ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI – Indian government has approved a proposal to invest INR 45 billion to construct the Kwar hydroelectric project on the Chenab river in occupied Kashmir, disrupting Pakistan’s water supplies.
Modi-led administration has launched yet another hydropower project in the occupied valley as New Delhi’s stubbornness over Pakistan-India water disputes persists.
India approved the project despite being aware that it violates the World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus river.
New Delhi claimed that the 540 megawatts Kwar power will lead to job creation, and downstream economic activity in the disputed region, however experts called it illegal while improper procedures were followed in a fast-tracking project that is located in a highly seismic area.
Meanwhile, Pakistan raised objections over India’s plans to build projects in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Indus Water Commission maintained that the approval for the cabinet committee was a violation of the Indus Water Treaty which required the neighbouring country to inform us around six months in advance.
The talks between nuclear-armed nations may face difficulty as they meet in this month.
Earlier this year, the Asian arch rivals reaffirmed to implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the 117th meeting of the India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission.
