The Hindu : Front Page : Baglihar dam: India claims moral victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007
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Baglihar dam: India claims moral victory

Gargi Parsai

Neutral expert says it has not violated Treaty

NEW DELHI: India claimed a "moral victory" on Monday in its dispute with Pakistan over the Baglihar dam, on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir, after the World Bank-appointed neutral expert held that India had not violated the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960. He also said the dam could be completed with slight modifications in design and without any impact on the 450 MW power component. There will, however, be "marginal" additional financial burden on India for the estimated Rs. 4,000 crore project, scheduled to be completed by early 2008.

There was visible relief in the Water Resources Ministry after it studied the report submitted by Raymond Lafitte, to the representatives of the two sides in Berne on Monday. The determinations made by the expert are final and binding.

The bone of contention was India's claim on the installation of gates on the upper surface spillway of the dam for managing floods and on the lower sluices for the regulation of floodwaters and sedimentation.

Mr. Lafitte held that India was well within its right to have "gated spillways" for regulation of floods and sedimentation as this was the modern technology recognised by the International Organisation on Large Dams. Pakistan had serious objections, and the last two schedules before the neutral expert were centred around this point.

Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz said besides opposing the gated spillways, Pakistan raised objections — on the dam height, the water pondage, and the level of (water) intake (to move the turbines). The expert determined that India should reduce the freeboard in the height of the dam from 4.5 m to 3 m. India had, in any case, offered to do this before Pakistan referred the dispute to the World Bank.

Pakistan's third objection was to the width of the pondage that India could maintain in the run-of-the river project. India claimed a pondage of 37.5 million cubic metres (mcm). This has been reduced by the neutral expert to 32.58 mcm while upholding India's methodology of calculation and rejecting Pakistan's suggestion of a pondage of 6.22 mcm.

The fourth objection was to the level of intake for running the turbines. Against the level of intake at 818 m, an effective increase of 2 m has been determined by the neutral expert, and a further one metre allowed for decrease in pondage. "This is marginal," said Mr. Soz.

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