Strategic shift: JK CM seeks Centre's nod for Tulbul barrage and Chenab lift project; Indus Waters Treaty suspension opens window

Time of India

4 days ago

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah
has urged the Centre to clear two long-pending water infrastructure projects—the Tulbul Navigation Barrage in north Kashmir and a Chenab River water-lifting scheme for Jammu—after New Delhi suspended the 1960
Indus Waters Treaty
(IWT) in response to Pakistan-aided terrorism.
The Centre's move came in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists. As part of a broader retaliatory package, the government placed the IWT in abeyance, freeing India to explore new water management projects on rivers otherwise reserved for Pakistan.
India is entitled to full use of waters from the eastern rivers—Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi—totalling about 33 million acre-feet (MAF), while Pakistan has rights over the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, which together carry 135 MAF annually.
In an interview to PTI, Abdullah reiterated his long-standing opposition to the IWT, calling it 'the most unfair document ever imposed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir'. As former Minister of State for External Affairs, he has consistently argued that the treaty handicapped the region's ability to store water and mandated that all power projects remain 'run of the river'.
'We can't suddenly build power projects and start storing water,' Abdullah said.
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'It will take time before the benefits of the Indus Waters Treaty start flowing to us.'
He said the state is now focused on 'medium-term projects that can begin immediately,' starting with the revival of the Tulbul Navigation Barrage—also known as the Wullar Barrage—at Sopore in north Kashmir. The proposed installation of drop gates at the barrage would regulate water levels in the Jhelum River, aiding both navigation and winter power generation at downstream hydroelectric stations like Lower Jhelum and Uri.
'This project will not only facilitate navigation but also enable us to generate more electricity in winter,' the chief minister said.
Originally approved in 1986, the Tulbul project was halted in 1987 after Pakistani objections. India revived work after the 2016 Uri attack, but efforts to negotiate its status failed as Pakistan refused to engage during five rounds of Permanent Indus Commission talks between 2017 and 2022.
India maintains that the project complies with the IWT, as it does not store water for consumptive use and qualifies as a non-consumptive regulating structure.
The second proposal—the Chenab Water Supply Scheme—aims to address mounting water stress in Jammu city. Abdullah said the Chenab River, which runs near Akhnoor, could serve as a long-term source for Jammu's drinking water.
'This project could feed Jammu for the next two to three decades,' he said, adding that 'we have already had the conversation' with the Centre and that a senior advisor to the Prime Minister had recently visited the Union territory to review both the Tulbul and Chenab proposals.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has also sought permission to engage international funding agencies for the Chenab project, which would lift water from the river and distribute it across the district to meet growing demand.
Jammu, the region's winter capital, currently depends on the Tawi River—a tributary that eventually joins the Chenab in Pakistan—for its drinking water. With the Tawi's capacity falling short, the administration sees the Chenab lift scheme as a vital alternative.
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