India decides to stop its share of water which used to flow to Pakistan
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today has approved implementation of Shahpurkandi Dam Project, Punjab on river Ravi. For this, Central Assistance of Rs. 485.38 cr (for irrigation component) would be provided over five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
Implementation of this project would help minimising some of the water of the River Ravi which at present is going waste through the MadhopurHeadworks downstream to Pakistan. The decision comes in aftermath of the Pulwama attack where Pak terrorist group JeM's terrorist killed 40 CRPF men. Union Waterways Minister Nitin Gadkari first in a public meeting announced the decision and rather gave more details of it on Twitter.
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According to government communique, on completion of the project an Irrigation Potential of 5,000 ha in Punjab State and 32,173 ha in J&K State would be created.Funding for Central Assistance to Shahpurkandi Dam project shall be made through NABARD under existing system for funding of 99 PMKSY-AIBP projects under LTIF.
In addition to existing monitoring mechanism for projects by Central Water Commission, a committee headed by Member, Central Water Commission and consisting of concerned Chief Engineers of Punjab and J&K and other concerned officers would be constituted to oversee/monitor the implementation of project.The Advisory committee of MoWR, RD&GR on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multipurpose Projects accepted the second Revised Cost Estimate amounting to Rs. 2715.70 crore (February, 2018 Price Level) in its 138th meeting held on 31.10.2018.
The project would be implemented by Govt. of Punjab with Central Assistance of Rs. 485.38 crore The project would be completed by June 2022.
Water of three rivers flowing into Pakistan, over which India has full rights under the Indus Water Treaty, will be diverted to Yamuna river, Union Minister of Water Resources Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday, against the backdrop of anger in India over the Pulwama terror attack.
The bilateral Treaty, signed in 1960, governs the rights of India and Pakistan on three of the six common rivers, respectively. As per the agreement, India has full rights over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers while Pakistan has full rights over Jhelum, Chenab and Indus.
“After partition, three rivers each were divided between India and Pakistan. The water of the three rivers over which India has rights was going to Pakistan. We have constructed projects after which the water of these rivers will be diverted to Yamuna river. Once this happens, there will be more water in Yamuna,” Gadkari said at an event here on Thursday.
#WATCH Union Minister Nitin Gadkari says,"Bharat aur Pakistan hone ke baad, jo humari 3 nadiyan Pakistan ko mili thi aur 3 Bharat ko mili thi. Humare teen nadiyon ke adhikar ka paani Pak mein ja raha tha, ab uss par 3 project karke yeh paani bhi Yamuna mein wapas la rahe hain." pic.twitter.com/w6EfYi3cGg
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019
His statement comes at a time when India is exploring options to "punish" Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack of February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The suicide bomb attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit, which is based in Pakistan and backed by the Pakistani establishment.
He later said on Twitter, "Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. The construction of dam has started at Shahpur- Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states.All the above Projects are declared as the National projects."
With agency inputs
1. Gadkari later tweeted to elaborate on his speech
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Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019
The construction of dam has started at Shahpur- Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states.
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019
All the above Projects are declared as the National projects.
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019
Nitin Gadkari said," Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. The construction of dam has started at Shahpur- Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states.All the above Projects are declared as the National projects."
2. Decoding Gadkari's announcement
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India will like to make things difficult for Pakistan without violating the norms of the 1960 treaty. So all water which was wasted and simply went flowing to Pakistan and legitimately belongs to India will now be used for several projects in India. It serves two purposes: It will be a major boost to several hydel projects in the region. The extra water can be used during periods of drought. And it also will further corner Pakistan government.
Impact:
Some of the water of the River Ravi at present is going waste through the MadhopurHeadworks downstream to Pakistan whereas there is requirement for the same for use in Punjab and J&K. Implementation of the project would minimise such wastage of water.
On completion of the project an additional Irrigation Potential of 5000 ha in Punjab State and 32173 ha in J&K State would be created.
In addition, water being released to provide irrigation in 1.18 Lac ha area under UBDC system in Punjab would be managed/regulated efficiently through this project and the irrigation in the area would be benefitted. On completion, Punjab would also be able to generate 206 MW of hydropower.
Expenditure:
The balance cost of works component of ShahpurKandi Dam project is Rs. 1973.53 cr. (Irrigation component: 564.63 cr, Power component: 1408.90 cr.) Out of the this, Rs 485.38 Cr would be provided as Central Assistance.
Beneficiaries:
Irrigation in 5000 ha of land in Punjab and 32172 ha in J&K would be provided. The implementation of scheme would generate 6.2 lakh man-days employment for unskilled workers, 6.2 lakh man-days employment for semi-skilled andl 1.67 lakh man-days employment for skilled workers.
3. After revoking MFN status, India hikes customs duty to 200% on all goods imported
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India Saturday hiked the customs duty to 200 per cent on all goods imported from Pakistan, following revocation of the 'most-favoured nation' status in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.
Taking strong economic action against Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack, India Saturday raised the customs duty to 200 per cent on all goods imported from the neighbouring country, including fresh fruits, cement, petroleum products and mineral ore.
The decision would significantly hit Pakistan's exports to India, which stood at USD 488.5 million (around Rs 3,482.3 crore) in 2017-18 as it would drastically increase the prices of its goods here.
"India has withdrawn MFN (most favoured nation) status to Pakistan after the Pulwama incident. Upon withdrawal, basic customs duty on all goods exported from Pakistan to India has been raised to 200 per cent with immediate effect," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a tweet.
The two main items imported from Pakistan are fruits and cement, on which the current customs duty is 30-50 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively.
Slapping an import duty of 200 per cent effectively means almost banning the imports from Pakistan, official sources said.
India on Friday revoked the MFN status to Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The country invoked a security exception clause of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to withdraw this status. Both the countries are member of this organisation.
India can also restrict trade of certain goods and impose port-related restrictions on Pakistani goods.
Items which Pakistan exports to India include fresh fruits, cement, petroleum products, bulk minerals and ores, finished leather, processed minerals, inorganic chemicals, cotton raw, spices, wool, rubber product, alcoholic beverages, medical instruments, marine goods, plastic, dyes and sport goods.
India granted the MFN status to Pakistan way back in 1996, but the neighbouring country had not reciprocated.
Under the MFN pact, a WTO member country is obliged to treat the other trading nation in a non-discriminatory manner, especially with regard to customs duty and other levies.
In 2012, Pakistan had committed to giving the MFN status to India but retracted later due to domestic opposition. Instead of MFN, Pakistan said it was working on granting Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) status to India but that also was not announced.
Total India-Pakistan trade has increased marginally to USD 2.41 billion in 2017-18 as against USD 2.27 billion in 2016-17. India imported goods worth USD 488.5 million in 2017-18 and exported goods worth USD 1.92 billion.
During April-October 2018-19, India's exports to Pakistan stood at USD 1.18 billion, while imports were USD 338.66 billion.
India mainly exports raw cotton, cotton yarn, chemicals, plastics, manmade yarn and dyes to Pakistan.
At least 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kgs of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.
4. Background of the water treaty
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Background:
Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 for sharing of Indus waters. According to the Treaty, India got the full rights for utilization of waters of the three Eastern Rivers namely Ravi, Beas and Satluj.
Some of the water of the River Ravi at present is going waste through the MadhopurHeadworks downstream to Pakistan. Implementation of the project would minimise such wastage of water.
A Bilateral agreement was signed between Punjab and J&K in Jan, 1979. As per the agreement, construction of RanjitSagar Dam (Thein Dam) and Shahpurkandi Dam was to be taken up by Punjab Govt. RanjitSagar Dam was commissioned in Aug, 2000. The ShahpurKandi Dam project is proposed on River Ravi, 11 d/s of RanjitSagarDam and 8 km u/s of Madhopur Head Works.
The Project was initially approved by the Planning Commission during November, 2001 and was included under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Scheme (AIBP) of this Ministry for funding its irrigation component.
Revised cost of the ShahpurKandi Dam National project was approved by the Advisory Committee of MoWR, RD & GR on 24th August, 2009 for Rs. 2285.81 crore Central Assistance of Rs. 26.04 crore was released during period 2009-10 to 2010-11. However, the works could not progress much due to non-availability of funds on the part of Govt. of Punjab for power component and later interstate issues with J&K.
Series of meetings were held bilaterally as well as at Govt. of India level. Finally, an agreement was reached between Punjab and J&K states under the aegis of MoWR, RD&GR at New Delhi on 8th September, 2018.
