scorecardresearch
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Support Our Journalism
HomeDiplomacyPausing Indus Treaty might send a message to Pakistan, but India must...

Pausing Indus Treaty might send a message to Pakistan, but India must speed up projects to reap benefits

Though India has constructed dams and hydro projects on the Indus basin, they are not enough to even utilise the water it is guaranteed under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: The Modi government’s decision Wednesday to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on hold until Pakistan gives credible proof that it is renouncing support for cross-border terrorism will free India from the existing restrictions related to use of water from the Indus River basin that are in place now, government sources said to ThePrint.

India on Wednesday put the treaty in abeyance as part of a diplomatic response to the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, which left 26 dead.

However, beyond the strong message that India wanted to convey to Pakistan, it will start reaping real benefits only if it steps up work on projects in the Indus River basin to help it better utilise waters currently flowing across the border, two government officials told ThePrint.

The 1960 treaty brokered by World Bank between India and Pakistan allows India unrestricted rights over water of the three eastern rivers on the Indus basin—Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, which is approximately 20 percent of the water carried by the Indus system. Pakistan is allowed unrestricted use of waters on the three western rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, which is roughly 80 percent of the water carried by the Indus system.

The IWT further states that India may use the waters of the three western rivers in “non-consumptive” ways, including for domestic and agricultural use and run of the river hydroelectric power to generate electricity, subject to design and operation criteria set out in the treaty. A ‘Run-of-the-river’ plant are those that generate power without live storage as an integral part of the plant, except for pondage and surcharge storage.

And though India has constructed dams and run-of-the-river hydro projects on the Indus basin, they are not enough to harness the full potential of the water flowing in the Indus riverine system.

Currently, India utilises around 95 percent of its share of water in the eastern rivers through a network of dams, including the Bhakra on Sutlej, Ranjit Sagar on Ravi, and Pong and Pandoh on Beas.

Shahpur Kandi dam, which has been completed recently, and the multipurpose project on Ujh, a tributary of the Ravi, which is under-works will help India tap the remaining 5 percent of water that currently flows into Pakistan.

Though India has utilised 95 percent of it’s share of water in the eastern rivers, it doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to harness the water of western rivers to it’s full potential. Currently, work is in various stages of implementation in four hydropower plants—850 MW Ratle, 1,000 MW Pakadul, 624 MW Kiru and 540 MW Kwar—on the Chenab to harness the water for electricity.

“These projects need to be expedited,” a second official said.


Also read: ‘Mini Switzerland’ Baisaran left without tourists. Terror snuffs out lives & livelihoods


What does putting the treaty in abeyance mean 

The provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, a senior government official told ThePrint, impose several restrictions—not just on the design of existing and upcoming projects in the Indus basin, but also on their operation.

“Putting the IWT in abeyance means these restrictions are not there for the time being,” the first official quoted earlier added.

“For instance, currently India could flush the reservoirs like the one that is part of the Kishenganga project on the Indus basin, only during August. We could not flush the water from the reservoir and fill it any other time. This will no longer be applicable now,” the first government official, who did not want to be named, said.

Similarly, India did not develop storage capacity in the Jhelum River because it was one of the western rivers of the Indus basin where Pakistan was allowed unrestricted use. “But if India wants, it can now create a barrage to regulate water in Jhelum River. This will help prevent flooding during monsoon,” the official said.

India also does not need to share any discharge data related to water flow in the river with Pakistan or allow it to undertake a tour to inspect work sites of ongoing and new projects on the Indus basin as mandated under the treaty.

“Since the IWT is temporarily suspended, none of the provisions of IWT will be applicable anymore,” the official added.

Treaty already under strain

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) might have decided to put IWT on hold with immediate effect Wednesday but the treaty is already under strain.

India had first called for a review of IWT in 2016 in the aftermath of the 2016 attack on an army camp in Kashmir’s Uri where 19 Indian soldiers were killed by suspected Pakistani terrorists.

“Blood and water can’t flow together,” Modi had said at the time.

India had stepped up work on the projects coming up on the Indus basin. But not much happened to review the treaty.

It was in January 2023 that India sent a formal notice to Pakistan to review and modify the IWT. However, there was no concrete response from Pakistan.

In June 2023, India had sent a note verbale to Pakistan seeking a meeting of the water resources secretaries of the two countries to discuss the issue. India also proposed a date—15 July—for the meeting.

India sent a second notice to Pakistan in September 2024 seeking review and modification of the treaty.

“We are firm that we want to renegotiate the treaty,” a senior official of the Jal Shakti Ministry told ThePrint.

Since 2015, India and Pakistan have also locked horns over the Kishenganga hydropower plant on the tributary of Jhelum River that was inaugurated in 2018, and the 850 MW Ratle project that is coming up on the Chenab River.

Pakistan has objected to the technical design parameters of the projects and has held that the dam will change the course of the river and reduce the flow of water downstream in the two western rivers of the Indus basin, on which Pakistan has unrestricted rights under the IWT.

To resolve the issues raised by the two countries, the World Bank appointed a neutral expert on the request of India and parallelly also appointed a chairman for the Court of arbitration on Pakistan’s request in October 2022. Currently, both processes are underway to resolve the dispute.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)


Also read: Pahalgam attack deserves retaliation. India can borrow from US, Israel playbook


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular