Pakistan delegation allowed access to Ratle power projects on Chenab river in J&K
- June 26, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Pakistan delegation allowed access to Ratle power projects on Chenab river in J&K
SUB: Geography
SEC: Mapping
Context:
- A five-member Pakistan delegation and neutral experts from the World Bank visited the Ratle power project on the Chenab River.
- The delegation also plans to inspect the 1,000-MW Pakal Dul hydroelectric project on the Marusudar River (Marwah Valley), a tributary of the Chenab.
Background and Technical Objections:
- Pakistan has raised technical objections to various power projects in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) since 2006.
- Pakistan previously raised objections to the Kishanganga project in the Kashmir valley in 2006.
Rattle Hydroelectric dam:
- The Ratle Hydroelectric Plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station, with permitted pondage under the Indus Water Treaty, currently under construction on the Chenab River, downstream of the village near Drabshalla in Kishtwar district of the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Chenal river:
- The Chenab River is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region.
- It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh, India.
- The Chenab flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before ultimately flowing into the Indus River.
About Indus Water Treaty (IWT):
- It is a treaty signed between India and Pakistan regulating the use and distribution of the Indus River system.
- It was signed by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Pakistan President Ayub Khan in 1960.
- The treaty was brokered by the World Bank, which too is a signatory to the treaty.
- The pact sought to divide the water of the Indus River and its tributaries (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab) equitably among the two countries.
- Under the treaty, water from three eastern rivers, Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej, was allocated to India, and water from the three western rivers – Chenab, Indus, and Jhelum was allocated to Pakistan.
- Pakistan roughly got 80% of the water in the Indus drainage system.
- The treaty also permits both countries to use the other’s rivers for certain purposes, such as small hydroelectric projects that require little or no water storage.
- The treaty is overseen by the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), a bilateral body with commissioners from both countries tasked with implementing and managing treaty provisions and resolving any questions, differences, or disputes that may arise.
- The World Bank’s role is to appoint a neutral expert in case of ‘technical’ differences, failing which the differences are escalated to a dispute for international arbitration.
Permanent Indus Commission (PIC):
- PIC is a bilateral commission of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals of the Indus Waters Treaty, of 1960.
- The Commission according to the treaty must meet regularly at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan.
The functions of the Commission are:
- to study and report to the two Governments on any problem relating to the development on the waters of the rivers.
- to solve disputes arising over water sharing.
- to arrange technical visits to projects’ sites and critical river head works.
- to undertake, once in every five years, a general tour of inspection of the Rivers for ascertaining the facts.
- to take necessary steps for the implementation of the provisions of the treaty.
Source: TH