Indus waters may be diverted to Delhi: Union minister

WAter uncommitted to bharat due to the respite of the indus river irrigate Treaty with Pakistan may be diverted within a year-and-a-half to meet the drinking water needs of Delhi and nearby states, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Friday.The minister for power and housing and urban affairs spoke about the efforts being made to address the water shortage in Delhi and other northern states while unveiling a drainage master plan that targets a long term solution to floods and waterlogging in the city.“We can say that Operation Sindoor is a blessing in disguise for meeting the water requirements of these states. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Indus Water Treaty will be kept in abeyance, we have much water that used to be diverted towards Pakistan till now. We are trying that over the next 1-1.5 years, this water can be diverted here so that we can increase water supply to Delhi, UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and other states,” said Khattar.The minister did not elaborate how the water would be channelled to Delhi.India and Pakistan in 1960 signed the treaty, which put in place an arrangement for both countries to share water. The water sharing ratio between Pakistan and India was at 80:20, as per the treaty.The Indus basin consists of six big rivers – Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. While two of these six rivers – Indus and Sutlej – originate in China and only four in India; the five of them that flow to Pakistan do so through India.India decided to suspend the decades-old Indus Water Treaty in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam in April, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people, mostly tourists. India informed Pakistan of its decision to keep the Treaty in abeyance, citing Pakistan’s breach of the treaty’s conditions. Pakistan has objected to India’s suspension of the treaty and it has said any Indian attempt to divert or restrict water downstream in the neighbouring country would be “considered an act of war”.On its part, India has clarified that despite the success of Operation Sindoor, India’s strike against terror hubs and military installations in Pakistan, IWT will remain suspended, citing issues with the 65-year old agreement, including rapid strides in dam technologies in the decades since, and the climate crisis, which has reduced flow to the eastern tributaries of the Indus, water from which was available to India under the treaty.Even before to the Pahalgam attack, India had been asking Pakistan to renegotiate the treaty, citing natural changes in the Indus river basin itself which had diminished India’s share amid a burgeoning population.Meanwhile, the union minister also said that the Centre has prepared another project report to build a dam near the Hathnikund barrage to increase water supply to Delhi. He said that the plan has been made in consultation with PwC to build a dam near the Haryana and Himachal Pradesh border.“Hathnikund barrage is not a dam and cannot store large amounts of water. If there is a dam in the vicinity, it will help generate power and will also ensure 2-3 months of additional water supply for Delhi and other states,” Khattar said.He added that these projects have been envisioned not just to benefit one state but the entire region.The minister said that to further improve the drinking water supply, the government is working to build three dams across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. These dams will also share water to Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan apart from their respective states.“The construction of Renuka and Lakhwar dam has already started and the MoU for Kishau dam is stuck in a small technicality that is expected to be resolved in the next few months. Once these dams are functional, the drinking water needs of Delhi will not just be met, but there will be surplus supply,” Khattar said.The Renuka dam is on the Giri River in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh. Lakhwar dam is on the Yamuna River near Lakhwar village of Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Kishua dam is on the Tons river, which is a tributary of the Yamuna in Uttarakhand.