India to fast-traced water power plans on Pakistan-bound rivers

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. News India to Fast-Track Water Power Plans on Pakistan-bound rivers after the treaty treaty. It is estimated that the average annual end of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab is 136 maf. (HT) Summary The Indus Water Treaty, which was signed in 1960 by the World Bank mediation for the part of river water between India and Pakistan, was suspended by India on April 22 after the death of 26 people by terrorists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. New -delhi: India plans to speed up water power projects on rivers flowing into Pakistan after suspending the Indus water treaty last week, two people who are aware of the matter said. The center is also investigating the possibility of building new projects on the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers, and their tributaries. The Indus Water Treaty, which was signed in 1960 by the World Bank’s mediation for the part of river water between India and Pakistan, was suspended by India after the death of 26 people by terrorists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. The treaty closed India’s storage capacity on these rivers at 3.6 maf (million acres). With the treaty now suspended, India can build water ponds and reservoirs for flood control on it. It is estimated that the average annual end of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab 136 maf, of which 40% (about 54 maf) comes from the Indian catchment area. State -owned NHPC will speed up the commissioning of Sawalkot (1.856 MW), Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Ratle (850 MW) Bursar (800 MW), Kiru (624 MW), Kirthai 1 and 2 (1.320 MW), among others. Read also | Eib worked with the public sector companies to finance Indian green hydrogen projects: VP beer “A few projects were recorded a few years ago, but they didn’t get a pace, or were held,” one of the people said. “Currently, the matter is in a discussion phase and we are working on the modalities,” an official at the Jal Shakti division, irrigation and flood control in the state government said on condition of anonymity. is in progress, which would need about two years for commissioning. Quoted. Inquiries sent to the Ministry of Power, Jal Shakti, and NHPC remained unanswered until purple time. “With the current infrastructure, which India can do immediately, is not to share data in terms of the water flow to Pakistan and keep some time or even turn on the water flow without informing Pakistan,” said Abhay Kumar Singh, former chairman and managing director of NHPC Ltd. “The decision to put the treaty in the water flow made concern in Pakistan as it would keep the water flow.” The step to suspend the treaty is expected to hit the eastern neighbor hard, with an estimated 80% of its agriculture dependent on water from the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. Certainly, building such projects in the robust terrain of J&K has its own set of challenges of the Indus water treaty. A former member of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said on condition of anonymity that throws surprises by the site, and the topography tends to hamper the projects sometimes. Read also | Am Green and DP World joins hands to develop global green hydrogen supply chain “As the mountains are largely young, there is the chance of landslides or landslides built as tunnels,” this person said. “However, if proper investigation is done and sliding zones and fracture zones (which are more vulnerable) are cared for, the projects can be successful.” Communication with Pakistan even before the Indus water treaty was suspended, India has written to Pakistan twice over the past two years to adjust the treaty. After the decision to suspend the Treaty, Debashree Mukherjee, Union Ministery of Jal Shakti, her Pakistani counterpart, Syed Ali Murtaza, notified the move. In the letter of April 24 to the Ministry of Water Sources of Pakistan, Mukherjee referred to the previous notices of India that attributed adaptation to the modification of the amendment and the proposed changes to factors, including the need for renewable energy, in this case Hydro Power. The letter noted that previous communications have cited fundamental changes in the circumstances that have taken place since the Treaty, which requires a re -evaluation of the obligations under the Treaty. “These changes include significantly changed population demographics, the need to accelerate the development of clean energy, and other changes in the assumptions underlying the division of waters among the treaty,” the letter states. The hydro projects India identified the potential hydropower capacity of 18.217 MW of 18.21 GW on the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, of which the latter only has the potential for 14GW. The operational projects in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) that fall under the purpose of the Treaty include Kishanganga, Uri I and II, Dulhasti, Baglihar and Sewa projects with a cumulative capacity of more than 3.3 GW. Detailed project reports or provisional feasibility reports have been set up for another 12.25 GW capacity of hydro projects on these rivers, with another 2.56 GW. Read it | Broken dams, crippled plants: climate disaster -ramps for water power enterprises “with the Indus water treaty in Abeyance, India would now tackle projects planned for a long time, but Pakistan objected,” NHPC’s former chairman Singh said, as he did not allow any big storage capacity. The storage problem, although there is currently no operational capacity for storage, the Pakal Dul project on the Marusudar River, a tributary of the Chenab, under construction, has a planned storage capacity of 0.09 MAF. Then the cumulative capacity of 2.23 maf was identified for the Pakal Dul, Bursar, Wardwan Scholarship, Gyspa and Ratle projects. Singh added that storage capacity can now be created that will contribute the hydro power capacity and the mitigation of flood. Singh further said that the reservoir capacity of the Salal Project, which has significantly reduced due to the ban on the disruption of the treaty, can also now be revived, as the silt of the silt can be done without intimidating Pakistan. He also said that for the planned projects that are mostly underway, planning new large reservoirs would need new DPRs, thereby adding a few more years to the process. Slow progress Meanwhile, a report from the controller and auditor general submitted in parliament in March 2023 has raised concerns about the slow progress of hydro power projects in J&K. It noted that the lack of ease to do business for independent power producers (IPPs) should be addressed and that the state must be visited Hydro Power Policy 2011. And read | Ntpc -arm in conversations with HPCL, Hindalco for green hydrogen JVs. It is also said that the state government and the relevant government agencies must ensure a feasible identification of sites, rapid DPR finalization, IPP’s handling in the acquisition of land and statutory cleanups and the acquisition of finance and to help IPPs to effect projects. “Regarding EPC projects developed by JKPDC (JAMMU & Kashmir Power Development Corporation), the completion of projects can be ensured in a time-bound manner, except the installation of the power evacuation system before the projects were put into use,” it said. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #nhpc Mint Specialies