INDUS WATER TREATY : Indus water commission meet in Pakistan: Top developments

SOURCE
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indus-water-commission-meet-in-pakistan-top-developments/articleshow/57725548.cms

1. Indus water commission meet in Pakistan: Top developments

   TIMESOFINDIA.COM 
   
    Mar 20, 2017

   The two-day meeting of Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), on Monday, will discuss the design aspects of Pakal Dul, Lower Kalnai and Miyar hydroelectric plants being constructed by New Delhi and other water related matters between Pakistan and India.
2. MEET AFTER TWO YEARS
   The 113th Meeting of Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is being held on March 20-21 after a gap of almost two years - last such meeting took place in May 2015 in New Delhi.
3. INDIAN DELEGATION IN PAKISTAN
   On Sunday, a 10-member Indian delegation arrived to take part in the meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) beginning today in the Pakistani capital. The delegation, which will take part in the two-day meeting, is led by India's Indus Water Commissioner P K Saxena and comprises of Ministry of External Affairs officials and technical experts. Senior Pakistani officials and Indian High Commission officials greeted the delegation at the Wagah border.
4. ACCESS DENIED
   Media personnel gathered at the Wagah border were not given access to the delegation. The delegation later left for Islamabad by road amid high security. Ahead of the visit, an Indian government source told PTI that India is "always open" to discuss and resolve concerns Pakistan has over its projects under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) bilaterally.
5. NO COMPROMISE
   The source, however, reiterated that there will be "no compromise" on India exploiting its due rights under the 57-year-old pact. However, the agenda for the meeting, taking place nearly six months after India decided to suspend talks on the pact in the wake of the Uri terror attack by Pakistan-based outfits, is yet to be finalised. Asked whether the delay in reaching consensus over the agenda for the meeting will leave little time to resolve issues, the source replied in negative.
   

   
   

   
   "We always go into such meetings with optimistic mindset. In the past too, there had been delays in finalising agenda for the meeting, yet solutions were achieved," the source added.
6. PAKISTAN'S OBJECTIONS
   Pakistan had raised objections over designs of 240 MW Uri-II and 44 MW Chutak projects, built in Baramulla and Kargil districts of Jammu and Kashmir respectively, saying these will deprive it of its water share under the pact
7. THE CONCERN OVER DESIGN
   However, at a meeting held in May 2010, the neighbouring country withdrew objections after the Indian side provided details of the Chutak projects. Similarly, Pakistan has been flagging concern over designs of India's five other hydroelectricity projects -- Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kishanganga (330 MW), Miyar (120 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) - being built or planned in the Indus river basin, contending these violate the treaty. It had approached the World Bank, the mediator between the two countries of the 57-year-old water distribution treaty, in August last year raising issues over Kishanganga and Ratle projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
8. THE INDIAN PROJECTS
   While there is no clarity yet whether issues relating to these two projects will figure during the meet as they are before the Bank, the source said Pakal Dul, Miyar and Lower Kalnai may be discussed. According to Pakistan, designs of the three projects are not in line with the treaty, whereas India has maintained otherwise. The three projects, being built on tributaries of Chenab river, are in the pre-construction/under-construction stages.
9. THE ESTIMATED COST OF PROJECTS
   Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai are being built in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of Rs 7,464 crore (November 2008 price level) and Rs 396 crore respectively. Miyar hydroelectricity project, located in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Spiti district, is estimated to cost Rs 1,125 crore. The Commission, which has officials from both the countries as its members, was set up under the treaty to discuss and resolve issues relating to its implementation.
10. MANDATORY MEET
    It is mandatory for the Commission to meet at least once in a fiscal, alternately in India and Pakistan. The PIC had last met in May 2015. India has already downplayed its participation in the meeting, saying it does not amount to "resumption" of government-level Indo-Pak talks. Declaring that "blood and water cannot flow together," Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a meeting in September to review the treaty in the backdrop of the terror strikes, including the Uri attack.
    

    
    
    After that meeting, officials had announced that the government has decided to suspend further talks and increase the utilisation of rivers flowing through J&K to fully exercise India's rights under the pact