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| No objection if within parameters of IWT: Pak panel | | Tawi lake project | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Feb 20:
An Indus Water Commission team from Pakistani arrived here today on a four-day visit to study the artificial lake project coming up on river Tawi in the winter capital of the state.
The tour was specially organised to disperse any doubts of Pakistan about the violation of provisions of Indus Water Treaty. After inspecting the project, the Pakistani team said that it will have no objection over creation of first-ever artificial lake in Jammu
and Kashmir, if it is within the purview of Indus Water Treaty (IWT). It has, however, asked the IWC team from India to provide it with the detailed documents pertaining to lake Project so that a final decision could be made.
The three-member panel from Pakistan comprises Indus Water Commissioner, Sheraz Jamil Memon and two advisors, Imran Afzal Cheema and Fairas Qazi. The team inspected the proposed site for creation of artificial lake along river Tawi in Jammu.
“Provide us the documents of the lake project. We will have no objection over it the project is with in the prescribed limits of the IWT,” Memon asked his Indian counterparts while inspecting the site. The panel, which took an overall assessment of the project during their about one and half an hour visit to the site, had a detailed
queries over the project.
“We can not flatly say it is a violation. It could be established only after accessing the entire project and if any thing objectionable is found we will have a word with our counterpart,” Memon told reporters after the inspection.
Accompanied by the Permanent IWC team from India comprising Indus Water Commissioner, G Aranganathan and two advisors Darwan Talwar and Devinder Rao, the Pakistani panel, however, described the visit as “routine activity”, saying it can ask for inspection of any hydro-electric and other projects in Jammu and Kashmir that comes
under the purview of the Treaty.
The IWT Commissioner from India, G Arangarathan while fielding media queries, also sought to downplay the controversy over artificial lake saying “the visit is routine a government activity and the Commissions on the either side have to know the developments which are taking place on the projects under the purview of IWT. Through such visits both countries come to know how far the Indus Water System is being
followed by two parties.”
“It is wrong to say that the project is under scanner. The Treaty says that the Commission will inspect all rivers, Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi including their tributaries. As river Tawi is a tributary of river Chenab, it is wrong to use word ‘under scanner’ and I think it is
putting words in our mouths,” G Arangarathan remarked. Clarifying over the controversy, he maintained, “Under the Treaty, some storage of water is permissible. They have not raised any objections over the project as it not is a storage project. The Pak
delegation wanted to insp ect the site after seeing freak news item published in the paper that India is planning for storage of water. In our opinion, the project is not violating the Treaty.”
The IWT is a water-sharing treaty between the India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank. The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Mohammad Ayub Khan.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 110 crore (Rs 70 crore for barrage construction and Rs 40 crore for flood control) and the government has fixed 24 months deadline for the creation of the lake. The Pakistan panel will visit the main heads of Ranbir and Partap
canals over river Chena b at Akhnoor tomorrow while it will visit Salal Hydroelectric Power project in Reasi district on February 22, before concluding their visit of Jammu and Kashmir on February 23. Senior officials of state PHE, Flood Control and Irrigation
departments were also present on the occasion and briefed the visitors
about the project.
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