Meeting of Permanent Indus Commission

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Recently, the annual meeting (116th) of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan has been held in New Delhi.

• Under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) 1960, the two Commissioners are required to meet at least once every year, alternately in India and Pakistan.

Highlights of the Meeting

• Discussions continued on designs of two Indian projects, namely, Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai.
  • India is building the Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Project (1,000 MW) on river Marusudar, a tributary of the Chenab. The project is located in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
  • The second project, Lower Kalnai Hydro Electric Power Project (48 MW) is being developed on the Chenab in Doda districts of J&K.
• Pakistan raised objections to the designs of these plants and India held that these are fully compliant with the provisions of the Treaty and also provided technical data in support of its position.
• Pakistan requested India for sharing information on the design of other Indian hydropower projects being planned to be developed. India assured that the information will be supplied when required to be.
• Both the Commissioners reaffirmed their cordial commitment to interact more frequently in an attempt to resolve the issues by bilateral discussions under the Treaty.
• The 2020 meeting could not be held due to restrictions induced by the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic and the 115th meeting of the PIC was held in Lahore, Pakistan in August 2018

Significance

• The meeting was held after a gap of more than two-and-a-half years, a period that witnessed the Pulwama attack (February 2019), Balakot airstrike (February 2019) and scrapping of Article 370 (August 2019).
  • In 2019, the erstwhile state of J&K was bifurcated into Union Territories of Ladakh and J&K.
  • India has since cleared several hydropower projects for the region.
    • Of these, Darbuk Shyok (19 MW), Shankoo (18.5 MW), Nimu Chilling (24 MW), Rongdo (12 MW), Ratan Nag (10.5 MW) are in Leh (Ladakh).
    • Mangdum Sangra (19 MW), Kargil Hunderman (25 MW) and Tamasha (12 MW) are Kargil (Ladakh).
• It is seen as a positive step after both countries agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors in February 2021.
  • It was their first joint statement by the Indian and Pakistani militaries in over eight years.
• The meeting coincided with the National Day of Pakistan (23rd March).
  • The day commemorates the passage of the Lahore Resolution on 23rd March 1940 in which the Muslim leaders of the sub-continent set the agenda of a separate homeland for Muslims.

Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

• It was signed between then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Pakistan President Ayub Khan on 19th September 1960.
• It sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers.
• According to provisions of the Treaty,
  • The water of the eastern rivers (Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi) amounting to around 33 million acre-feet (MAF) annually is allocated to India for unrestricted use.
  • The water of western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) amounting to around 135 MAF annually is allocated largely to Pakistan.
• Under the treaty, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation. It is allowed to use 20% water of the western rivers for irrigation, power generation and transport purposes.
• It also gives Pakistan the right to raise concerns on the design of Indian hydroelectric projects on western rivers.
• The Treaty was brokered by the World Bank and is one of the most durable agreements between both nations and has survived several wars and disruptions in bilateral relations over the decades.
• The  Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) was set up under the Treaty with the following functions:
  • Study and report on any problem relating to the development of river waters.
  • Solve water sharing disputes.
  • Arrange technical visits to projects sites.
  • Undertake a general tour of inspection of the Rivers for ascertaining the facts, once in every five years.
• Concerns Highlighted
  • Internationally, the Treaty is seen as one of the most successful cases of conflict resolution but between the two countries, it has seeded dissatisfaction and conflicts regarding its interpretation and implementation.
  • The treaty is highly technical leading to far-ranging divergences between the two countries in terms of interpretations.
    • For example, the treaty says that storage systems can be built but to a limited extent. However, the technical details make it difficult to conclude under what circumstances projects can be carried out.
  • Another concern is the tense political relations between the two countries.
    • From the Indian point of view, the basic dissatisfaction is that the treaty prevents it from building any storage systems on the western rivers, even though it allows building storage systems under certain exceptional circumstances.
    • Pakistan, due to its suspicions, stays aware of every technical aspect of the project and deliberately tries to get it suspended.
  • The matter is further aggravated by the fact that the western rivers lie in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir, a subject of a tussle between both since independence.

                                             (Image Courtesy: The Straits Times

Source: MEA