Latest news with #TulbulProject
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Undermining our region's stability': PDP slams Omar Abdullah for calling to scrap Indus Waters Treaty
Omar Abdullah (left), and Mehbooba Mufti NEW DELHI: The People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday criticised Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah for his recent comments about the Tulbul Navigation Project and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The party said such remarks could affect the "fragile" peace and ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). "Omar Abdullah's remarks invoking the Tulbul Navigation Project and the control of water flow across the border are not just ill-timed but deeply irresponsible. At a moment when peace is fragile and the ceasefire is barely holding, such provocations only serve to inflame tensions," the PDP said in an official statement. The PDP also referred to a 2002 resolution on the IWT in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative council. It said, "The resolution was moved by an NC MLC, not the PDP. It passed solely because the National Conference held a majority in the Upper House." This response followed a recent exchange between Omar Abdullah and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. The two leaders commented on the possible resumption of the Tulbul Navigation Project after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. The argument began when Abdullah posted on Thursday about restarting construction on the Tulbul Navigation Barrage at Wullar Lake. He wrote, "The Wular lake in North Kashmir. The civil works you see in the video is the Tulbul Navigation Barrage. It was started in the early 1980s but had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan citing the Indus Water Treaty. Now that the IWT has been 'temporarily suspended' I wonder if we will be able to resume the project," on his X handle. Mufti shared Abdullah's post and replied, "At a time when both nations have just stepped back from the brink of war—with Jammu and Kashmir once again paying the highest price through loss of innocent lives, destruction, and suffering—such provocative statements are deeply irresponsible." Meanwhile, the PDP in its official statement described Abdullah's comments on the IWT as "dangerous and short-sighted." It said such remarks could raise tensions and harm people especially in border areas. "Our position is clear: We continue to demand fair compensation under the treaty to Jammu and Kashmir, but the IWT must not be used as a pretext for war rhetoric," the PDP said. The party also said, "Introducing contentious issues like the Tulbul Project or the abrogation of the IWT in today's volatile climate only pushes both countries closer to further confrontation. Those in J&K advocating such positions are undermining our region's stability, jeopardizing the lives of our people living in the border states who suffer most when conflict escalates, and, most importantly, India's interests."
Economic Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
From Salal to Ratle, a series of constraints: Indus Waters Treaty and the cost of cooperation
Salal Project: The First Major Dispute Reduction in dam height Elimination of the operating pool Sealing of the crucial undersluices for sediment management Live Events Kishanganga and Ratle Projects: Disputes Continue Tulbul Project: A Dispute Left Unresolved Baglihar Project: A Case Taken to the World Bank (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel While the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is often hailed as one of the most 'successful' international water-sharing agreements , a closer look at the disputes surrounding it tells a more sobering story. Rather than being a consistent triumph, India's experience with the IWT reflects a history of delays, operational compromises, and prolonged constraints, often stretching over first major project under dispute was the 690 MW Salal hydroelectric project on the Chenab River in Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir. In 1968, as per treaty requirements, India submitted the project design to the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) for Pakistan's raised several objections concerning the dam's height, design, and diversion canals. Although India considered escalating the matter to the World Bank 's Neutral Expert mechanism , it eventually conceded to Pakistan's demands, keen to maintain the spirit of the 1972 Shimla 1978, India agreed to significant design modifications, including:The Salal project was completed in 1987 but soon suffered from sedimentation problems. Without the under-sluices, the reservoir quickly turned into an elevated riverbed, and the project's capacity fell to nearly 57%, severely impairing its efficiency and 330 MW Kishanganga project , launched in 2006, became the first project under the IWT to face arbitration at the Court of Arbitration (CoA). Pakistan objected to India's water diversion from the Kishanganga (Neelum) River and moved the CoA in CoA's 2013 ruling was a mixed outcome for India: it allowed the diversion but mandated a minimum downstream flow to Pakistan sought further arbitration on Kishanganga's design in Pakistan raised objections to the 850 MW Ratle project in 2012. In 2022, it initiated parallel proceedings at the World Bank, invoking both the CoA and Neutral Expert mechanisms. India opposed this dual-track approach and, for the first time, issued a formal notice to Pakistan on January 25, 2023, seeking treaty modification, followed by a second notice on August 30, of now, both Kishanganga and Ratle projects remain pending before the Neutral second major dispute centred around the Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project, initiated by India in 1984 at the mouth of Wullar Lake on the Jhelum objected, claiming it constituted a 'storage' project prohibited under the IWT. It raised the issue with the PIC in 1986, and construction was halted in multiple rounds of bilateral discussions until 2006, the project's viability eventually eroded. Faced with Pakistan's persistent objections and broader diplomatic concerns, India effectively abandoned the Tulbul project, the longest unresolved dispute under the 900 MW Baglihar hydroelectric project on the Chenab followed about a decade later. India served the mandatory prior notice to Pakistan in 1992, but objections soon surfaced, particularly concerning the gated spillways (added to prevent Salal-like sedimentation) and storage escalated after India awarded a construction contract in 1999. Eventually, the matter was taken to the World Bank in 2005, where Raymond Lafitte was appointed as the Neutral extended proceedings, Lafitte's 2007 ruling largely upheld India's design, including the contentious gated spillways. The dispute was formally resolved in 2010.
