Pakistan has demanded an inspection schedule of contentious river water projects from India, sources said on Thursday.
Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner in a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart AK Pal has demanded an inspection schedule of the disputed Indian water projects.
According to sources, the Indus water commissioner has demanded an inspection of under construction Kiru and Ratle Hydroelectric Power projects. Pakistan had earlier expressed reservations over the designs of Kiru and Ratle power projects on Chenab.
Pakistan’s water official has also demanded an inspection of the dams being built over the eastern rivers — Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, sources said.
The water commissioner has urged for a schedule of inspection of Bhakra Dam on Sutlej and Pong Dam on Beas. Pakistani water officials also want to visit Teen Dam and Ferozpur Headworks on the Ravi river, according to sources.
The Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers in the east are given to India for unrestricted use by the Indus water treaty of 1960, while the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers in the west belong to Pakistan.
In accordance with certain design requirements, New Delhi has the right to produce hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the three western rivers.
According to the treaty, Pakistan may protest the layout of Indian hydropower projects on western rivers.
