During the bilateral talks on the treaty in Lahore in August last year, India, rejecting Pakistan’s objections to the construction of the Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) on the Chenab river, had invited Pakistani experts to visit the sites to address their concerns regarding the impact on the flow of water into their country.
Pakul Dul will not only be the largest hydroelectric power project in Jammu and Kashmir, but will also have the first storage unit.
Also, subsequent to its commissioning, Jammu and Kashmir will get 12 per cent free power after 10 years.
Pakal Dul is a storage project with a capacity of 88,000 acre ft, but this is within the permissible limit of storage of 0.6 MAF on the tributaries of the Chenab.
Pakistan has been attributing its problems of water scarcity to Indian action of constructing hydel projects on the western rivers.
In Pakistan’s perception, the construction of dams by India could lower the quantity of water in these rivers.
In 1950, the water available per capita annually was 5,500 cubic metres when the population of the erstwhile West Pakistan was 33 million; at present, it is down to 850 cubic metres annually, while the population has increased to 210 million.
As per a recent report, Pakistan is receiving about 154 MAF of water annually against an authorisation of 136 MAF.
Despite India’s generosity in the sharing of the Indus river waters, Pakistan has consistently adopted an obstructionist strategy since 1977, raising issues regarding run-of-river projects under construction on the western rivers by India.
The reduction in discharge is the result of construction of hydel power projects with storage facilities by Afghanistan and China.