With Indus Waters Treaty Gone, India Moves Ahead With Rs 22,000 Crore Dam On Chenab River

The Indian government has initiated the long-delayed Sawalkote Hydroelectric Power Project by floating international tenders, with the project's estimated cost pegged at ₹22,704 crore.

The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) issued the first tender on July 29, valued at ₹200 crore, for planning, design, and engineering works, with bids due by September 10.

This marks a significant step toward constructing the 1,856 MW facility on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir.

The project, located near Sidhu village in Ramban district, between Ramban and Udhampur, features a 192.5-metre roller-compacted concrete gravity dam and an underground powerhouse.

It includes a main 1,800 MW installation and a 56 MW auxiliary station to utilize environmental flows.

Designed as a run-of-the-river scheme, it will harness the Chenab's high-velocity waters, with a catchment area exceeding 10,000 square kilometres above the snowline in the Western Himalayas.

The facility is expected to generate around 8,000 million units of electricity annually and will be developed in two phases.

Conceived by the Central Water Commission in the 1960s, the project underwent geological assessments in the 1960s and 1970s, with a detailed project report finalized in 2018.

However, it faced prolonged delays due to environmental objections, financial constraints, legal challenges, and its location in a seismically active zone.

Further hurdles stemmed from the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which allocates the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—primarily to Pakistan, while permitting India limited non-consumptive uses like hydropower through run-of-the-river designs.

Pakistan raised objections to similar Indian projects, including Baglihar and Kishanganga, citing treaty violations.

The recent progress follows India's suspension of the IWT on April 23, 2025, a day after a terror attack in Pahalgam. This decision ended obligations such as prior notifications and data-sharing with Pakistan, enabling faster advancement.

In June 2025, the central government declared Sawalkote a "project of national importance," expediting clearances, and it received environmental approval in July.

Once operational, Sawalkote will surpass the 900 MW Baglihar project as Jammu and Kashmir's largest hydropower initiative, reducing the region's reliance on imported electricity and contributing to India's energy security.

Additional tenders for full construction are anticipated soon, though experts note that further delays could inflate costs beyond ₹30,000 crore.

The initiative aligns with broader efforts to utilize water resources from western rivers amid evolving geopolitical dynamics.