{"id":258179,"date":"2023-08-31T20:41:15","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T15:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=258179"},"modified":"2023-08-31T20:41:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T15:11:15","slug":"cross-the-boulders-in-the-indus-waters-treaty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/cross-the-boulders-in-the-indus-waters-treaty\/","title":{"rendered":"Cross the boulders in the Indus Waters Treaty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cCross the boulders in the Indus Waters Treaty\u201d, <\/strong>Published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d <\/strong>on 31st August 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS 2 \u2013 International Relations – Bilateral groupings and agreements<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> India and Pakistan bilateral relationship<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), brokered by the World Bank, which has again become a source of contention between India and Pakistan, considerably encapsulates the principle of equitable allocation rather than the principle of appreciable harm.<\/p>\n

What are some facts about the Indus water treaty?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

India and Pakistan are both granted exclusive privileges<\/strong> to utilise the waters from their designated rivers without causing harm to the interests<\/strong> of others.<\/p>\n

According to the Indus Waters Treaty, India possesses unrestricted rights<\/strong> over Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej<\/strong>. Pakistan holds similar entitlements over Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.<\/strong><\/p>\n

India has been authorised to store a total of 3.60 million-acre feet (MAF) of water<\/strong> (0.40 MAF on the Indus, 1.50 MAF on the Jhelum, and 1.70 MAF on the Chenab).<\/p>\n

What are contentious issues between India and Pakistan regarding IWT? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The current focal point of contention between India and Pakistan revolves around India’s Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants<\/strong> located in the Jammu and Kashmir region.<\/p>\n

India views these projects as essential for meeting its energy requirements and fostering regional development<\/strong>. Pakistan alleged violations of the treaty<\/strong> and potential adverse impacts on its water supply.<\/p>\n

The Kishanganga project disput<\/strong>e was brought before the Court of Arbitration<\/strong> in 2010. The CoA delivered its final verdict in 2013.<\/p>\n

CoA determined that the Kishanganga hydroelectric project constitutes a run-of-the-river dam<\/strong>. India, under the IWT, is permitted to divert water from the Kishanganga\/Neelum Rive<\/strong>r for power generation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court specified that India must maintain a minimum water flow of nine cubic metres per second<\/strong> in the Kishanganga river.<\/p>\n

Following the CoA’s decision, the two nations reached an agreeable resolution<\/strong> on only one of the four issues that were anticipated to be settled.<\/p>\n

Despite numerous discussions, the other three matters related to pondage and spillway configuration<\/strong> remained unresolved.<\/p>\n

As a result, Pakistan appealed to the World Bank. It accused India of breaching the IWT<\/strong> and the court’s ruling. Pakistan also voiced objections to the Ratle project.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Pakistan requested the World Bank to establish a CoA<\/strong>. It prompted India to propose the appointment of a neutral expert <\/strong>to address the dispute.<\/p>\n

The World Bank halted progress on the Kishanganga and Ratle projects to explore alternative ways<\/strong> by two countries to resolve their disagreements.<\/p>\n

Despite the pause, work on the Kishanganga project persisted<\/strong>. In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it. Pakistan raised its concerns with the World Bank.<\/p>\n

In October 2022, the World Bank<\/strong> designated Michel Lino as the neutral expert<\/strong> and Professor Sean Murphy as the Chairman of the CoA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On July 6, 2023, the Permanent Court of Arbitration<\/strong> unanimously dismissed India’s objections and confirmed its authority to address and resolve<\/em> the disputes brought by Pakistan.<\/p>\n

India has chosen not to engage in the PCA proceedings<\/strong> and was absent from the recent hearing as well. India asserted that it cannot be forced to acknowledge or participate<\/strong> in unlawful and concurrent proceedings <\/strong>not stipulated by the Treaty.<\/p>\n

What should be done?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rather than resorting to legal action<\/strong>, the focus should be on integrating the principles of “equitable and reasonable utilisation”<\/strong> as well as the “no harm rule”<\/strong> into the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).<\/p>\n

This incorporation necessitates improved relations and enduring trust<\/strong> between India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The involvement of local stakeholders<\/strong> in any negotiation process on shared water matters between India and Pakistan is crucial.<\/p>\n

The establishment of a collaborative team<\/strong> comprising experts in technology, climate, water management, and scientific fields from both countries could be effective in addressing the root <\/strong>of the problem.<\/p>\n

To ensure the effectiveness of the IWT<\/strong>, the exploration of cooperative arrangements<\/strong> is essential. Both countries must acknowledge their shared interest<\/strong> in the optimal development <\/strong>of the Indus River System.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cCross the boulders in the Indus Waters Treaty\u201d, Published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 31st August 2023. Syllabus: GS 2 \u2013 International Relations – Bilateral groupings and agreements Relevance: India and Pakistan bilateral relationship News– The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), brokered by the World Bank, which has again… Continue reading Cross the boulders in the Indus Waters Treaty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,239,10498],"class_list":["post-258179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-international-relations","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}