Hydel power projects in J&K on fast track after Indus treaty abeyance: Omar

SRINAGAR: The J&K govt Friday said it has accelerated the gait of operation of ongoing hydel powerfulness projects crossed the national territory aft the Centre placed Indus Water Treaty (IWT) successful abeyance.The full installed hydropower capableness successful J&K is expected to scope astir 11000 MW by 2035 from the existent 3,540 MW, it said.“In the backdrop of the Indus Water Treaty being kept successful abeyance, the gait of operation of ongoing projects has accelerated. Additionally, the process of identifying imaginable retention projects has besides been expedited to maximise the utilisation of the remaining hydropower potential,” CM Omar Abdullah, who besides holds the powerfulness portfolio, said successful a written reply successful the Assembly.

India past twelvemonth placed the IWT successful abeyance aft the Pahalgam panic onslaught arsenic portion of a bid of measures announced by PM Narendra Modi, including the suspension of the decades-old water-sharing pact.The pact was signed betwixt India and Pakistan successful 1960 for sharing of Indus stream strategy waters. According to the treaty, India got the afloat rights for utilization of waters of the 3 eastbound rivers — Ravi, Beas and Satluj — portion Pakistan got rights implicit the 3 occidental rivers, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

The precocious riparian portion of the stream strategy falls successful India.The CM said J&K has an estimated hydropower imaginable of astir 18,000 MW, of which 15,000 MW has been identified. “Of the identified potential, 3540.15 MW (24%) has been developed to date,” helium said, adding that a broad roadworthy representation for the adjacent decennary has been drawn and is nether implementation and the UT is connected accelerated way to triple its installed hydropower capableness by 2035.Omar said the draught J&K Hydel Policy 2025 has been framed based connected learnings from the past and result of the erstwhile policies.He said the caller argumentation is expected to springiness a propulsion to improvement of projects connected tiny rivers and streams by bringing successful backstage players into the hydropower powerfulness assemblage successful a large way. “This volition successful crook uplift the socio-economic presumption of the section colonisation and make occupation opportunities during operation and cognition of these projects. Besides, nether the caller policy, the task developer is required to proviso escaped power, royalty to J&K upon completion of a specified clip aft commencement of commercialized operations of the project,” the CM said.