|
Kishanganga project: Pakistan serves notice on India
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has served notice on India over the controversial 330 MW Kishanganga hydropower project after all efforts to resolve the issue at the level of Permanent Commission of Indus Waters (PCIW) failed, saying it is now left with no option but to move the neutral expert.We had served the notice on India some ten days back after exhausting all endeavours mentioned in the Indus Waters Treaty at PCIW level to resolve the issue, but India is hell bent upon negating the treaty by diverting the water flows for hydrogeneration which is destined to reach Pakistan, a senior official at the ministry of water and power told The News. India is constructing Kishanganga hydropower project on Ganga tributary near Bandipur in Baramullah district in held Kashmir. The said tributary is called Neelum River when it enters Pakistan and India is diverting water of Neelum River (Ganga River) to Wullar Lake to generate electricity, but Pakistan objects that diversion of water by India is not allowed under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan is building Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project on Neelum River in Azad Kahsmir. Both sides discussed the thorny issue on July 29, 2008 in New Delhi under PCIW in the last-ditch effort to resolve the dispute at the commission level, but the talks ended in failure. Soon after the meeting, Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, leader of the Pakistans delegation, told the Indian media in New Dehli that Islamabad would decide the next course of action after further consultations. Now after the passage of seven months, the Pakistan Commission of Indus Water has served notice on India, informing New Delhi that Islamabad is to move a neutral expert to seek justice. The official said Pakistans Commissioner of Indus Water Syed Jamaat Ali Shah has sent the notice to his Indian counterpart. Pakistan says the diversion of water flow will not only adversely reduce the electricity generation capacity of the 969 MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project by 15 to 16 percent, but will also inflict huge damage on the environment of the Neelum Valley. And if the Neelum-Jhelum project loses 16 percent capacity to generate electricity because of non-availability of water then its financial viability would be compromised. When contacted, Abdul Basit, spokesman for Foreign Office said that he has come to know that Pakistans Commission of Indus Water has written a letter to its Indian counterpart, but he did not know the exact contents of the letter. However, I will be able to know the facts after the March 23 holiday is over, he said. Syed Jamaat Ali Shah did not disclose any details when this scribe approached him. However, he did not deny the fact that he himself served the notice on his Indian counterpart. Pakistan had earlier sought the services of a neutral expert appointed by the World Bank for the resolution of Baglihar dispute. But the verdict went against Pakistan and now the Pakistani authorities are pondering to move the International Court of Justice against the verdict of the neutral expert. The world water day (March 22) is of immense significance to Pakistan, keeping in view its water disputes with India. Posted by: john frum 2009-03-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=265909 |