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Collective use of Chenab water
Sajjad Hussain Palejo
Whilst the "energy cum power crisis" has precipitated the economic
slowdown and augmented anguish in the life of citizens with lengthy
spells of "power stoppages", India withheld millions of cubic feet
of water upstream on the Chenab in Indian-administered Kashmir and
stored it in the massive Baglihar dam so as to produce
hydro-electricity. This was a flagrant breach of Indus Water Basin
Treaty of 1960, as it resulted in the substantial decrease of water
levels of both the river and subsoil water. After initial talks to
try and resolve the issue, the matter has been put on pause because
India considers it an inappropriate climate for "peace process and
Composite dialogues in the wake of Mumbai attacks of 26 November,
2008 in which 170 people were killed, fuelling tensions between the
two neighbours. However, it is hoped that when India sees Pakistan
is serious in fighting the militants in FATA, India will soften her
stance and re-start peace process and r the distribution of water as
a resource. This is because the sources of all the five tributaries
of the Indus - Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej remained in
India. The dispute between India and Pakistan over water resources
is rooted in history. Just after the partition of the subcontinent
in 1948, Delhi stopped the flow of water from the canals on its
side, denying water to some 8 per cent of the cultivated area.
However, India agreed with Pakistan, which allowed for the
continuation of water supplies for irrigation purposes until the
Pakistani side managed to develop alternative water resources. As a
result of World Bank's constant efforts from 1952 to 1960, the Indus
Water Treaty-1960 was signed, designed to regulate water use in the
region. According to Indus Water Treaty of 1960, India has got the
exclusive control over the waters of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej,
whereas Pakistan controls the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
As the demand for water has increased by leaps and bounds, India is
seeking maximum control over the sources of the supply of water of 3
western rivers, and thereby increasing the tension with Pakistan
that share the claims over water. At the current pace the population
of Pakistan will rise to 270 million in 2025.
The alarming situation again emerged in 1984 when India announced
plans to build the barrage on the Jhelum River at the mouth of
Wullar Lake, the largest fresh water lake, near the town of Sopore
in the disputed Kashmir Valley. This created uproar in the Pakistani
camp and under compulsion India had to stop the constructional work
on the project. Again in 1992, India announced her plans for another
controversial water reservoir, the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River-
allotted to Pakistan by the 1960 treaty. The Chenab is fed with
glacial melt-waters from the Himalayas and for centuries has
provided crucial irrigational system for the region. While the
accord gave India full rights to use water from the eastern rivers
by building dams and barrages, it allowed limited irrigation use of
water from the western river earmarked for Pakistan. The Treaty
barred India from interfering "with the water of these rivers except
for domestic use and non-consumptive use, limited agriculture use
and limited utilization for generation of hydro-electric power." The
treaty also barred India from storing any water or constructing any
storage works on the western rivers that would result in a reduced
flow of water to Pakistan. The water dispute has been on the agenda
of the composite dialogue, but no progress has been made. While
talks have yet to yield results, Indian attempt to use water as a
geo-strategic tool, is unfair and in contravention to the IWT-1960
The Nation:
Published: May 27, 2009 |
