Following the suspension of the water-sharing agreement, India begins boosting reservoir capacity at key hydroelectric projects, signaling a shift in its approach to water management concerning Pakistan.
Key Takeaways:
i) India has started work to increase the water storage capacity of the Salal and Baglihar hydroelectric projects in Kashmir.
ii) This action follows India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty after a recent terror attack in Pahalgam.
iii) The work involves reservoir flushing to remove sediment, which had been restricted under the treaty, and aims for more efficient power generation.
Money Matters Monitoring – Amidst escalating tensions with Pakistan, India has commenced work on enhancing the reservoir capacity of two significant hydroelectric projects, Salal and Baglihar, located in the Himalayan region of Kashmir. This development comes shortly after India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a long-standing water-sharing agreement between the two nations.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed to Reuters that the work began on Thursday and is being carried out by India’s largest hydropower company, NHPC Ltd, in collaboration with authorities in Jammu and Kashmir. The operations primarily involve “reservoir flushing,” a process to remove accumulated sediment from the dam reservoirs. This maintenance activity had reportedly been hindered by the Indus Waters Treaty since the projects were constructed in 1987 and 2008/09, respectively.
According to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous, this marks the first time such an exercise has taken place at these projects. They indicated that the flushing would help in more efficient power generation and prevent damage to the turbines. It was also noted that the power output of both the 690-megawatt Salal project and the 900-MW Baglihar project had been operating below their full potential due to sediment buildup.
People residing near the Chenab River in Kashmir reported observing the release of water from both the Salal and Baglihar dams between Thursday and Saturday.
India did not officially inform Pakistan about the maintenance work being conducted at the Salal and Baglihar projects, as the treaty had previously constrained such activities.
Government officials and experts from both India and Pakistan acknowledge that India cannot immediately halt the flow of water to Pakistan, as the Indus Waters Treaty permitted India to construct hydropower plants without significant storage dams on the rivers allocated to Pakistan. However, the suspension of the treaty grants India the ability to “pursue our projects at free will,” according to Kushvinder Vohra, a retired head of India’s Central Water Commission who has extensively worked on Indus water disputes with Pakistan.
This move is seen as India’s first concrete step outside the framework of the Indus Waters Treaty since its suspension. The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, had remained intact since 1960, enduring multiple wars and conflicts between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. While the immediate impact on Pakistan’s water supply might be limited, there are concerns that future actions on other projects could potentially affect the downstream flow, which is crucial for Pakistan’s irrigation and hydropower sectors. There are reportedly more than half a dozen such projects in the region.
India did not officially inform Pakistan about the maintenance work being conducted at the Salal and Baglihar projects, as the treaty had previously constrained such activities.
