Power generation in projects like Salal and Baglihar (both on Chenab in the Jammu region) and at Lower Jhelum project and Uri I (located on Jhelum in Kashmir region) has improved during the last few weeks. This has happened as the sediment flushing was done from their reservoirs after the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was put in abeyance on April 23, according to sources in the Power Development Department (PDD).
Under the IWT, sediment flushing usually had to wait till the peak flows in the rivers was attained, usually in the month of August when precipitation peaked due to monsoon rains. This constraint out of the way now, engineers decided to flush out sediments from the reservoirs far ahead of the annual schedule they had maintained for decades. In Salal, the situation was precarious for the last few years as its reservoir had filled with sediments almost to the brim.
This sediment filling had impacted generation of power adversely and the power had also become costlier. Actually, the cost of routine repairs, operating of turbines and their maintenance had also gone up at the Salal hydropower plants, one of the oldest located on the Chenab River in Reasi district. However, almost all the units of the Salal plant are producing electricity far beyond what they have done in the last few years, these sources said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hopes that with the IWT constraints out of the way, at least a couple of hydropower projects, one each in Jammu and the other in Kashmir, may get speeded up. He has recently held discussions in this connection with Central leaders at Delhi, among them Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. To take part in some celebrations organised by the BJP and for some official work, Khattar was in Srinagar on Thursday.
Khattar was categorical that the power projects that had been put on hold, or on which work had slowed down in J&K, will get a boost now. These projects have suffered in the past due to intransigence and hostility shown towards them by Pakistan. However, both the Central government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Omar Abdullah are now keen to expedite some of the projects. Khattar said the IWT being in abeyance is a golden opportunity to pick up new projects regarding which India was hesitant at one time.
This hesitant attitude to start new projects on the Western Rivers was due to bitter experiences of the past as Pakistan objected to any and every project. This led to significant losses being suffered by India as the timelines of the project got stretched, delays led to cost escalations and such other things. A prime example of this perfidy practised by Pakistan is the ongoing 850 MW Ratel hydropower project in Kishtwar district.
The project was inaugurated with much fanfare by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 29, 2013, who said at that time that it would be completed within five years. However, it was abandoned mid-way by the private company which had won it through competitive bidding. The main reason of abandonment was the negative publicity in Pakistani newspapers. The Pakistani government claimed that its design was in violation of IWT. Be that as it may, more than 12 years after the initial inauguration, the project is nowhere near complete on as Pakistan had sought third party interventions to delay it.
In his address at Srinagar, Khattar warned Pakistan of trying any misadventure regarding IWT which was in abeyance and will remain so in the foreseeable future. He said Pakistan had to pay a heavy price for sponsoring terrorism against India. If it tries to repeat its behaviour in any domain, Pakistan should be ready to receive a heavier and more overwhelming response from India.
CM Omar Abdullah, who also holds the Power portfolio, said that with Treaty out of the way, certain power projects, which have remained stalled earlier, need to be taken up on priority. He said the government was subsiding power for different categories of consumers, be they domestic or industrial. As such, the consumers should take care to use power in a responsible manner. He hoped that the power availability will improve over the next few months and years due to a host of factors.
