Govt panel looks to approve key Indus project in Ramban

A key government committee that decides whether projects can proceed on protected forest land is considering approving a hydroelectricity project in Jammu and Kashmir that is one of six strategic hydropower developments aimed at optimising India's use of Indus waters while the treaty with Pakistan remains suspended.

- Jayashree Nandi

NEW DELHI:

The 1,856MW Sawalkot project in Ramban, which received environmental clearance in 2018, has been awaiting forest approval for over six years. According to documents on the Union environment ministry's Parivesh website, the project was considered for forest clearance on Tuesday.

Their decision on the project is expected to be published soon in the minutes of the meeting.

India suspended the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan a day after terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam on April 22. The move has accelerated New Delhi's push to develop hydropower infrastructure on rivers allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 agreement.

While government officials and political leaders have declared that no water from India's share will be allowed to flow into Pakistan, India does not currently possess any major infrastructure — such as dams or barrages — to exert significantly more control than it does at present.

India has lined up plans for a slew of projects in the J&K region to potentially tap into more of the rivers for its electricity needs.