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project and the 850 MW Ratle hydroelectric project on the tributaries of the Indus in the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has said it has the right under the treaty to set up hydro power plants on the tributaries of the rivers flowing through its territory. Pakistan fears this might reduce the water flow of the rivers into its territory.

The two countries held the Indus Water Commission meeting last time in May 2015 in New Delhi.


First Published: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - 16:46

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...f-the-menu-in-indus-talks/article17547656.ece


But India, Pak. hold ‘frank discussions’ on other schemes
India and Pakistan began discussions on the Indus Water Commission on Monday after 22 months amid optimism that the meeting may lead to resumption of the composite dialogue between the neighbours.

After the first day of talks, officials on both sides said the meeting was held in a cordial manner, and they had frank discussions. P.P. Saxena, Indus Water Commissioner of India, is leading a 10-member delegation in talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Mirza Asif Baig.

Sanctity of treaty

Prior to the meeting, Pakistan’s Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif expressed the hope that both countries would respect the sanctity of the Indus Water Treaty.

Because of the Pakistani position, Kishenganga and Ratle were not discussed in the latest round of talks. But the designs of the Pakal Dul, Lower Kalnai and Miyar hydroelectric plants were taken up.

The talks will conclude in Islamabad on Tuesday, though the earlier plan was to do so in Lahore.

The talks were suspended in May 2015 after the Pakistani Commissioner objected to the designs of the Kishenganga and the Ratle hydropower projects of India.

Last year, the secretaries of power of both countries agreed to third-party resolution through the World Bank. But the World Bank announced late last year that Pakistan and India should hold bilateral talks.

Following the World Bank’s reluctance to pass an order, both sides would meet in Washington in April on the Ratle project.

 

[Hindustani78]

Pakistani side demanded from India to provide the outflows from Baglihar and Salal dams on the Chenab river during the flood season to help in issuing of early flood warnings. Representation image

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/602495/india-has-withdrawn-miyar-hydroelectric.html


Pakistan said today that India has withdrawn the design of the Miyar hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh following its objections.

The development came as the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) meeting of the Indus Water Commissioners of Pakistan and India was held today on water issues for a second day here.

The Indian delegation for the two-day meeting was led by Indus Water Commissioner P K Saxena while the Pakistani delegation was headed by Mirza Asif Saeed Baig.

Pakistan's Ministry of Water and Power said in a statement that the discussions were held on India's proposed Miyar, Lower Kalnai and Pakal Dul hydropower projects as well as on matters pertaining to the exchange of data and conducting tours and meetings of the Indus commission.

"On (the) Miyar hydropower project, India has withdrawn its design after Pakistan had made objections on it in the previous meetings of the commission," the statement said.

It said the "Indian side also agreed to a tour of inspection for Pakistan's Indus Commission which is expected to be arranged before August 2017."

However, the ministry did not share any more details of the inspection tour. The ministry said that discussions were held on Pakistan's prior objections relating to pondage and freeboard of Lower Kalnai and freeboard and spillway of Pakal Dul hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Indian side has agreed to reconsider Pakistan's observations on these projects and will respond in the next meeting of the Commission," it said.

The ministry said the Pakistani side demanded from India to provide the outflows from Baglihar and Salal dams on the Chenab river during the flood season to help in issuing of early flood warnings.

"Indian side has agreed to consider Pakistan's request and it is expected that India would start providing the required data starting from the coming flood season," it said.

Earlier Geo TV reported that the Indian delegation agreed to halt the progress on Miyar hydroelectric project's design after accepting Pakistan's reservations. "India will create and share a new design of the project," Baig was quoted as saying.

Pakistan has raised objections over the designs of the three projects, including Miyar hydroelectric project, located in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Spiti district, Lower Kalnai and Pakal Dul, both being built in Jammu and Kashmir, and demanded access to the sites, the report had said.

 

[Lotus_stalk]

Only 25% of Pakistan is arable Land ... supporting 20 million people... Pakistan is the most water stressed country on earth

 

[Hindustani78]

Only 25% of Pakistan is arable Land ... supporting 20 million people... Pakistan is the most water stressed country on earth

Why the Pakistan Adm is not having issues with the Chinese constructed barriages at River Indus ?