Omar seeks compensation from Centre over losses due to Indus Water Treaty

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sparks debate on Indus Water Treaty's impact on power projects and electricity in UT.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s remarks on the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) triggered a fresh debate on the power projects and poor electricity scenario in the Union Territory (UT) on Wednesday (November 13m 2024).  

“The IWT on river-rich Jammu & Kashmir restricts its ability to harness its huge hydel power potential primarily due to storage constraints. J&K pays a heavy price in peak winter months when power generation hits low, creating hardships for its people,” said Mr. Abdullah while speaking at a conference of Power Ministers of States and UTs on Tuesday (November 12, 2024). 

Highlighting the “limiting clauses in the Treaty that restricts J&K from realising its full hydel potential by only permitting run-of-the-river projects”, Mr. Abdullah said J&K was compelled to rely on power imports from other States, “ which adversely impacts its economy”.

“To address this, J&K would require special compensation from the Centre, including viability gap funding and equity assistance, to harness its untapped hydro-energy potential,” he added.

Referring to Mr. Abdullah’s remarks that the IWT hinders J&K’s power capacity, former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said there was no doubt that the Treaty has a negative impact on Kashmir “but the BJP narrative, of late, wants to make it an issue. Such issues can spark tension. Any tension between India and Pakistan will have a cost for the people of J&K”.

She asked Mr. Abdullah “to raise real questions”. “Does the power already generated belong to us? J&K generates electricity and is controlled by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah handed over the Salal project and Dr. Farooq Abdullah handed over seven power projects to the NHPC. Our focus should be return of power projects,” Ms. Mufti said.

The former J&K CM said the BJP in 2014 had agreed to hand over at least two power projects to J&K. “The Rangarajan Committee also recommended it or the Centre should compensate us. Our electricity goes to the NHPC,” she added.