Months after suspending the Indus Water Treaty, the Indian government has made another move as part of its long-terms planning to make full use of the Indus waters and stop the excess flow to Pakistan.
According to reports, the Narendra Modi government has restarted works on the Tulbul Navigation Project in Kashmir valley, which had been on ice for more than four decades.
What is the Tulbul Navigation Project?
The Tulbul Navigation Project is a proposed power generation and seasonal navigation project on the Jhelum river in Sopore area of Kashmir’s Baramulla district, which was designed to store water from the Wular lake. The initial capacity of the reservoir was modest, capable of storing about 300,000 acre-feet of water, which would regulate water in lean seasons.
Additionally, it could support seasonal seasonal navigation, allowing boat traffic between Baramulla and Srinagar, and could also be turned into a hydroelectric project.
Construction on the ambitious project began way back in 1984, but all work had been halted by 1987 due to multiple reasons, including Pakistan objection to the Tulbul Project, claiming it violated the Indus Water Treaty. Since then, various central governments have tried to revive the Tulbul Project, including in 2010, but to no avail.
In 2012, the Tulbul site was targeted by terrorists, prompting authorities to beef up security measures.
Why Modi govt revived Tulbul Project?
Earlier in April this year, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty after the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack, and soon plans began to be drafted to make complete use of India’s share of the Indus water system rivers. The revival of the Tulbul Project is seen as the first major step in the direction.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government has ordered fresh detailed project report (DPR), which would take about a year to complete, as per officials. While there is no official date to restart work on the key project, the Modi government’s intent is clear, it will revive the project despite Islamabad’s objections, which New Delhi doesn’t agree with.
India has refuted Pakistan’s objections to the Tulbul Project, arguing that the Indus Water Treaty allows limited non-consumptive use on the western rivers, including Jhelum, They point out that the water will not be diverted, only stored and released in a regulated flow, which is in line with treaty obligations.
Additionally, the Tulbul project is within India’s own territory, which makes it sovereign right that aims to utilise not disrupt the flow of Jhelum waters.
The move has been welcomed in Kashmir as locals believe the project would help mitigate water woes in dry seasons, while boat navigation would ease traffic and aid movement