What is the Indus Water Treaty? And why it is a hot topic?

Pakistan had complained to the World Bank of India violating the Indus Water Treaty.

This was stemmed from the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 330MW Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Kishanganga or Neelum River (in Pakistan) originates from the Gurais Valley in North Kashmir and then merges with the Jhelum River near Muzaffarabad city in Pakistan.

Following the inauguration, Pakistan lodged a complaint with the World Bank alleging that by building the Kishanganga dam, India violated the Indus Water Treaty of 1960.

To make sense of this development, one must understand what the Indus Water Treaty is all about.

It is a water-sharing deal between India and Pakistan, which was brokered by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank).

As per the Treaty, the Indus River and its five major tributaries have been classified into two categories. The Eastern rivers consist of Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, while the Western rivers consist of Jhelum, Chenab and Indus.

The Treaty states that all the water flowing in the eastern rivers should be available for unrestricted use in India. India, meanwhile, should pose no barriers for the unrestricted flow of water from the western rivers to Pakistan.

This does not mean that both India and Pakistan cannot use water coming from either category of rivers. India, for example, can use the water in western rivers for “non-consumptive” requirements like irrigation, storage and electricity generation.

In other words, Beas, Ravi and Sutlej are to be governed by India, while, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum are to be taken care of by Pakistan. However, since Indus flows from India, the country can use 20% of its water for irrigation, power generation and transport purposes.”

The Treaty also set up the Permanent Indus Commission as a bilateral mechanism to ensure its implementation and resolve disputes over water sharing. It also lists out the ways through which both nations arbitrate their disputes amicably.

Although the Indus originates from the Tibetan Plateau, China has been kept out of the Treaty. Any attempt by China to disrupt the flow of the Indus will affect India and Pakistan.

Experts, however, argue that changes brought upon by climate change haven’t been factored into the Treaty yet. Having said that, the Indus Water Treaty has been cited as one of the most successful water sharing endeavours by two sovereign nations. Disputes, however, remain.

Coming back to the Kishenganga dam dispute, Pakistani officials have argued in the World Bank that it will disrupt the supply of water coming into their country. Without a resolution on outstanding water sharing disputes any move to build a dam is tantamount to a violation of the Treaty.

The talks would cover four key points: the height of the dam built on the Kishanganga River, its capacity to hold water, Pakistan’s demand for setting up a court of arbitration to settle the dispute and India’s counter-demand for an international expert.

The design of the hydel project, according to Pakistan, is not in line with the parameters set by the Treaty while India argues otherwise.

India began construction of the dam in 2007. In May 2010, Pakistan moved the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague against India, stating that it went against the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty.

In 2013, however, the international court passed a verdict in India’s favour, allowing it to proceed with the construction of the dam for power generation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The only condition set before India was that the country should release a minimum flow of nine cubic meters per second into the Kishanganga river at all times to maintain environmental flows.

India has long argued that the allocation of water made under the IWT has left Jammu and Kashmir in the cold, leaving it a meagre amount to irrigate its lands and generate power.

READ ALSO: PAKISTAN’S COMPLAINT BACKFIRES; BREAKING NEWS

PAKISTAN’S COMPLAINT BACKFIRES

 No agreement was reached during the meeting held between World Bank and a four-member Pakistan delegation on May 21-22 on Indus Water Treaty. The World Bank told the delegation from Pakistan that its role is limited and procedural. However, it will continue to work with both countries to resolve the issues in an amicable manner and in line with the Treaty provisions, it added.

The Pakistani delegation led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali met with World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva and other senior officials,  raised the issue of India’s alleged violation of the Indus Waters Treaty and opportunities within the Treaty to seek a resolution with the World Bank. It also raised concerns about the recent inauguration of the Kishenganga hydroelectric plant in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

The talks took place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 19, inaugurated the 330-MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project. Earlier on May 18, Pakistan’s Foreign Office raised concern about the hydroelectric plant, saying it will violate the Indus Water Treaty that regulates the use of waters in the shared rivers and protested against the construction of the project.

However, as per India, it is permitted to construct the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants on Jhelum and the Chenab rivers as specified in the Indus Water Treaty. India also argues that the treaty also allows “other uses”, including the construction of hydroelectric plants.

The Kishanganga plant is a part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin. The Kishanganga River also stretches into Pakistan, which is known as the Neelum River there.

India started work on the Kishanganga project in 2009. However, Pakistan protested against the construction of the project and took the matter to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which stayed the project for three years.

Ultimately in 2013, the court ruled that the Kishanganga project was “a run-of-river plant within the parameters of the Indus Water Treaty and that India may accordingly divert water from the Kishanganga River for power generation”.

The project was then fast-tracked by Prime Minister Modi-led government after it came into power in May 2014.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution agreement between India and Pakistan that paves way for a cooperative framework for both the countries to address current and future challenges of effective water management. The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960, by then prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan.