Indus Water Commission talks

25/03/2017

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank (then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. According to this treaty, waters of the three western rivers (the Jhelum, the Chenab, and the Indus itself) were allocated to Pakistan, and those of the three eastern rivers (the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej) were allocated to India.
According to this agreement, control over the three "eastern" rivers - the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej - was given to India, while control over the three "western" rivers - the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum - to Pakistan. More controversial, however, were the provisions on how the waters were to be shared. Since Pakistan's rivers flow through India first, the treaty allowed India to use them for irrigation, transport and power generation, while laying down precise regulations for Indian building projects along the way. The treaty was a result of Pakistani fear that, since the source rivers of the Indus basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan, especially at times of war.
However, Officials from India and Pakistan discussed problems relating to Indus Basin at the two-day Indus Water Commission meeting which began here today after a gap of nearly two years.
The 10-member Indian delegation led by Indus Water Commissioner P K Saxena held a close door meeting with the Pakistani side which was headed by MirzaAsifSaeed. They are 1000 MW PakulDul on Chenab, 120 MW Miyar, located across MiyarNalla which is a right bank main tributary of River Chenab, and the 43 MW Lower Kalnai hydro project on Lower KalnaiNalla, a tributary of river Chenab. Pakistan contends that the projects were violating the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, which has come under strain during the current tension between the two sides. PakalDul and Lower Kalnai are being built in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of Rs 7,464 crore (November 2008 price level) and Rs 396 crore respectively. Miyar hydroelectricity project, located in Himachal Pradesh's LahaulSpiti district, is estimated to cost Rs 1,125 crore. Another meeting planned in September 2016 was cancelled due to tension following the Uri terror attack by Pakistan-based outfits.

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