Indus Commissioners of India, Pak to meet in New Delhi on March 23-24

The Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan will meet right here on March 23 and 24 to talk about a bunch of points, together with Islamabad’s issues to the design of Indian hydropower tasks on the Chenab River, a high official mentioned on Sunday. This would be the annual assembly of the Permanent Indus Commission. Under the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, each the commissioners are required to meet not less than yearly alternately in India and Pakistan.

“The meeting will take place in New Delhi on March 23-24,” P Okay Saxena, India’s Indus Commissioner, informed PTI. 

This can even be the primary assembly between the 2 commissioners after the nullification of particular provisions below Article 370 that gave particular standing to Jammu and Kashmir. The state was later carved into two union territories — Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Since then, India has cleared a number of hydropower tasks in Ladakh.

They are Durbuk Shyok (19 MW), Shankoo (18.5 MW), Nimu Chilling (24 MW), Rongdo (12 MW), Ratan Nag (10.5 MW) for Leh, whereas Mangdum Sangra (19 MW), Kargil Hunderman (25 MW) and Tamasha (12 MW) have been cleared for Kargil.

India had conveyed the tasks to Pakistan and the problem is predicted to come for dialogue in the course of the assembly. Saxena mentioned that Pakistan’s issues to the design of Indian hydropower tasks on the Chenab river can even be mentioned. 

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The final 12 months’s assembly, which was earlier scheduled to be held in New Delhi in March 2020, was cancelled for the primary time for the reason that signing of the Treaty, in view of the pandemic state of affairs.

India in July 2020 had proposed to Pakistan that the assembly to talk about pending points pertaining to the Indus Water Treaty be held just about in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, however Pakistan insisted on holding the talks on the Attari examine submit.

However, India mentioned it was not conducive to maintain the assembly on the Attari Joint Check Post due to the pandemic. 

With the development in the state of affairs, this obligatory assembly is being held. All COVID-related protocols will probably be adopted, Saxena mentioned.

The assembly will happen after a niche of practically two-and-half years. The final assembly came about in Lahore in August 2018.

The Indian delegation will probably be led by Saxena along with his advisors from the Central Water Commission, Central Electricity Authority and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.

The Pakistani delegation will probably be led by Syed Muhammad Meher Ali Shah, Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters and his eight advisors. 

Under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all of the waters of the jap rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi — amounting to round 33 million acre-feet yearly is allotted to India for unrestricted use and the waters of western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — amounting to round 135 MAF yearly largely for Pakistan.

Under the Treaty, India has been given the proper to generate hydroelectricity by means of a run of the river tasks on the western rivers topic to particular standards for design and operation. It additionally provides the proper to Pakistan to elevate issues on the design of Indian hydroelectric tasks on western rivers. 

“India is committed towards full utilisation of its rights under the Treaty and believes in an amicable solution of issues through discussion,” Saxena mentioned. 

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