Indus Water Treaty helps reduce trouble
Zofeen T Ebrahim 29.08.2014
India and Pakistan have just concluded another round of inconclusive
talks over hydroelectric projects in the Indus basin, but both sides hope to
resolve their differences with the help of the treaty
(Image from
Wikipedia)
If nothing else, the recent three-day talks between experts from
Pakistan and India, organised by the Pakistan Indus Water Commission (IWC),
over the issues raised by the design of the Kishanganga dam in India, has made
it perfectly clear to both sides that instead of going into unending and costly
international arbitrations, they should find a middle way and work out their
differences.
The run-of-the-river hydroelectric project on the Kishanganga
river – which flows into the Jhelum river, a part of the transboundary Indus
river basin – has been objected to by Pakistan many times. Under the terms of
the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between the two
countries, Pakistan took the issue to an international arbitrator, to little
avail, as India proved it was sticking faithfully to terms of the treaty.
“We have knocked on the door of the International Court of Arbitration
(ICA) and let me tell you it’s not an easy recourse; the judicial procedures
are painful and at the end of it you get just a fraction of the fruit you were
been expecting,” Mirza Asif Baig, Pakistan’s commissioner of the Indus Water
Commission told thethirdpole.net soon after the August
24-26 talks in Lahore.
Terming the talks “concrete” and “some movement forward”, Baig said
Pakistan had raised certain objections to the dam’s technical aspects of design
like “deep gated spillway, excessive pondage and height of free board” which India
has agreed to look into.
“The talks seem to be on a sound footing. Both sides had done their
homework and appreciated each other’s point of view,” he added.
The two teams will meet again in two months in New Delhi, after Pakistan
has undertaken two visits to hydropower projects Maira and Kishanganga in
India. The commissioner said the Pakistan team was going “to witness first-hand
the genuineness of the situation and the constraints and justifications put
forward by India.”
The design of the Kishanganga dam to be built in India and the Neelum-Jhelum project in Pakistan side –
both on the same river, called Neelum in Pakistan and Kishanganga in India –
have been a bone of contention between the two countries after India began
construction in 2008, although research on the projects had begun in the 1990s.
“The interaction has been long and over the years designs for both
projects have been modified,” said Baig, who has been involved in the bilateral
meetings as advisor since 2000.
The dispute over the 330 megawatt Kishanganga power plant – some 160
kilmetres upstream of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan administered Kashmir – has
arisen over the way the two governments interpret the Indus Water Treaty, which
provides a legal framework and guidelines for sharing waters of the Indus
basin. The use of the eastern rivers (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi) has been allocated
to India, while Pakistan is entitled to unrestricted use of the western rivers
(Indus, Jhelum and Chenab).
By diverting water from one tributary of the river to another (which
will change the course of Neelum river by 100 kilmetres), Pakistan says India
violates the treaty; on the other hand, India maintains the diversion is well
within the provisions of the treaty.
According to the treaty, India can build run-of-the-river dams to
produce electricity as long as it does not store water or interfere with or
control the flow of the western rivers.
Many in Pakistan contend that India’s hydroelectric project would
greatly reduce water flow in the Neelum river and affect Pakistan’s 969
megawatt Neelum-Jhelum project.
Asked about this, Baig said, “Yes it will, but only to the extent that
Pakistan will get between 15 to 20% less water and (this will) not affect the
generation of power by more than 10%.”
The changed course of the Neelum may affect the biodiversity of the
Neelum valley, say environmentalists. “Diversion will wreak havoc on the
environment of the valley,” said Sardar Javaid Ayub, the head of the Azad Jammu
& Kashmir wildlife and fisheries department to the English daily Dawn. “Temperatures in the upper reaches
of the river fell to sub-zero in winter and in case of diversion, a 20-25
kilometre stretch of the river would be frozen and all aquatic life, micro and
macro organisms would become extinct.”
But water specialist Daanish Mustafa disagreed. “There is considerable
drainage within Pakistani Kashmir so it is unlikely the valley will dry up
completely. In winter months of course it is inevitable that the flows will be
a lot less than what they are in summer.”
While acknowledging that in winter the impact “may be pronounced”, Baig
assured that as per the 2013 ruling of the ICA, it is mandatory
upon India to maintain nine cubic metres per second (cumecs) of water in the
Neelum at all times. Therefore, he did not see an adverse effect on
biodiversity.
“Whenever water is disturbed upstream [in this case by India], it will
affect downstream [Pakistan],” said Simi Kamal, another water expert. “There is
a price to be paid and cost associated with such projects but if we can rise
above the differences and sort them out in the spirit of cooperation, we can
share the benefits of the river.”
Kamal is optimistic that all kinds of solutions are possible if only
countries would move from “owning” to “sharing” natural resources. “The
benefits of sharing are so much better,” she pointed out, suggesting that
electricity generated by the Kishanganga power plant be shared between the two
countries.
Compared to extensive coverage of the August 24-26 talks in the
Pakistani media, there was hardly any attention paid to it by their
counterparts in India. The lone report quoted the Indian delegates as saying
that the talks had ended inconclusively. Back in New Delhi, one delegate said
he was confident that the matter would now be resolved bilaterally within the
purview of the Indus Water Treaty.
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