Pakistan Cries Foul Over Inauguration Of Kishanganga Dam, Rushes To World Bank With A List Of Complaints

Just days after the inauguration of the 330-megawatt hydroelectric project on the Kishanganga river in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan has sent a four-member team to the World Bank to raise India’s alleged violation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, Times of India has reported.

The project, completed despite Pakistan’s objection, is the first run of the river scheme that involves the inter-basin transfer of water. Water from Kishanganga river in the Gurez valley will be transferred to Bonar Nallah in Bandipora using a 23.65-km-long tunnel dug across mountains. Pakistan had objected to the construction of the dam, saying it will affect the flow of water.

According to the Indus Waters Treaty, for which the World Bank acted as the mediator, India can use the water of the rivers allotted to Pakistan - the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - for certain ‘non-consumptive uses’.

Pakistan has, in the past, approached the World Bank flagging concern over designs of India’s five hydroelectricity projects - Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kishanganga (330 MW), Miyar (120 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) - being either built or planned in the Indus river basin, saying these violate the treaty.

According to the Indian Express, Pakistan moved the Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2010, which stayed the project for three years. Much to Islamabad’s displeasure, the court ruled in India’s favour in 2013. It said that the project is “a Run-of-River Plant within the meaning of the Indus Waters Treaty and that India may accordingly divert water from the Kishenganga/Neelum River for power generation.”

In November 2016, Pakistan had shelled the region around the dam.

Also Read: The Indus Waters Treaty: Can India Inflict Damage By Abrogating It?