Strategic Assertion

This project is not an isolated undertaking. In fact, Sawalkote is part of a broader hydropower renaissance in Jammu and Kashmir. India is pushing ahead with six previously stalled projects—including Kirthai I & II, Pakal Dul, Kiru, Ratle, and Parnai—which together could contribute over 10,000 MW of electricity to the region's grid. With more than 10,000 sq. km of snow-fed catchment upstream, particularly in the Chenab basin, these projects promise year-round hydropower generation and a stable clean energy future.

- ANAND KUMAR The writer is Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses

In a bold move that marks a decisive shift in India's strategic calculus, the government has revived the long-stalled Sawalkote Hydroelectric Power Project on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir. With a capacity of 1,856 MW, Sawalkote is not just India's largest hydroelectric initiative in the Union Territory—it is a clear signal of India's recalibrated water, energy, and security policies following the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan in April 2025.

Originally conceived in the 1960s, the Sawalkote project languished for decades under the constraints of the IWT, which severely limited India's capacity to harness the potential of the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—allocated to Pakistan for unrestricted use. The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 under the aegis of the World Bank, was long hailed as a rare example of enduring cooperation between two bitter rivals.

However, with Pakistan's continued support for cross-border terrorism—most recently exemplified by the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 that claimed 26 lives—India suspended the treaty, citing national security and sovereign rights as paramount.

The symbolic and substantive statement that "blood and water will not flow together" encapsulated India's growing impatience with asymmetric obligations under the treaty.

The strategic revival of the Sawalkote project follows this suspension. On 29 July 2025, NHPC Ltd. floated a Rs 200-crore international tender for planning, design, and engineering, with bids open until September 10. The project will feature a 192.5-meter-high roller-compacted concrete gravity dam and a run-of-the-river system, generating approximately 8,000 million units of electricity annually.