Hyderabad: September 19, 2020 would mark 60 years of the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.
The treaty was signed in 1960 by the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. It was an agreement that was proposed to give a guideline to both the countries on the usage of water of six rivers shared by the two nations. The treaty was signed following the partition of the subcontinent .
It took nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory in the treaty. The negotiations were the initiative of former World Bank President Eugene Black.
India and Pakistan eventually reached a decisive step for the issue with the intervention of the World Bank. Precise details were laid out about how the water will be divided. While Jhelum, Chenab and Indus (Three western rivers) were allocated to Pakistan, India received the control of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej (Three eastern rivers). The treaty also stated that aside of certain specific cases, no storage and irrigation systems can be built by India on the western rivers.
The Treaty set out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission, which has a commissioner from each country. The Treaty also set forth distinct procedures to handle issues which may arise.
As a signatory to the Treaty, the World Bank's role is limited and procedural. In particular, its role in relation to "differences" and "disputes" is limited to the designation of people to fulfil certain roles when requested by either or both of the parties.
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As per the treaty, the water commissioners of both the countries meet twice a year and arrange technical visits to projects' sites and critical river head works for inspections.
After the Uri terror attack in 2016, India suspended talks of Indus water commission and fast-tracked hydro power projects to tap the unutilised water of the Eastern rivers. The three projects include the Ujh dam project in Jammu and Kashmir, Shahpur-Kandi dam project, and a second Sutlej-Beas link in Punjab.
What is in it for India
India's share of water from Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers add up to 33 million acres feet (MAF). While about 95 per cent of the water was being used in the country after the construction of three main dams across the rivers, close to 5 per cent water or 1.6 MAF would flow to Pakistan.
The treaty also placed certain restrictions on India. On the rivers allocated to Pakistan – Western rivers – India was not allowed to build storages. Restrictions were also imposed on India regarding the extension of irrigation projects development, although India was given the full rights for power generation using the river water.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, under the provisions regarding the western rivers, India can use the water for the following uses, in the case of each of the rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab – to the drainage basin thereof - Non-Consumptive Use; Domestic Use; Agricultural Use, and Generation of hydro-electric power.
