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Document shows that India has advanced hydro-projects in Kashmir after terminating the pact with Pakistan

According to a government and industry source, India has accelerated the start of four hydropower projects under construction in the Kashmir area by several months. This is after it suspended a water-sharing agreement with Pakistan which had slowed down progress.

The Indian government is using the unilateral suspension of Indus Waters treaty 1960, which it unilaterally imposed following the deadly attack on Kashmir last month, to try and take advantage of this.

India said that two of the "terrorists", who killed 26 men in a popular tourist spot in Kashmir on the 22nd of April, were from Pakistan. It has also taken a number of diplomatic and financial steps against Islamabad at a time when relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors are deteriorating.

Islamabad denied involvement in the attack and threatened legal action for the suspension. It also said that any attempt to divert or stop the flow of water to Pakistan would be viewed as an act war. Pakistan relies on the Indus System for 80% its farms and for most of its output in hydroelectricity.

Since nearly two weeks, the armies have been exchanging small arms fire along the border. Pakistan claims that India is about to launch a military attack.

New Delhi, despite Pakistan's threats, has taken steps to reduce water supplies to Pakistan.

The document was an undated list compiled by the Power Ministry and reviewed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Pakal Dul (1 000 MW), Kiru (620 MW), Kwar (560 MW) et Ratle (850MW) are the four projects. The four projects are located on the Chenab River. Although its waters are intended for Pakistan, India has been allowed to build hydroelectric projects that use run-of water without significant storage.

All the projects are being built by NHPC (India's largest hydropower company), a state-owned corporation. The document states that they are scheduled to begin between June 2026 - August 2028.

The document states that various agencies, such as those focusing on law enforcement and labor supply, were asked to speed up work.

NHPC, the Indian Ministries of Power, Water Resources and Foreign Affairs did not respond immediately to requests for comments.

Indus River Authority officials in Pakistan held a Monday meeting and "noted unanimously with concern that a sudden reduction in River Chenab flows at Marala, (the headworks which regulates flow), due to a short supply from India, would result in further shortages" of summer crops.

The authority announced in a late-Monday statement that it would use downstream reservoirs "in light of the crisis created by Indian shortages in the Chenab River".

"PLANS FOR MORE"

Last month, India's Water Minister vowed to "ensure that no drop of water from the Indus River reaches Pakistan".

According to a source in the Indian industry, there have been several meetings between officials of various government and private agencies and the power ministry over the last week regarding projects in Jammu & Kashmir.

The source declined to identify herself because the matter was sensitive. "In general, government orders to speed up existing projects such as this means that it wants to plan new ones," she said.

India is requesting that seven projects, with a combined power of 7 gigawatts and a cost of 400 billion rupees ($4.73 billion), be expedited. Could not identify all of the projects.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague has already heard a dispute between Pakistan and India over Ratle. The dispute concerns the small pondage or water storage area as well as the turbine design.

New Delhi was required by the water treaty to provide Islamabad with extensive details about projects on three Indus Rivers that were meant for Pakistan, the Indus, the Chenab, and the Jhelum. Modi's Government has sought a modification to the water treaty, citing India's growing population and the need for cleaner forms of power like hydropower.

Officials and experts from both countries had stated that India could not stop the flow of water immediately because the treaty only allowed them to build plants without the need for large storage dams. However, a Pakistani official claimed the Chenab River had already seen a drastic drop in flows.

Muhammad Khalid Idrees Rana told Bloomberg News that the flow of water has dropped by 90% since Sunday.

Sources at Pakistan's Indus Authority said that the Chenab flow has been wildly fluctuating since Sunday. On Sunday, water was flowing at Marala Headworks at 31,000 cusecs. It then dropped to 3,100 on Monday and is now up to 25,000.

Source: "The changes in water supply are due to India's (some hydro) projects," said the source. They can stop the water, then dump it. These variations are not large enough to cause significant damage, but they have an impact on the canals.

(source: Reuters)