Indus Water Treaty

In News 

• The 118th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission was recently held between India and Pakistan for the Indus Water Treaty .

Outcomes of the meeting 

• A wide range of water-related issues between Pakistan and India were discussed which included the advance sharing of flood information, the program of tours/inspections and signing of the report of the Permanent Indus Commission for the year ending March 31, 2022
• Pakistan also highlighted its objections on India’s hydroelectric projects on the Western rivers and sought response to its objections on Indian projects including 1,000MW Pakal Dul.
  • The Indian side was also urged to communicate advance flood-flow information as per the provisions of the Treaty.
• Response of India : 
  • India assured to arrange tours/inspections after the coming flood season. 
  • Indian also assured that Pakistan’s outstanding objections would be discussed in the next meeting as the Indian side is still in the process of examining the details.
• Both sides also expressed the hope that the next meeting of the Commission would be held at an early date in Pakistan.

A brief history of the Indus Water dispute:

• The Indus river basin has six rivers- Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej
  • These rivers originate from Tibet and flow through the Himalayan ranges to enter Pakistan, ending in the south of Karachi.
• In 1947, the line of partition, aside from delineating geographical boundaries for India and Pakistan, also cut the Indus river system into two. 
• Both the sides were dependent on water from the Indus river basin to keep their irrigation infrastructure functional and therefore, equitable distribution was needed.
• Initially, the Inter-dominion accord of May 1948 was adopted. 
  • According to this, both countries, after meeting for a conference, decided that India would supply water to Pakistan in exchange for an annual payment made by the latter. 
  • This agreement however, soon disintegrated as both the countries could not agree upon its common interpretations.

• In 1951, in the backdrop of the water-sharing dispute, both the countries applied to the World Bank for funding of their respective irrigation projects on ??the Indus and its tributaries. 
  • This is when the World Bank offered to mediate the conflict. 
• Finally in 1960, after nearly a decade of fact-finding, negotiation, proposals by the World Bank and amendments to them, an agreement was reached between the two countries.
• The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan. 
  • The former Vice President of the World Bank, W.A.B. Iliff, also signed it.

Key provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT):

• The treaty prescribed how water from the six rivers of the Indus River System would be shared between India and Pakistan. 
  • It allocated the three western rivers—Indus, Chenab and Jhelum—to Pakistan for unrestricted use. 
    • Barring certain non-consumptive, agricultural and domestic uses by India.
  • The three Eastern rivers—Ravi, Beas and Sutlej—were allocated to India for unrestricted usage. 
  • This means that 80% of the share of water or about 135 Million Acre Feet (MAF) went to Pakistan, while leaving the rest 33 MAF or 20% of water for use by India.
• It also required both the countries to establish a Permanent Indus Commission constituted by permanent commissioners on both sides. 
  • The functions of the commission include serving as a forum for exchange of information on the rivers, for continued cooperation and as the first stop for the resolution of conflicts.
• While Pakistan has rights over the waters of Jhelum, Chenab and Indus, 
  • Annexure C of the IWT allows India certain agricultural uses, and
  • Annexure D allows it to build ‘run of the river‘ hydropower projects, meaning projects not requiring live storage of water. 
  • It also provides certain design specifications which India has to follow while developing such projects.
• The treaty also allows Pakistan to raise objections over such projects being built by India, if it does not find them to be compliant with the specifications. 
• India has to share information on the project design or alterations made to it with Pakistan, which is required to respond with objections, if any, within three months of receipt.
• Besides, India is allowed to have a minimum storage level on the western rivers – meaning it can store up to 3.75 MAF of water for conservation and flood storage purposes.
• Dispute resolution mechanism
  • The IWT also provides a three-step dispute resolution mechanism, under which 
  • “Questions” on both sides can be resolved at the Permanent Commission, or can also be taken up at the inter-government level. 
  • In case of unresolved questions or “differences” between the countries on water-sharing, such as technical differences, either side can approach the World Bank to appoint a Neutral Expert (NE) to come to a decision. 
  • And eventually, if either party is not satisfied with the NE’s decision or in case of “disputes” in the interpretation and extent of the treaty, matters can be referred to a Court of Arbitration.
• IWT does not have a unilateral exit provision and is supposed to remain in force unless both the countries ratify another mutually agreed pact.

Image Courtesy: IE

Criticisms:

• Internationally, the Treaty is seen as one of the most successful cases of conflict resolution but between the two countries, it has seeded dissatisfaction and conflicts regarding its interpretation and implementation.
• The treaty is highly technical leading to far-ranging divergences between the two countries in terms of interpretations.
  • For example, the treaty says that storage systems can be built but to a limited extent. However, the technical details make it difficult to conclude under what circumstances projects can be carried out.
• Another concern is the tense political relations between the two countries.
  • From the Indian point of view: 
    • The basic dissatisfaction is that the treaty prevents it from building any storage systems on the western rivers, even though it allows building storage systems under certain exceptional circumstances.
  • From Pakistan’s point of view:  
    • Due to its suspicions, stays aware of every technical aspect of the project and deliberately tries to get it suspended.
  • The matter is further aggravated by the fact that the western rivers lie in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir, a subject of a tussle between both since independence.

Standing Committee on Water Resources 12th report recommendations in this context 

• The Government of India should renegotiate the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 with Pakistan in the light of present-day challenges such as climate change, global warming and environmental impact assessment.
• There is a need to establish some kind of institutional structure or legislative framework to address the impact of climate change on water availability in the Indus basin and other challenges which are not covered under the Treaty.
• It also recommended that the canal systems in Punjab and Rajasthan be repaired to increase their water carrying capacity.

Way Forward

• The Indus Waters Treaty is considered one of the most successful water-sharing endeavours in the world today.
• However, there is a need to update certain technical specifications and expand the scope of the agreement to address climate change.

Source: TH