India, Pakistan and modifying the Indus Waters Treaty

Context: India’s move to serve formal
notice on August 30, 2024, in line with Article XII (3) of the Indus Waters
Treaty (IWT), underlines its concerns about meeting ever-increasing domestic
water needs in a sustainable manner. The notice is to review and modify the
treaty to address India’s specific concerns relating to altered population
demographics, along with agricultural and other uses apart from the need to
accelerate the development of clean energy to meet India’s emission rights.
India has also mentioned in the notice that the impact of persistent
cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is impeding smooth operations of
the Treaty, undermining the full utilisation of its rights in the Indus.

Key points

·      
Overview: Recently,
a five-member Pakistani delegation was flown to Jammu’s Kishtwar to inspect
power projects set up on the rivers covered under the Indus Water Treaty (IWT)
of 1960.

·      
Indus Water Treaty (IWT): Indus
Waters Treaty was signed on September 19, 1960, between India and Pakistan and
was brokered by the World Bank. The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation
and information exchange between the two sides on the use of the water of the
Indus River and its five tributaries Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab.

·      
Article XII of IWT:
It allows modification in the treaty from time to time, lays down a very high
threshold: ‘a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two
Governments’.

·      
Key provisions: Water
Sharing- It prescribes how water from the six rivers of the Indus River
System would be shared between India and Pakistan. It allocated the three
western rivers Indus, Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan for unrestricted use,
barring certain non-consumptive, agricultural and domestic uses by India and
the three Eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej were allocated to India for
unrestricted usage.

Permanent
Indus Commission- Under the Indus Waters Treaty, both
countries must set up a Permanent Indus Commission, mandated to meet annually.

Dispute
Resolution Mechanism- The IWT provides a three-step
dispute resolution mechanism under which “questions” on both sides can be
resolved at the Permanent Commission or can also be taken up at the
inter-government level.

·      
Various Projects to be Inspected
Under IWT: Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai- Pakal Dul
Hydro Electric Project built on river Marusudar, a tributary of the Chenab.
Lower Kalnai is developed on the Chenab.

Kishanganga
Hydroelectric Project- It is a run-of-the-river project
located in J&K. Pakistan objected to the project arguing that it would
affect the flow of the Kishanganga River (called the Neelum River in Pakistan).
In 2013, The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (CoA) ruled that India
could divert all the water with certain conditions.

Ratle
Hydroelectric Project- It is a run-of-the-river
hydroelectric power station on the Chenab River, in J&K.