Jammu: Several months after the Union Jal Shakti ministry had reopened the question of constructing the Ujh Multipurpose Project, it has now received the green light. According to a report in a Jammu-based newspaper, its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has okayed the revised proposal of the Ujh Multipurpose Project in Kathua district. Incidentally, the Ujh River is the largest tributary of the Ravi River, an eastern tributary allotted to India under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960.
The Ujh River meets the Ravi several kilometres downstream of the Shahpur Kandi dam, which is being built upstream of the Madhopur headworks in the Pathankot district of Punjab. As such, despite the construction of the Shahpur Kandi dam, a lot of water still flows as surplus to Pakistan territory located south-west of the International Border (IB). The project has been pending for a very long time and it has been a case of start/stop more than once.
After several false starts, the Central government announced on February 22, 2019, that the Ujh Multipurpose Project will be taken up, along with two other projects. However, only the Shahpur Kandi dam project was taken up, and two other projects were abandoned. One major reason for the abandonment of the Ujh project was that the cost-benefit ratio was not deemed suitable by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), a couple of engineers who have worked for several years in Jammu & Kashmir said.
Project Benefits
The revised Ujh project is expected to transform the Kandi region, including unirrigated areas in the tehsils of Kathua, Hiranagar, Ghaghwal, Samba, Ramgarh, and Vijaypur. The impounding of a projected 900 million cubic metres (MCM) of water in the Ujh reservoir will recharge the underground aquifers along its entire length. The canals that take off from this reservoir will recharge both upstream and downstream areas, according to a retired Chief Engineer of the Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC) Department of Jammu.
The project is expected to boost irrigation in the command area, which presently is rain-fed. It will enhance power generation and also ensure better water management for both J&K and Punjab. More importantly, the project will help stop the unutilized flow of water to Pakistan as this water keeps areas like Narowal and Lahore from running dry. In a decade, which is the expected timeline for this project to be completed, these areas will really feel the pinch.
Areas in Pakistan’s territory, located south-west of the International Border (IB), are likely to face a severe crunch and go thirsty upon completion of the Ujh project. Simultaneously, the areas in the Indian territory can start growing three crops a year, instead of presently being dependent on one crop only due to the absence of irrigation facilities, a couple of engineers who remained associated with the Rawi-Tawi Irrigation Canal (RTIC) project opined.
IWT in Abeyance
The issue of reopening the stalled Ujh Dam Project happened as the Indian government had put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance on April 23, 2025, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), in its recent meeting, discussed the revised Ujh project and finally accorded approval, taking into account the newly incorporated cost-benefit ratio aspects. Finding ways to prevent the flow of surplus water to Pakistan territory was a major factor that tilted the balance in favour of greenlighting the project.
Initially, the Ujh dam was to be a rockfill dam, similar to the Ranjit Sagar dam on the main stem of the Ravi River. However, some later designs deviated from the original scheme and proposed an RCC (reinforced concrete) dam. This led to significant cost escalation, at least 40 per cent by some estimates, and led to the project being declared unviable at one time. It is, however, not clear whether the project will be rockfill or RCC in the revised proposal this time.
Engineers who have worked very closely with the Ujh project said that an RCC dam is not needed as a rockfill dam is better for recharging of underground aquifers, besides being cost-effective. They explained that the seepage from a rockfill dam is much more and the water table can go up significantly.
Decision Welcomed
Minister of State in the PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh, is the MP from the Kathua-Udhampur Lok Sabha segment, and he welcomed the TAC decision. He posted the details regarding the decision as “Constitutency Update’’ on Facebook and elsewhere. He said the project will benefit Punjab and J&K in multiple ways. “The project will support farmers in J&K as well as in Punjab through assured irrigation, increase crop productivity and encourage diversification into high-value agriculture,” he said, adding, “better utilization of available water resources will reduce wastage and prevent excess flows from crossing over to Pakistan, aligning with the national priorities of maximising in-country use of river waters”.
Dr Singh, who has been pressing for reviving the project, has been quoted as saying: “The inter-ministerial arrangement between the Ministries of Home and Water Resources held detailed discussion and agreed on the Ujh project construction.”
The TAC has agreed to the proposal to divert excess water, after meeting J&K’s requirements, to Punjab instead of allowing it to flow across the border. Incidentally, the irrigation infrastructure, including existing canals in J&K, may require extensive repairs, reconstruction, and strengthening in the coming days. A lot of water, around 1,100 cusecs, is expected to become available to J&K from the Shahpur Kandi project. However, the existing canals can barely carry 400 cusecs of water and as such the carrying capacity will need to be enhanced.
Ujh Reservoir Capacity
Of the 900 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) this project envisages, J&K is likely to use only a little over half, around 500 MCM. The balance of 400 MCM will get diverted to neighbouring Punjab. The arrangement with Punjab will not be permanently confined to 400 MCM, and may change as the first priority will be given to J&K, as the project is located in the Union Territory (UT).
The plan is to divert water from the Ujh reservoir to the Ranjit Sagar Dam, which generates 600 MW of power. Of this, 20 per cent, or 120 MW, was to be allocated to J&K, but this has not happened to date, with Punjab retaining the entire 600 MW. The tentative cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 11,000 crore. Ironically, though this project was declared a National Project in 2008, it is still languishing, 18 years later.
Also closely involved will be the Central Water Commission (CWC), which prepared the earlier Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project. It was paid around Rs 18 crore for the preparation of the earlier DPR, according to an engineer who was associated with the project. Once the DPR is ready and all approvals are in place, it will go to the Union Cabinet. That means as of now, the project is far from being taken up. And in an expeditious manner.
