- Government officials have said that India has planned to fully utilize its share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.
- This statement came as reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories will give the government direct control over J&K’s affairs which in turn is expected to speed up the process of granting approvals for infrastructure projects.
- The Indus Waters Treaty,1960 is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan.As per the treaty,India controls the waters of three eastern rivers namely Ravi, Beas and Sutlej while Pakistan manages western rivers, namely Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
- According to the treaty,all the water of eastern rivers shall be available for unrestricted use in India.But India should let unrestricted flow of water from western rivers to Pakistan.
- It doesn’t mean that India can’t use western river’s water.The treaty says that India can use the water in western rivers in non-consumptive needs. Here non-consumptive means we can use it for irrigation, storage and even for electricity production.
- Permanent Indus Commission(PIC) was also established under the Indus water Treaty.Its mandate is to (a)establish and maintain cooperative arrangements for the implementation of the Indus water Treaty and (b)to promote cooperation between India and Pakistan in the development of the Indus water systems.
