BLOG
July 13th, 2012
Via Pakistan’s Daily Times, a report on the controversial KHEP power project in India and its impact on Pakistan:
Pakistan would likely face severe water shortage if it does not plead judiciously over the controversial 330 megawatts (MW) Kishanganga Hydro Electric Power (KHEP) project in India.
Pakistan has yet to decide the head and the members of the team who would face the said case before Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which will meet in August 2012.
Pakistan has absolute rights on rivers, as their flow is towards Pakistan and under the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) India is violating the accord, said a senior member of Sindh Agriculture Forum (SAF) on Wednesday.
Pakistan has right to oppose other dam projects besides opposing KHEP project because its diversion would reduce more than 20 percent of the power generation capacity of the 975 MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) on the same river downstream Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir.
In recent past due to the poor handling of case with India as well as in PCA, Pakistan could not gain points in favour of its case, only because of a team of jurists, not sincere from the start.
The IWT has now become ineffective as India is continuously violating all clauses of the treaty and Pakistan is not challenging them at any international forum by tacit approbation.
Under the treaty, three western rivers, Chenab, Jhelum and Indus are allocated to Pakistan and India is not allowed to build storages on them.
A report by the Washington DC based Woodrow Wilson Centre described Pakistan’s water shortage as deeply troubling.
It said in case of losing in PCA, Pakistan would face a loss of energy of more than Rs 6 billion every year.
Pakistan could also face the loss of more than $325 million annually, besides agriculture land of Muzaffarabad would become barren.
The IWT with India remained just on papers. India had diverted Pakistani water and constructed more dams, which would further worsen the water situation in Pakistan.
The underground water level went down from about 70-100 feet to up to 1,000 feet and has been termed as a worsening situation.
International Water Expert Engr Bashir Malik, who has served United Nations and World Bank as chief technical adviser said the cheapest and environment-friendly solution to water and energy crisis in Pakistan was the Kalabagh Dam, which could only be built by a patriotic and brave leader having the courage to break all the barriers in the best national interest.
Malik said Save Water Save Pakistan Forum would initiate a campaign to highlight water and energy crisis and their solution at national level for which they would have dialogues with the national leadership besides conducting seminars and conferences with the help of technical and legal experts.
SAF member said Pakistan should raised voice on international forum in order to stop Indian government to build water reservoirs on the rivers run into Pakistan.
Sources in Ministry of Water and Power said Pakistan should exploit the reported internal managerial feud on the Indian KHEP project.
The work on Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower (NJHP) project should be expedited completion of KHEP project.