According to reports by Chinese news agency Xinhua last week, Beijing was building its biggest-ever dam, the Lalho project, on a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo (Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra).
As National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met the new Chinese ambassador Luo Zahohui on Monday, the question on everyone's mind was whether the NSA had conveyed New Delhi's concerns to Beijing.
According to reports by Chinese news agency Xinhua last week, Beijing was building its biggest-ever dam, the Lalho project, on a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo (Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra).
Indian officials are not worried. For one, water resources ministry officials say that India is not as dependent on China as far as water is concerned. A large proportion of the catchment areas of the Brahmaputra lies within Indian territory. The rivers draw most of the waters from streams in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. So, any Chinese activity would not have much adverse effect on India, they say.
"A large volume of water is available to us. It is important that Arunachal Pradesh and Assam harness and utilise the waters of Brahmaputra. It has nothing to do with China," they said.
Also, the dam was in the list of construction activities Beijing had publicised in 2014. "Re-running this story must have been designed to convey a message, but there is not much discharge of the Xiabuqu tributary into the Brahmaputra," said an official.
The water resources ministry is monitoring all developments on the river. Since the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and China on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers in 2013, the two sides have been holding expert-level meetings, officials said.
On the silence of Indian officials over the meeting between the NSA and the Chinese ambassador, sources said that it could be because India will be playing host to the BRICS summit in New Delhi in October.
China's president Xi Jinping is scheduled to attend the summit and both sides will be anxious to see that his India visit and interaction with Prime Minister Modi will be be a smooth and cordial affair.
So far, Beijing has maintained a guarded stance in the recent heating up of tensions between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC). Apart from advising both sides to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue, Beijing's silence on the issue has been seen as positive by New Delhi.
While India may be trying to downplay reports about the Chinese dam, there are confirmed reports that Chinese engineers are engaged in building a railway network at break-neck speed. The network runs close on the borders of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, along the river.
So far though, neither side is speaking publicly on the issue. Like their counterparts in South Block, the Chinese embassy also refused to comment. Indian officials pointed to a statement by China's foreign ministry in November 2014, when Beijing attempted to soothe New Delhi's concerns, saying, "the dams being planned will not affect flood prevention and the ecology of the downstream areas".
Originating from a glacier from the Kailash ranges of the Himalayas, the Brahmaputra, or the Yarlung Zangbo, flows over 1,600 km in Tibet, before falling into India. It then travels over 900 km to flow into Bangladesh.
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