A World Bank arbitrator arrived in Indias portion of Kashmir on Saturday to examine a dam being built on the River Chenab which is at the center of a dispute between India and its longtime rival, Pakistan, reports the World Bank press review Monday.
The dam is in Baglihar village, 140 kilometers north of Jammu, the states winter capital. Pakistan claims the planned 900-megawatt Baglihar Dam in Indias Jammu-Kashmir state would block the flow of water from the river to its main agricultural province, Punjab, and has demanded that India halt its construction.
Pakistan says the dam violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which regulates the sharing of river water between the two countries. The treaty was brokered by the World Bank. Under the treaty, India was given control over the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers, while Pakistan was awarded the Jhelum, Indus and Chenab.
India had opposed seeking the Banks help in resolving the dispute. India and Pakistan have both played down the impact of the dam dispute on their nascent peace process aimed at resolving five decades of enmity, including their competing territorial claims to Kashmir.
The Hindu (India) further notes that according to Pakistan, the Baglihar dam would deprive it of more than 7.000 cusecs water a day destroying its agriculture. Another allegation is that India can use the gated structure in a war-like situation to either flood Pakistan or hold back the water supply.
India disputes the charge as, according to it, the Salal hydro project, another dam situated the downstream of the Baglihar project, would be damage if any attempt was to release excess water. And that would directly impact the electricity supply to neighboring States such as Punjab, Himachal Pradesh. In the same way excess water cannot be stored as it would decrease power production.
The World Bank has appointed Swiss professor, Raymond Lafitte, as a neutral expert to address differences between India and Pakistan over the dam after the countries could not resolve the issue.
– We are going to visit the site just to try to understand, Lafitte, a civil engineer, told reporters Saturday in Jammu. He promised his work would be “totally transparent.” Lafitte said he would spend three to four days at the dam site on the Chenab River in south Kashmir. He was being accompanied by Indian and Pakistan government technical teams.
Indian officials say the 450-megawatt Baglihar project does not contravene the pact and could go a long way to ending routine 12-hour blackouts plaguing the Himalayan state. Kashmir Chief Minister Mohammed Sayeed said neutral experts were “welcome to inspect” the dam, saying it in no way breaches the water-sharing treaty.
The team began on-site inspection of the dam designs and other aspects from Sunday, officials said. Under the terms of the Indus Water Treaty, the decision of Lafitte will be final and binding. The World Bank could however appoint an arbitration panel if the two sides were not satisfied with his decision.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
