India has denied Pakistan’s allegation of breaching the Indus Water Treaty held between both the countries in 1960 on equal distributions of rivers that flow in the north and northwestern part of India. India has control over three rivers flowing on eastern region while Pakistan holds the command of same number of rivers in the western part including Chenab.
Pakistan on September 15 had alleged that despite of repeated complaints to India for not enhancing the water level of Chenab, New Delhi had not responded to it. In September when the water is extremely crucial for upcoming crops of Rabi, reduced water flow in the Chenab is a major issue for the region. Hence, Pakistan has asked for World Bank intervention as the Bank is the third party of this treaty.
Pakistan has also warned to ask compensation money from India as against its loss which Pakistani farmers have borne for not getting adequate water for their kharif crops. According to sources, Islamabad has asked the Punjab irrigation department to estimate the value of loss.
India on the other hand has completely denied the allegation by quoting, “Pakistan knows it very well that the water level of the Chenab falls during the month of September.”
Earlier in 2005, Pakistan had protested against the construction of the Baglihar dam on the Chenab river and this time accused India for filling the dam which resulted in decreasing the water level on the Chenab.
However, Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz on Wednesday said that the marginal reduction on the Chenab water flow was due to less rain in the Chenab basin and India had not filled up Baglihar dam for its hydropower project since August 31 this year.
He further asserted, “New Delhi is strictly following the treaty guidelines and Pakistan has made complaint even before the schedule time, he said.
‘The Bagliyar dam is the main cause of this complaint because Pakistan had tried its best not to let the construction begin in 2005 and even that time it sought World Bank’s involvement. And now, when India has constructed the dam and has prepared for hydro electricity power project, Pakistan is feeling uneasy,’ as per Indian officials.
India is setting up a 450 Megawatt hydropower project plant on Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The IWT was signed in Karachi between India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960 by the then Indian Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Pakistan President General Ayub Khan. The World Bank (then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) is a signatory of the accord.
According to this deal, India and Pakistan would have to maintain a certain level of water that suits both the countries.
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