New Delhi: Amid rising tensions with Pakistan over the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) Vikram Misri on Friday chaired a meeting related to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in Srinagar.
According to a statement issued by the Jammu and Kashmir State Power, Mishri is holding the second meeting of the task force to “ensure the exercise of India’s rights” under the IWT and “to take stock of the progress made” on various hydropower projects. Were. Vikas Nigam Limited
The statement also said that the meeting noted that “progress has been made on several fronts and timely completion of work on all Indus Basin projects was emphasized for better utilization of India’s rights under the Indus Waters Treaty”. “
The meeting was attended by officials from Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Deputy NSA, who came on a two-day visit to Srinagar, also held talks with Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The statement said Misri apprised Sinha of “ongoing efforts to monitor the implementation” of hydropower projects “under the direction of the PMO” in the Indus basin.
Last month, Pakistan sent a letter in response to this India’s notice to Islamabad In January this year, New Delhi said it was seeking amendments to certain provisions of the IWT.
The January notice was sent to Pakistan even after that country filed a dispute over the hydropower projects at the Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
India and Pakistan are engaged in a bitter battle over two projects – the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant (330 MW) and the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant (330 MW) – as both sides disagree on the technical design and believe it violates basic principles. Treaty.
The World Bank is also a signatory to the treaty and was the main facilitator in the negotiations when the agreement was signed in 1960.
Last October, the World Bank sought to put into place the demands made by both sides in the appointment of a neutral expert as well as the president of the arbitration court. While it was New Delhi that wanted a neutral expert to look into the concerns of both the sides on both the projects, Islamabad wanted to contest it legally at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
India is upset that an expert has been appointed to look into the matter, while Pakistan has made it a kind of legal battle and therefore believes that the provisions of the treaty have been violated. According to New Delhi, both the demands cannot be accommodated under the provisions of the treaty.
Misri meets military and security officials
During the visit, Misri also met senior military and security officials to assess the security situation in the Valley, especially following the successful conclusion of the recent G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar on May 22-24.
“For nearly 30 years, this land of peaceful coexistence of almost all religious sects fell victim to state-sponsored terrorism by our neighboring country,” Sinha said at the conclusion of the G20 on Wednesday.
“However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through development schemes empowering the masses and effective administration of the Union Territory, isolated the terrorist ecosystem, which flourished with support from across the border,” he added. “
Sinha also said that “injustice, exploitation and discrimination” have now been “completely eradicated” from the Valley.
