Omar reiterates objection to Indus Waters Treaty, says J&K has never been in favour of it
Omar is not the first J&K chief minister to sound concerns about the Indus Waters Treaty. His predecessors Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have done the same at different times in the past.
'The Government of India has taken some steps. As far as J&K is concerned, we have never been in favour of the Indus Waters Treaty. We have always believed that the Indus Waters Treaty has been the most unfair document to the people of J&K,' he told reporters here.
Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday reiterated 'reservations' governments in Jammu and Kashmir have had over the Indus Waters Treaty—put in abeyance earlier this week by India as a punitive measure in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Even for Omar, this is not the first time he has raised the issue.
In November last year, in his speech during the conference of power ministers of states & UTs held in New Delhi, Omar had said, 'The IWT on river-rich Jammu & Kashmir restricts its ability to harness its huge hydel power potential primarily due to storage constraints.
'J&K pays a heavy price in peak winter months when power generation hits a low, creating hardships for its people.'
He blamed clauses of the IWT which he said restrict J&K from realising its full hydel potential 'by only permitting run-off-the-river projects (which does not require live storage of river water) which adversely impacts its economy'.
Jammu-based journalist Zafar Choudhary explained to ThePrint the objection successive governments in J&K have had over the IWT.
'…the objection has been, they (J&K government) have been wanting the Centre to compensate them against the losses. So they say that since you awarded the right to these waters to Pakistan, we cannot build large dams, it's more political but very little practical,' he said.
Adding, 'It means that you know the water is available to us. We can still build a lot of run-off-the-river dams or we have not been able to harness the complete potential of the water so far. But it is not practical. Jammu and Kashmir Govt was never able to build Hydro Power Projects on its own. They did build couple of projects but they were contracted out to National Hydel Power Corporation of India (NHPC) for maintenance.'
Choudhary also said J&K-based political parties have held a range of views on the IWT, but there is consensus on seeking compensation from the Centre.
Reacting to Omar's remarks in November last year, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had cautioned him against turning the Indus Waters Treaty into a contentious issue. But during her own tenure as chief minister, Mufti too had demanded compensation from the Centre.
'…we are facing losses on account of IWT. We should get compensation and we cannot ask Pakistan for that but our own country,' she had said at a function in Srinagar in September 2016.
According to IWT, signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's President Ayub Khan in September 1960, the right to use the waters of three rivers flowing through J&K—Jhelum, Indus and Chenab—was granted to Pakistan, while the same for three other rivers passing through Punjab—Beas, Ravi and Sutlej—were granted to India. The treaty bars construction of any big dams or power projects on Jhelum, Indus or Chenab.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Pausing Indus Treaty might send a message to Pakistan, but India must speed up projects to reap benefits
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