Centre initiates 1,856 MW Sawalkote hydro project after suspension of Indus Water Treaty
The Sawalkote project is set to become the largest hydroelectric project in the Union Territory.
The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) floated the tendering process for the Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab River in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir on 29 July.
'Online electronic bids are invited by NHPC on International Competitive Bidding (ICB) basis for the work of 'Lot-1 Package: Planning, Design & Engineering (PDE) works for execution of 1,856 MW Sawalkote Hydro Project located near Sidhu village in Ramban District of UT of J&K, India,' reads a tender notice issued by NHPC.
According to the tender, the project, with an estimated cost of ₹209.80 crore, is to be completed within 113 months.
The date for submission of bids for the key power project in J&K is 3 September, while the deadline for submission of the online Techno-Commercial Bid and Price Bid is 10 September (5 pm). The deadline for submission of the hard copy (offline documents) to the Tender Inviting Authority is 12 September (11 am).
The Sawalkote hydro project had remained stalled since its proposal in the 1960s due to administrative hurdles, environmental concerns, and Pakistan's objection to its construction, citing concerns about the impact of the dam on the flow of the Chenab River.
After the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, in which 25 tourists and a local ponywala were allegedly killed, India put the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance.
Under the treaty brokered by the World Bank in 1960, India has absolute rights over the waters of the Beas, Sutlej, and Ravi rivers, while Pakistan has rights over the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers.
In addition to the construction of the Sawalkote power project, the central government is also set to revive the Tulbul Navigation Project on Wullar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1981, the new Tulbul Navigation Project (also known as the Wullar Barrage) on Wullar Lake in North Kashmir was conceived. However, the project had to be halted as Pakistan objected to its construction.
The Wullar Barrage project is a navigation lock-cum-control structure located at the outlet of Wullar Lake in North Kashmir. It was designed to facilitate navigation on the Jhelum River during the lean winter months. The project would have helped regulate water flow and assisted in downstream power generation.
'Since IWT has been put in abeyance, India does not need Pakistan's consent now. We can now start work on the power projects in J&K as per our likings without any interference from Pakistan,' officials said.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha recently said the suspension of IWT would bring immense benefit to Jammu and Kashmir, allowing it to harness its true hydropower potential. 'The barren areas of Jammu can be irrigated, and there will be new momentum in the development of infrastructure in J&K.'
'India's water will now flow within India and remain in India. With the termination of IWT, we now have full control over the Jhelum and Chenab rivers,' he said.
India, he said, will now create infrastructure, power plants, and diversions to new areas with proper infrastructure to utilise the water, enabling the construction of new reservoirs.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has also backed the central government's decision to put the 1960 IWT in abeyance and termed the treaty as the 'most unfair document' to the people of J&K.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
22 minutes ago
- India Today
Can India afford to ignore Pakistan's repeated threats? Experts debate on Gaurav Sawant's show
After Field Marshal Asim Munir, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and now Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has threatened India over the Indus waters treaty, which has been held in abeyance since May following the Pahalgam terror attack. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, "I want to tell the enemy today that if you threaten to hold our water, then keep this in mind that you cannot snatch even one drop of Pakistan.' A day earlier, former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the IWT's suspension an attack on the Indus Valley Civilisation and said the nation would not back down if New Delhi forced it into war. There's a clear pattern to these threats that are emerging from Pakistan. So, can India afford to ignore these repeated Pakistani threats and has US President Donald Trump sacrificed the India-US strategic partnership at the altar of a cryptocurrency deal with Pakistan or to regain a toehold in the region to keep an eye on Iran or is there another game at play here? Watch as experts discuss these and more on the show.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Supreme Court To Hear Plea On J&K Statehood Restoration On August 14
New Delhi: The Supreme Court would on Thursday hear a plea for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran is likely to hear the matter, according to the causelist. On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the revocation of Article 370, even as it ordered that assembly elections be held in Jammu and Kashmir by September 2024 and its statehood be restored "at the earliest". Last year, a plea was filed in the top court seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir within two months. The application was filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academician, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist. "It is submitted that the delay in the restoration of statehood would cause serious reduction of democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, causing a grave violation of the idea of federalism which forms part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India," the application said. The assembly elections and the Lok Sabha polls were conducted peacefully in Jammu and Kashmir without any incident of violence, disturbance or any security concerns being reported, it said. "Therefore, there is no impediment of security concerns, violence or any other disturbances which would hinder or prevent the grant/restoration of the status of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as had been assured by the Union of India in the present proceedings," the plea said. The non-restoration of the status of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, the plea said, would result in a lesser form of elected democratic government to the state, particularly given legislative assembly results were declared on October 8, 2024. Despite the supreme court's directions for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir "at the earliest and as soon as possible", no steps have been taken by the Centre to provide any timeline for the implementation of such directions, it claimed. "Jammu and Kashmir is being operated as a Union Territory for a period of almost five years now, which has caused many impediments and grave losses to the development of Jammu and Kashmir and has affected the democratic rights of its citizens," the plea added. In its December 2023 verdict, the supreme court held that Article 370, which was incorporated in the Indian Constitution in 1949 to grant special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was a temporary provision. The President of India was empowered to revoke the measure in the absence of the Constituent Assembly of the erstwhile state whose term expired in 1957, the court said.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
AU to launch B.Tech VLSI course to support chip mission
With the Centre giving a big boost to the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) by announcing four semiconductor projects, including one in Andhra Pradesh, city-based Andhra University (AU) is preparing to support ISM by providing skilled manpower through a new VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) design course from the academic year 2026-27. Prof. G. Sasibhushana Rao, principal, AU College of Engineering, said that the semiconductor projects require manpower from multiple disciplines, and those doing the VLSI design course will be in high demand. Speaking to The Hindu, Prof. Rao said: 'AU has already received approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for VLSI Design and from the AU Council for 60 seats. AU will be the first State university to introduce VLSI Design. The course will commence from the next academic year.' Prof. Rao said that ISM is the future of the country for the jobs for budding engineers. There will be a high need for freshers from colleges who have passed out from certain disciplines like VLSI, Computer Science, Electronics & Communications, Mechanical, Civil among other streams. Elaborating, Prof. Rao, a former Vice Chancellor of AU, said that the semiconductor manufacturing industry process has four main pillars: design, fabrication, testing and result analysis. Design is the use of electronic design automation (EDA) tools to create chip layouts, logic and verification models. Fabrication is the production of a chip on silicon or compound wafers through lithography, deposition, etching and implantation. Testing is electrical, functional and reliability testing to ensure performance, and finally result analysis includes yield optimization, defect analysis and final product validation. He said that every modern fab requires more than 5000 engineers across multiple disciplines to set up a full-fledged manufacturing unit (fab). Students from VLSI/ECE/Computer Science department are required for chip design, verification, test-programs and yield/debug analytics. Candidates from Microelectronics discipline are required for device-modelling and process integration. However, with the four newly approved semiconductor projects by the Centre with a cumulative investment of around ₹4,600 crore, the total number approved under ISM has reached 10 so far, with investments of around ₹1.60 lakh crore across 6 states including A.P., said a source from the department of Industries at the Secretariat. 'In Andhra Pradesh, Advanced System in Package Technologies (ASIP) will set up a semiconductor manufacturing unit under a technology tie-up with APACT Co. Ltd, South Korea, with an annual capacity of 96 million units. The location is yet to be identified, but surrounding areas of Visakhapatnam is also suitable as it has vast logistic network of rail, air and ports besides academic institutions. The products manufactured in A.P. will find applications in mobile phones, set-top boxes, automobiles and other electronic products,' the Secretariat official told The Hindu.
