The flow of Ravi river waters to Pakistan will be plugged soon as the long-delayed Inter-State Shahpur Kandi Barrage along the Jammu and Kashmir-Punjab border is nearing completion, nearly three decades after its foundation stone was laid.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Water Resources Minister Javed Ahmed Rana has said that the project was expected to be completed by the end of March.
The Ravi is among the two other eastern rivers—Beas and Sutlej—that were exclusively allotted to India under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan. The waters of the western rivers—Indus, Jhelum and Chenab—were granted to Pakistan.
However, in the absence of the barrage, excess Ravi water continued to flow to Pakistan. Completion of the barrage will enable India to fully harness the river’s waters.
India announced the suspension of the IWT after the Pakistan-backed terrorist attack in Pahalgam last year, in which 26 civilians were shot dead in Kashmir.
Once completed, the Shahpur Kandi Barrage is expected to strengthen irrigation and power generation capacity in the region, marking a crucial step towards optimal utilisation of India’s eastern river waters.
In a recent conversation with the media, Rana said the long-pending project will be completed by 31 March, adding that it will solve the problem of “excess water” from the Ravi river flowing into Pakistan.
This project is considered crucial for the drought-prone belt of Kathua and Samba districts, where irrigation has historically depended on erratic rainfall.
The Shahpur Kandi Dam Project is located on the Ravi river in the Pathankot district of Punjab, downstream of the Ranjit Sagar Dam. The project is designed to irrigate 5,000 hectares in Punjab and 32,000 hectares in Jammu and Kashmir. It will also generate 206 MW of electricity.
The project was fast-tracked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, when J&K and Punjab signed an agreement in this regard.
J&K is entitled to 0.69 MAF of water from the Ravi, of which the Union Territory has so far utilised only 0.215 MAF.
J&K will receive 41 MW of power from this project, in addition to 20% of the power generated by the Thein Dam.
As per the agreement, Jammu & Kashmir shall be provided the full water supply of 1,150 cusecs under all circumstances, subject to a ceiling of 0.69 MAF to which it is entitled under the 1979 agreement.