.A delegation from Pakistan under its Indus Water Commission Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah, accompanied by World Bank-appointed Neutral Expert Michel Lino, is in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir till June 28. Technical Assistant to the Neutral Expert is being provided by Luc Deroo. During June 17 to 28 trip, the Neutral Expert is looking into technical objections raised by Pakistan on hydropower dams on Western Rivers. These objections raised by Pakistan have been regarding Run of River (RoR) projects being constructed on the Chenab and the completed Kishenganga project.
The 330 MW power project on Kishenganga called KHEP (Kishenganga Hydro Electric Project) was completed some years back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it on May 19, 2018. However, the other project about which Pakistan has raised objections is 850 MW Ratle Hydro Electric Project (RHEP) on the Chenab in Kishtwar district. This project was initially started in May 2013 but abandoned in 2018. Many years later, the RHEP was revived by the Modi government in its second tenure. However, Pakistan is trying its best to stall this project and cause delays as it has done in the past on every single project on Western Rivers that India has constructed.
Meanwhile, the J&K government has appointed 50 liaison officers, 25 each in Jammu and the Kashmir valley, for protocol purposes with the visiting delegation. These officers will be briefed by Managing Director (MD) of the Power Development Corporation H Rajesh Prasad about the duties and responsibilities during the visit.
The 118th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising of Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan was held on 30-31 May 2022 in New Delhi, according to a MEA press release. The Indian delegation was led by A.K. Pal, the Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters and the visiting Pakistan delegation was led by Mr Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah, the Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters.
During the meeting, annual report of the PIC for the year ending on 31 March 2022 was finalised and signed. The meeting was held in a cordial manner. Such meetings, under normal circumstances, are an annual feature but no meetings took place in 2023 when India challenged the IWT on January 25. That day, India had asked Pakistan to renegotiate IWT under Article XII(3) called Final Provisions of the treaty. It is the first time India has invoked Article XII (Final Provisions) which deals with Treaty amendments.
Pakistan always raises questions related to the designs, construction and operation of engineering works (hydropower dams) 0n the Western Rivers. Under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, the three Eastern Rivers, namely the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi were allocated to India. The Chenab, the Jhelum and the Indus were called the Western Rivers and allocated to Pakistan with India having limited rights of irrigation and unlimited rights to produce hydropower. Pakistan has no sovereign rights on the Western Rivers as they flow through the Indian territories.
Under the IWT, visits by Pakistan to project sites are considered routine but since 2019, no visits have taken place due to a strain in India-Pakistan relations. However, the visit of Pakistani delegation from June 17 to June 28 is being considered very special as dispute regarding KHEP and RHEP are the focus. Pakistan has started proceedings in relation to these two projects at the level of the Neutral Expert as also Court of Arbitration (CoA).
Under the dispute redressal mechanism as defined under IWT, the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is the first point of contact. If the two sides fail to address an issue at the level of PIC, it goes before a Neutral Expert as step 2. If it is not resolved at that level, it gets escalated to the level of Court of Arbitration (CoA). Given this, India has submitted itself to proceedings before Neutral Expert in both KHEP and RHEP cases. However, as a matter of principle, it has boycotted CoA proceedings in both the cases. Right now, the CoA headed by Sean Murphy is hearing the Pakistani side and since India is not involved, the proceedings are being conducted ex parte.
The Indian legal team before the Neutral Expert is being led by Harish Salve, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court. At the apex legal level, Mr Salve has often been the go to man for the Indian government, particularly when it comes to India-Pakistan relations. The legal team of Pakistan is being led by Mr Ahmed Irfan Aslam.
On May 26, Salve, and a nine-member delegation had reached Srinagar to prepare basic arguments and for site visits to KHEP as also RHEP. On May 27, some delegation members visited Gurez by helicopter for onsite visit to the Kishenganga Hydro Electric Project (KHEP). They returned to Srinagar late in the evening. The next day, on May 28, the delegation flew from Srinagar to Ratle Hydro Electric Project (RHEP) in Kishtwar.
The delegation split here at RHEP with some members, mainly those drawn from the Central Water Commission (CWC) going to Baglihar Hydro Electric Project (BHEP) at Chanderkote in Ramban district. These members had stayed at BHEP and held discussions with officials on May 29, reaching Jammu on May 30 and then flying back to Delhi.
The delegation of the Jal Shakti Ministry included Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development (RD) and Ganga Rejuvenation (GR). Harish Salve, KC and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India was with the delegation.
Khushvinder Vohra, Chairman, Central Water Commission; Ms Uma Shekhar, Additional Secretary, L&T (Legal & Treaties), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); J P Singh, Joint Secretary in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (PAI) Division of MEA; A K Pal, Commissioner (Indus), DoWR, RD and GR; Chetna Rai, Advocate; Naveen Kumar, Senior Joint Commissioner (Indus), DoWR, RD and GR besides Mr S K Sibal, Member (D&R) CWC were important members of the delegation. Mr Sibal is the Member of CWC heading the Designs and Research (D&R) wing.
He is a former alumni of IIT Delhi and an M Tech. Details regarding Sibal on his LinkedIn profile say: Experienced Chief Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Skilled in Planning and Design of Water Resources Projects, especially Concrete and Embankment Dams. Strong professional with a Master of Technology (M. Tech.) focused in Applied Mechanics from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Sibal had reached Srinagar on May 25 and Gurez at KHEP on May 26 and was there to receive Mr Salve and others at Gurez on May 27. He is a very critical to this whole issue as designs of hydropower projects are under challenge from Pakistan. Another Central government official, Darpan Talwar, Director CWC, was also in Jammu & Kashmir from May 25 to 30. Most of these men and women, besides some more officials drawn from various departments of the Jal Shakti Ministry and MEA are likely to be in J&K from June 17 to 28 now.
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