News Highlights
Pak team to visit India to carry out talk on Indus Water Treaty.
Key Points of Meet
- Advance flood information
- Discussed annual report of the Permanent Commission of Indus Water
| What is the Permanent Indus Commission? It is a bilateral body made up of Indian and Pakistani officials tasked with implementing and managing the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. According to the treaty, the Commission must meet at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan. The Commission’s responsibilities include: – Any problem connected to the development of river waters should be investigated and reported to the two governments. To resolve water-sharing disagreements. To schedule technical visits to project sites and important riverhead work. Once every five years, conduct a general inspection trip of the Rivers to ascertain the facts. To take the necessary actions to put the treaty’s provisions into effect. |
Timeline of Indus Water Treaty till the Treaty was Signed
Indus Water Treaty
- Indus water treaty is a water sharing treaty that was signed between India and Pakistan at the mediation of the World Bank.
- As per the treaty the eastern flowing rivers like Sutlej , Beas and Ravi are fully controlled and used by India. The western flowing rivers like Jhelum , Chenab and Indus are fully controlled and used by Pakistan.
- Other provision of treaty
- The treaty allows India to use the water from western flowing rivers for activities like irrigation, storage and even for electricity production.
- Pakistan received 80% of the water, whereas India received 20% of the water.
- To administer and govern the Treaty, a Permanent Indus Commission was established as a bilateral commission.
- As required by Article VIII of the Indus Waters Treaty, the two countries meet once a year to discuss cooperation on the Indus River System.
- If Pakistan does not find such projects to be compliant with the standards, the treaty empowers it to object to them being developed by India.
- India must disclose information on the project design and any changes made to it with Pakistan, which must respond with any objections within three months of receiving the information.
- Furthermore, India is permitted to maintain a minimum storage level on the western rivers, allowing it to retain up to 3.75 MAF of water for conservation and flood storage.
- The IWT also includes a three-step conflict resolution process, in which “issues” from both sides can be handled at the Permanent Commission or at the intergovernmental level.
- If there are unresolved problems or “differences” between the countries on water-sharing, such as technical differences, any side might request that the World Bank appoint a Neutral Expert (NE) to help them reach a resolution.
- Finally, if either party is unhappy with the NE’s judgement or there are “disputes” over the treaty’s interpretation and scope, the matter can be brought to a Court of Arbitration.
Indian Projects Objected by Pakistan
- Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir- the 1000 Megawatt
- Pakal Dul project
- Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP)
- Locate on Kishanganga river or Neelum River
- Join Jhelum river in Pak occupied Kashmir
- Reason for objection – Pakistan had objected to the dam’s height, thinking that construction would result in more water storage for India.
- As a result, India agreed to change the design by lowering the tower’s height from 97 to 37 metres.
- In 2010, Pakistan moved the case to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, claiming that the diversion of water from Kishanganga was illegal.
- In December 2013, the Court issued its final judgement, allowing India permission to proceed with the project, subject to certain limitations.
- The issue, however, did not end there; three years later, in 2016, Pakistan approached the World Bank again, objecting to the design.
- It again attempted to halt dam building in 2016 by shooting shells near the dam site.
Role in Bilateral Check
- The Indus Water Treaty has come up a few times in recent years during geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.
- Following the attack on the Uri army camp in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Blood and water cannot flow simultaneously,” and the Permanent Indus Commission talks were suspended for the year by the Indian side, which also threatened to pull out of the treaty at one point.
- When the suicide attack in Pulwama occurred in 2019, India vowed for the first time to shut off Pakistan’s water supply from the Indus River System.
Way Forward
- The Indus water treaty play a major role in India – Pakistan relation as both countries sighed it is 1960 in between hostile relation that continue till date even through the relation has many issues like terrorism .
Content Source : New Indian Express