India Rejects ‘Supplemental Award’ on Kishenganga, Ratle Projects
Relevance
GS Paper 2: International Relations
Background: Indus Waters Treaty (1960)
- Signed between: India and Pakistan
- Mediated by: World Bank
- Purpose: Distribution of Indus basin rivers after Partition
- Key Provisions:
- India gets full rights over Eastern Rivers: Ravi, Beas, Sutlej
- Pakistan gets full rights over Western Rivers: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab
- India allowed non-consumptive use of Western rivers (e.g., hydroelectricity without altering flow)
About the Projects:
- Kishenganga (330 MW) and Ratle (850 MW):
- Both are run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects in Jammu & Kashmir.
- Do not store large quantities of water; conform to non-consumptive usage.
- Pakistan’s Objections:
- Raised concerns about spillway design, pondage capacity, and potential impact on water flow.
- Alleged these violate the IWT by giving India control over timing and volume of water flow.
Dispute Escalation
- Talks continued till 2015, but no resolution.
- In 2016, Pakistan unilaterally approached the World Bank, demanding the creation of a Court of Arbitration (CoA).
- India’s Objection:
- Cited Article IX of the IWT: Legal (arbitration) and technical (Neutral Expert) processes cannot proceed simultaneously.
- India requested resolution through a Neutral Expert, a mechanism already available in the treaty.
India’s Rejection of the Supplemental Award (2025)
- Date: June 27, 2025
- Content: The CoA reaffirmed its jurisdiction and issued a supplemental award on project design.
- India’s Response:
- Declared the CoA is illegally constituted.
- Reiterated all its findings and awards are void ab initio (null and void from the beginning).
- Called the arbitration process a “charade at Pakistan’s behest”.
Post-Pahalgam Attack Escalation (April 2025)
- India invoked treaty abeyance:
- Declared that due to Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism, India is no longer bound by IWT obligations.
- Linked to the terror attack in Pahalgam, carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy.
- Treating terrorism as a violation of the treaty’s spirit and as a basis for withdrawal from cooperation.
India’s Legal & Sovereign Stand
- MEA’s Position:
- India is exercising sovereign rights under international law.
- No external tribunal can intervene in India’s internal affairs or strategic infrastructure.
- India’s hydropower projects are within the treaty framework and international norms.
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