Omar seeks compensation from Centre over losses due to Indus Water Treaty

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s remarks that the IWT hinders J&K’s power capacity spark row; the focus should be the return of power projects from National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, says former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s remarks on the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) triggered a fresh debate on the power projects and poor electricity scenario in the Union Territory (UT) on Wednesday (November 13m 2024).  

“The IWT on river-rich Jammu & Kashmir restricts its ability to harness its huge hydel power potential primarily due to storage constraints. J&K pays a heavy price in peak winter months when power generation hits low, creating hardships for its people,” said Mr. Abdullah while speaking at a conference of Power Ministers of States and UTs on Tuesday (November 12, 2024). 

Highlighting the “limiting clauses in the Treaty that restricts J&K from realising its full hydel potential by only permitting run-of-the-river projects”, Mr. Abdullah said J&K was compelled to rely on power imports from other States, “ which adversely impacts its economy”.

“To address this, J&K would require special compensation from the Centre, including viability gap funding and equity assistance, to harness its untapped hydro-energy potential,” he added.

Referring to Mr. Abdullah’s remarks that the IWT hinders J&K’s power capacity, former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said there was no doubt that the Treaty has a negative impact on Kashmir “but the BJP narrative, of late, wants to make it an issue. Such issues can spark tension. Any tension between India and Pakistan will have a cost for the people of J&K”.

She asked Mr. Abdullah “to raise real questions”. “Does the power already generated belong to us? J&K generates electricity and is controlled by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah handed over the Salal project and Dr. Farooq Abdullah handed over seven power projects to the NHPC. Our focus should be return of power projects,” Ms. Mufti said.

The former J&K CM said the BJP in 2014 had agreed to hand over at least two power projects to J&K. “The Rangarajan Committee also recommended it or the Centre should compensate us. Our electricity goes to the NHPC,” she added.

J&K Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone also criticised Mr. Abdullah’s reference to Treaty and termed it as “right-wing gibberish intended to appease the ruling-party BJP”.

“I propose dividing J&K’s water resources into two categories, with category I including resources available for hydropower generation within treaty limits, and category II comprising those restricted by specific treaty parameters. We have not harnessed even 20% of our potential. And what we have harnessed is mostly owned by the NHPC,” Mr. Lone said.

He said the projects controlled by the NHPC were among its most profitable, “yet J&K remains a net power importer”. “We should have been net exporters of power,” he said.

He asked Mr. Abdullah to advocate for J&K’s water rights and “prioritise the category I resources in discussions with the BJP-led Centre”.

“Once we achieve excellence in category I, we can always move to category II and demand our rights or compensation for adhering to a treaty signed without our consent,” he added.

According to the treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, India has the right over the run-of-the-river water over the three rivers flowing through J&K and complete rights over the waters flowing through the three rivers in Punjab.

Published - November 14, 2024 07:34 am IST