Indus Water Treaty put on hold, another Chenab hydel project gets govt nod

Chenab

A committee under the Union Ministry of Environment has given its clearance to the 260-MW Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project proposed on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials confirmed.

The approval follows India's decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan on hold after the Pahalgam terror attack in April which claimed 26 lives. The green light was granted by the Expert Appraisal Committee on hydropower projects at its 45th meeting earlier this month, paving way for the issuance of construction tenders for the run-of-the-river project, which is projected to cost over Rs 3,200 crore.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the committee observed that the water of the Chenab basin is shared by India and Pakistan under the provisions of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and that the design and technical parameters of the project have been formulated in line with those stipulations.

"However, the Indus Water Treaty stands suspended effective from April 23, 2025," the panel noted.

Under the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan had rights over the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers, and India over the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. With the agreement currently suspended, the Centre has moved to fast-track multiple hydropower projects in the Indus basin, including Sawalkote, Ratle, Bursar, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru, and the Kirthai I and II schemes.

Dulhasti Stage-II has been planned as a follow-on to the 390-MW Dulhasti Stage-I hydroelectric project, also known as the Dulhasti Power Station, which has been in successful commercial operation since its commissioning in 2007 by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited.

As per the proposal, water from the Stage-I power station will be routed through an independent tunnel stretching 3,685 metres with a diameter of 8.5 metres to create a horseshoe-shaped pondage for Stage-II. The project also includes a surge shaft, a pressure shaft and an underground powerhouse equipped with two units of 130 MW each, taking the total installed capacity to 260 MW along with its projected annual power generation.

The total land requirement for the project is estimated at 60.3 hectares.