From then to now: Inside the developments of 1960 Indus Water Treaty

The water distribution treaty between India and Pakistan that was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 to use the water available in the Indus system of rivers originating in India has come in the limelight once again as New Delhi has decided to stop the flow of its share of water from the three eastern rivers - Beas, Ravi and Sutlej - to Islamabad.

The Indus system comprises Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan.

The decision, announced on Thursday by Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, came in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and which was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Under the Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of the three eastern rivers, averaging around 33 million acre feet (MAF), were allocated to India for exclusive use. 

The waters of the western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - averaging to around 135 MAF, were allocated to Pakistan except for "specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India", according to the Treaty.

India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river (RoR) projects on the western rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation, is unrestricted.

To utilise the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use, India has constructed the Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. 

These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link and Indira Gandhi Nahar Project have helped India utilise nearly the entire share (95 per cent) of the eastern river waters. 

However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilised to Pakistan. To stop the flow of these waters, the Centre is currently taking three steps - resumption of construction of Shahpurkandi project; construction of Ujh multipurpose project; and a second Ravi-Beas link below Ujh. 

The Shahpurkandi project aims to utilise the waters coming out from powerhouse of Thein dam in order to irrigate 37,000 hectares of land in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab by generating 206 MW of power. The project was scheduled to be completed by September 2016. However, following a dispute between the two states, work on the project has been suspended since August 2014. 

The states reached an agreement last September and the construction work has now resumed by the Punjab government under monitoring of the Centre. 

Construction of the Ujh multipurpose project will create a storage of about 781 million cubic metres of water on river Ujh, a tributary of Ravi for irrigation and power generation in India itself and provide a total irrigation benefits of 31,380 hectares in Kathua, Hiranagar and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir apart from providing water for the Kathua. 

The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 5,850 crore and the Central assistance of Rs 4,892.47 crore on works portion of irrigation component as well as the special grant is under consideration.

The second Ravi Beas link below Ujh is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi by constructing a barrage across it for diverting water through a tunnel link to the Beas basin. 

The project is expected to utilise about 0.58 MAF of surplus waters below Ujh dam by diverting the same to Beas basin.