J&K to Assess Water Loss due to Indus Water Treaty with Pak

To assess water losses suffered because of the Indus Water Treaty provisions, the Jammu and Kashmir government is going to hire a private agency, reported IANS.

It may be mentioned that the provisions of the treaty restrict the use of state’s three rivers.

Quoting official sources, report said that state could not harness as much water as it liked to from the Jhelum, Indus and Chenab rivers as per the treaty.

Under the treaty brokered by World Bank in 1960, India has complete control over waters of three rivers – Ravi, Sutlej and Beas – which flow into Pakistan through Punjab. In exchange of this, Pakistan has the right to control the use of three rivers of Jammu and Kashmir.

Main opposition party in the state PDP insisted from the Centre that it compensated for the losses incurred on the state due to the treaty, report said.

“Jammu and Kashmir must be compensated,” PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was quoted as saying in her public addresses.

“It is a treaty between India and Pakistan and we have the right to ask for compensation from Delhi,” she was quoted as saying.

However, a government official said: “Unless there is a complete picture of how much we have lost, how can we project our case for compensation?”