"The fields of Jammu farmers were dry and the villages were in darkness, but our water was going to Pakistan," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday while launching a scathing attack on Congress for keeping the Shahpurkandi Dam stalled for decades. In February, after the completion of the Shahpur Kandi Barrage, India stopped the flow of Ravi River water to neighbouring Pakistan.
As per several media reports, this decision by the centre has been labelled as a "strategic" move in water management that will help the nation to retain a total of 1,150 cusecs of water, which was previously going to Pakistan. Moreover, this water will now be used in Jammu and Kashmir for agricultural purposes.
Lets take a closer look at the significance of the Shahpurkandi dam and its connection to the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.
In Pipeline Since 1979
The Shahpurkandi dam project has a long history, dating back to a 1979 agreement between Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal and Sheikh Abdullah. Initially, the deal included the construction of the Ranjit Sagar (Thein) Dam on the Ravi River along the border of the two states. To optimize water usage, a second dam was proposed downstream at Shahpur Kandi in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
Then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao laid the foundation stone for the project in 1995. However, disputes between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab led to the project being suspended and placed on hold.
In 2018, the centre intervened, terming it as a national project. Subsequently, the governments of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir signed an agreement to complete the Shahpurkandi dam within three years.
Shahpurkandi Dam: Technical Side
As per details on the Punjab government's official website, a 55.5-meter tall dam is currently under construction across the Ravi River. Situated 11 kilometers downstream from the Ranjit Sagar Dam project and 8 kilometers upstream from the Madhopur headworks, this project includes two powerhouses with a combined capacity of 206 MW.
The dam is expected to provide irrigation facilities to approximately 37,173 hectares
Furthermore, the dam will serve as a balancing reservoir in relation to the Ranjit Sagar Dam project. This is crucial as the releases from the latter, primarily driven by power generation requirements, have been adversely impacting the Upper Bari Doab Canal System.
Indus Waters Treaty
According to the Indus Waters Treaty, India possesses exclusive rights to the waters of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, totalling 33 million acre-feet (MAF) annually. Conversely, Islamabad maintains authority over the waters of the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — amounting to 135 MAF.
Signed in 1960 by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan's President Ayub Khan, with the World Bank as a signatory, the treaty grants India usage rights to the rivers' water. However, there are constraints on constructing storage systems on the western rivers. Nevertheless, it permits India to produce hydroelectric power utilising the western rivers, subject to stipulated design and operational guidelines. Additionally, Pakistan retains the right to raise objections regarding the design of Indian projects.
However, since the treaty's inception, one of India’s primary concerns has been the restriction preventing it from constructing storage systems on the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, classified as the western rivers. The treaty permits such systems under exceptional circumstances, but India contends that Pakistan obstructs any such endeavours. Complicating matters is the fact that these rivers flow through Jammu and Kashmir, an unresolved dispute between the two nations.
Interestingly, in January last year, India issued a notice to Pakistan regarding the modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The notice was transmitted through the respective commissioners for Indus waters, as Islamabad had declined to engage in discussions to resolve the issue concerning India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects for the preceding five years, despite New Delhi’s attempts, sources informed NDTV.