Jammu and Kashmir Power Commissions 450-Megawatt Baglihar Power Plant Amid Protests from Pakistan

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir) floated global tenders in August to build the 690-megawatt (MW) Rattle hydropower project in the Kishtwar district on the Chenab River. The $638 million project will be handed over to an independent power producer to be implemented on a build-own-operate-and-transfer basis.

More recently, on October 10, Phase I of the long-awaited Baglihar hydropower project in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir was commissioned. This phase of the 900-MW project on Chenab will generate 450 MW of power, which will help the state generate about $188 million in revenue. Work on the project began almost a decade ago, but Pakistan had continually protested about the height of the dam, saying that it was being built against the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty signed by the two nations. The new project will give a major boost to the state's power industry, which is in a deficit. It is also expected to generate revenues of about $1.86 billion for the state. The cost of the project increased from the initially estimated $827 million to more than $1 billion over the almost 10-year-long construction period. With the completion of the project, Jammu and Kashmir's power import bill would decrease by about $83 million a year.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the state has the potential to generate 20,000 MW of hydropower, but the present capacity of the projects set up by the central sector is 1,560 MW, while the state government's contribution will reach 759 MW with the commissioning of the new project. There are about 23 projects in the pipeline that are expected to generate 16,200 MW. Jammu and Kashmir presently imports 1,400 MW of power to meet its demand of 1,800 MW.

In recent times, Pakistan has also protested about the quantity of water released by India from the Chenab River. Pakistan claimed that India reduced the quantity of water in order to fill the Baglihar Dam before its commissioning, causing hardship to Pakistani farmers. According to Pakistan, the country's water levels went down to 22,000 cubic feet per second while it should receive 55,000 cubic feet per second at the Marala Headworks. The reduced water supply will aggravate the power crisis in both rural and urban Pakistan. In response, India pointed out that the reason for the reduction in water supply is insufficient rain. Jammu and Kashmir's government has filled the reservoir with 32.56 million cubic meters of water as recommended by the World Bank, a signatory to the treaty.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water sharing treaty between India and Pakistan. It was signed in 1960 and outlines the legal framework for the two countries' use of water from the Indus Basin. The treaty allocates the eastern rivers of Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India until the point at which they enter Pakistan. Similarly, it allocates the western rivers of Chenab, Jhelum and Indus to Pakistan. India has limited use of the water of the western rivers. India can utilize the water for domestic use, agricultural use, generation of hydroelectric power, storage work, and nonconsumptive use, which include navigation, flood control, fishing and wildlife. The nonconsumptive uses cannot diminish the flow of water to Pakistan.

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