Hearing of petition on Kishan Ganga Dam likely before end of July
07 July, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Hearing of a petition on controversial Kishan Ganga Dam is likely to be held before the end of July at International Court of Arbitration (ICA) in Hague (Holland). Violation of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) 1960 by India is to be reviewed at the hearing. At an extra-ordinary meeting of Senate’s Standing Committee on Water and Power, which was held in-camera at Parliament House on Wednesday, under the chairmanship of Nawabzada Mir Lashkari Raisani, Pakistan’s representative in ICA Kamal Majeedullah briefed the panel on the status of India’s contentious water storage project. Later, talking to media men, Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Imtiaz Hussain Qazi said that India had been causing water tempering and irregular diversion of water inflow on the Pakistani side that constituted violation of the Indus Water Treaty 1960. He said that International Court of Arbitration (ICA) had accepted a petition filed by the federal government over the controversial issue, and the hearing was likely to be held before the end of the ongoing month. However, because of a controversy existing between both the countries over the issue, the secretary avoided disclosing date of the hearing. One of the committee members, on a condition of anonymity, informed our sources that the committee was now partially satisfied with the briefing given by Majeedullah (Representative of Pakistan in this specific case). Under Indus Water Treaty 1960, diversion of water from Neelam River was not allowed by India, which succeeded in building Kishan Ganga Dam on western river that is to be completed in 2016. Consequently, Pakistan could face water deficit up to 27 percent, which would adversely effect seasonal crops during the sowing season and reduce power generation capacity by 10 percent. Kishan Ganga River assumes the name of Neelum River as it makes it way into Azad Kashmir, and is called River Jhelum when it enters Pakistan’s territory. India proposed to build a barrage in 1984 on River Jhelum at the mouth of Wullar Lake, India’s largest fresh water lake, near Sopore town in Kashmir Valley, while the proposed site for dam is near Kanzalwan - a town from where the river enters Azad Kashmir. India’s plans include water storage and then tunneling it to the Wullar Lake, where it has been building a mega powerhouse. However, the Pakistan’s government believes that the barrage could be used by India as a geo-strategic weapon, to disrupt the triple canal project, including upper Jhelum, upper Chenab and lower Bari Doab canals, badly affecting the Neelum-Jehlum Hydro-Power Project, affecting agriculture in Azad Kashmir, drying 5.6 million acres of Punjab’s cultivable land, resulting in massive load shedding in the country, and leading to a parched Mangla Dam. India has completed 15 percent construction work on the dam. However, it was pointed out at the meeting that India had completed 43 percent construction work on the dam. India was working on 17 power projects on Chenab River and 16 projects on Jhelum, hence violating the IWT 1960. Members of the committee felt displeased with the former Indus Water commissioner, Jamaat Ali Shah, for not playing a vital role in procuring a solution to this issue during his long stint in office. Members of the committee also concurred that the panel couldn’t get good impact by the misguidance of former water commissioner in this case and termed it his ‘negligence or well-planed conspiracy’. After lengthy deliberations between members of the committee and concerned departmental officials, finally the panel decided to summon former water commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah in committee’s next meeting likely to be held in next month to explain his position regarding this specific issue. However, on the other hand, Indus Water Commissioner Sheraz Memon has reportedly alleged that former prime minister’s special assistant on water resources and agriculture, Kamal Majeedullah, threw a spanner in pursuance of the case at ICA against India, as he insisted on hiring a lawyer of his own choice. Interestingly, it was observed that Majeedullah, who is under criticism because of serious reservations expressed by the newly appointed water commissioner, would serve as a representative of Pakistan at ICA in Hague (Holland). End.
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