NEW DELHI: Amid the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recommended clearance for the Sawalkot hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Indus basin over which Pakistan claimed full rights under the treaty.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEFCC evaluated the proposal on September 26 and noted that the 1,856-MW project, to be built at Rs 31,380 crore, spans 1,401.35 hectares, which includes 847.17 hectares of forest land and 554.18 hectares of non-forest land. The project had previously received Stage-I forest clearance on July 10 this year.
The Sawalkot project consists of six units of 225 MW and one unit of 56 MW for Stage 1 (totalling 1,406 MW) and two additional units of 225 MW for Stage 2 (totalling 450 MW). It is a run-of-the-river project that will utilise water from the Chenab located in Ramban, Reasi, and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
India suspended the IWT following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April that resulted in the death of 26 people. The treaty governs water-sharing in the Indus basin, with Pakistan controlling the western rivers—Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus— while India has full control over the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers.
However, under the treaty, India is permitted to use the water from the western rivers for non-consumptive purposes —up to 3.6 million acre-feet—such as irrigation, navigation, and hydropower generation, without altering the river’s course.
With the IWT’s suspension, India can now freely design and construct structures, such as storage dams, on the western rivers and their tributaries. Of the 847.17 hectares of forest area required for the Sawalkot project, 684.15 hectares are designated as reserve forest and 162.02 hectares as revenue forest, both included in the forest diversion proposal for the project.
The major forest divisions impacted by the project are Ramban, Batote, Udhampur, and Mahore, while the revenue forest affected is located in Ramban and Batote divisions. The project will create a submergence area of 1,159.73 hectares.
The EAC has recommended that an independent agency conduct an environmental impact assessment five years after the project’s commissioning. The budget allocated for environmental management and pollution control measures is Rs 594 crore.
According to minutes of the meeting, the project components do not impact any notified protected areas (PAs). The public hearing for the project was conducted by the J&K State Pollution Control Board in 2016, and there are currently no pending court litigations.
Run-of-the-river project to use Chenab water
The Sawalkot project consists of six units of 225 MW and one unit of 56 MW for Stage 1 (totalling 1,406 MW) and two additional units of 225 MW for Stage 2 (totalling 450 MW). It is a run-of-the-river project that will utilise water from the Chenab located in Ramban, Reasi, and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
