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| Jammu's Baglihar project construction to continue | | Raymond Lafitte's report unlikely to end dispute | | NEW DELHI, FEB. 10: Come Monday (Feb. 12), the much-awaited report on the much-publicised Baglihar hydroelectric project of the Jammu region will be made public by the World Bank-appointed neutral expert, Prof. Raymond Lafitte. According to informed sources, the decision of the neutral expert for the Baglihar dam may not end the dispute between Pakistan and India as the report he is expected to release on Feb 12 favours both.
If the latest message from these sources were any guide, Prof. Raymond Lafitte has not accepted Pakistan's premise that the dam violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. But Prof. Lafitte also rejected India's position that there was no need for changes in the dam as it fulfilled all requirements of the treaty, sources said. In doing so, Prof Lafitte is expected to suggest that India reconsider the size and design of the spillway it is constructing at Baglihar.
Much signifcance has been attached to a report from Islamabad, which quoted an unidentifed official of the Pakistan government as cautioning that "everything will not go Pakistan's way". At the same time, the offical was reported to have hoped that he recommendations of the World Bank-appointed neutral expert for the Baglihar dam would not cause "material loss" to Pakistan.
A technical expert in Washington, who according to Dawn, a Pakistani English daily, has seen the initial report, has been quoted as saying: "On many points it (the report) favours India while on others it favours Pakistan. It will be up to India and Pakistan to continue to quarrel over this dispute or use their new found spirit of reconciliation to settle it." Interestingly, all this at a time when in Jammu, winter capital of the Himalayan State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Legislative Council was officially told that the construction of Baglihar project would be completed by December 31.
Prof. Laffite had shown his initial report to Indian and Pakistani officials in November. Pakistan objected to some points in the report and urged the expert to reconsider it. India, too, had some objections. Yet another significant signal: Islamabad has begun to work out its future line of action as Prof. Raymond Lafitte's report would not recommend scrapping of the Baglihar dam.
The Baglihar, a concrete gravity dam, has a height of 144.5 metres and is 317 metres long at the top. Its main spillway has six submerged radial gates, 10m wide x 10.5m high. The chute spillway contains two crest radial gates, 12m wide x 19m high. The reservoir has live storage capacity of 15Mm3 with a gross head of 130m. Each of the two horseshoe-shaped diversion tunnels are 939 metres long and have a diameter of 10.15 metres. The circular headrace tunnel is 2,070m long while the tailrace tunnel is 160 metres long, 10m wide and 19-27.5m-high. Pakistan has objected to the dam's design, size and water storage capacity and wants India to consider other technical pursuits or modify the design.
Meanwhile, according to the the World Bank, Prof. Raymond Lafitte will announce his decision to representatives of the two governments, which will be final and binding. India wants to build the dam on the Chenab river, which Pakistan opposes because it fears the project will cut the supply of water to which it is entitled under the Indus Water Treaty. The two governments have agreed that the decision of the neutral expert will only be disseminated in accordance with their own rules, and, therefore, the World Bank will have no role in making public the text of the decision.
The Chenab river is one of the rivers comprising the Indus river system. After the partition of the sub-continent, the Indus Water Treaty was concluded on September 19, 1960 by India and Pakistan with support from the World Bank. The treaty divided the river system between the two countries. The World Bank is a signatory to the treaty for certain specified purposes. It is not a guarantor of the treaty.
After a request to the World Bank from the government of Pakistan to appoint a neutral expert, the bank announced on April 25, 2005 that it was required to comply with the request under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. However once the appointment was made, the World Bank had no further role in the process. This is the first time since the treaty was concluded 47 years ago that the provisions regarding the settlement of differences and disputes have been invoked.
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