How India is strategically planning to dig canals to divert water from Indus amid tension with Pakistan

An expansion of canals on the Indus rivers is expected to reduce reliance on an increasingly unpredictable summer monsoon, which waters nearly 60% of the India’s net-sown area

India plans to revamp Indus canals by expanding irrigation capacity amid tensions with Pakistan over the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), according to a report by Hindustan Times.

India decided to suspend the treaty after the April 22 Pahalgam attack and has since then maintained that the treaty will remain suspended "until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism".

Under the IWT, while India can use water from the eastern rivers, Sutlej, Ravi and Beas, Pakistan is allowed unrestricted use of waters of the three western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.

According to officials, the rebuilding and expansion of canals linked to Indus rivers were prioritised immediately after the treaty was paused by India on April 23.

What is the plan?

The HT report stated that India is preparing to begin desilting work in the Ranbir, New Partap, Ranjan, Tawi Lift, Paragwal, Kathua Canal and Ravi canals.

The work will be done in phases by the Jammu and Kashmir government under technical guidance of the Centre.

“The need to expand these canals has been acutely felt for decades. The main aim is to increase their (water) carrying capacity to increase the net irrigation cover,” an official told HT.

An expansion of canals on the Indus rivers is expected to reduce reliance on an increasingly unpredictable summer monsoon, which waters nearly 60% of the India’s net-sown area.

“The Jammu region is favourable for year-round agriculture but water crises have always hampered farming as availability is very limited. Being in the northernmost part of the country, the monsoon arrives very late in J&K and retreats within a few weeks unlike in the hinterland,” Abhay Singh, a federal horticulture official, told HT.

Till now, India was using limited water from Chenab, mostly for irrigation. “Now, India is planning to enhance its current hydropower capacity of around 3000 megawatts on the rivers that were earlier being used by Pakistan and a feasibility study in this regard is planned,” an official told PTI.

Extending Ranbir canal

One of the key proposals involves extending the length of the Ranbir canal to 120 kilometres. In the Jammu division, canals provide over 90% of the total irrigation water: Ranbir caters to Jammu and Partap to Akhnoor. “The length of the Ranbir canal is about 60 km, which was built according to needs of the previous century and has remained stuck there despite growing agricultural water demand,” an official told HT.

Under IWT, the Ranbir canal can carry no more than 1000 cusecs for irrigation.

“The proposed expansion of these canals will be done to allow full utilisation of irrigation potential and expand their command areas,” the official cited above said.

The Partap channels are reportedly equally “high priority”.  The Old Partap canal used to open on the right bank of Chenab near a village called Devipur, which lies about 20 km downstream of the head of New Partap channel. The New Partap canal’s length is about 34 km. However, it has utilisation of no more than 9030 hectares which is reportedly not adequate.

J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has also pushed for the completion of the Tulbul barrage on Wullar lake, with the IWT being suspended.