6 Hydel Projects coming up on fast track over Chenab

Undeterred by Pakistan warnings, India has expedited work on six major hydropower projects in Jammu and Kashmir to be constructed on the Chenab river flowing into the neighbouring country.
The installed capacity of these six power projects will be around 6,000 MW and these schemes will enhance the hydropower generation of water-abundant J&K approximately by three times from the current level of 3,220.96-MW, including 2,009 MW under the Central sector.
The six projects winning technical approvals in the past few months are 1,856-MW Sawalkote, 560-MW Kawar, 1,200-MW Bursar, 1,000-MW Pakal Dul and 390-MW Kirthai-I and 930-MW Kirthai-II to be constructed on the Chenab river, a tributary of the Indus, in the Jammu region. The Indian move to fast-track the hydropower projects in J&K could prove a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, with the latter objecting to any violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) on the sharing of the Indus and its tributaries.
These projects have been held up for the past many decades awaiting multiple clearances but got swift approvals from the Centre after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear last year that “blood and water cannot flow together” following the terror attack on an Army camp in Uri on September 18, 2016.
“Our major power projects, including Sawalkote and Kirthai-II, have been given technical approvals by the Central Electricity Authority. We are moving with good pace. After the techno-economic clearance, the procurement and tendering process will begin which is a time-consuming exercise. There are a lot of technical issues attached to hydropower projects which need tobe addressed thoroughly after proper consultations,” said NA Kakroo, General Manager (Technical), Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC).
The Sawlakote project, which was awaiting technical approval for the last 57 years, is expected to be set up with an estimated cost of Rs 22,000 crore while Kirthai-II will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 5,500 crore. The Central Electricity Authority has fixed 10-year term for the construction of the Sawlakote project and 6.5 years for the Kirthai-II project. Both projects have also been given environmental clearance by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
India has rejected the Pakistan government’s concerns that the projects were being set up in violation of the IWT, arguing that these projects were “run-of-the-river” schemes that use the river flow rather than large reservoirs to generate electricity.
Jammu and Kashmir has the hydropower potential of 20,000 MW (one megawatt can power-feed more than 200 families). At present, J&K has been able to harness only 3,200 MW both from the state and Central sectors.