NEW DELHI, Jan 1: In 2013, Indian hydrologists had to don the mantle of diplomats and lawyers when New Delhi fought hard and won an international arbitration against Pakistan over the Kishenganga hydro project in Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, the high point of the year gone by remained the notification of the final award of the Cauvery inter-state water dispute tribunal after a Supreme Court rap.
Despite sharp differences among ministries, the Ministry of Water Resources managed to get the nod of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for continuation of the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) with a total outlay of Rs 55,200 crore. It is expected that states would create an additional irrigation potential of 8.7 million hectare.
In a major relief for India, the Hague-based International Court of Arbitration rejected Pakistan’s objections by upholding New Delhi’s right to divert water from the Kishenganga river for power generation in J&K.
In its final award on the India-Pakistan arbitration case, the court also decided that India shall release a minimum flow of nine cumecs (cubic meters per second) into the Kishenganga/Neelum river below the Kishenganga hydro-electric project (KHEP) at “all times”.
The issue of minimum flow was left unresolved by the partial award issued on February 18, 2013.
The court, in its final award pronounced on December 20, also decided that both India and Pakistan may seek “reconsideration” of its decision through the Permanent Indus Commission and the mechanisms of the Indus Waters Treaty “after a period of seven years from the first diversion of water from the Kishenganga river”.
In its partial award, the international court had unanimously decided that the 330 mw project in J&K is a run-of-river plant within the definition of the Indus Waters Treaty.
It had also held that India was free to divert water from the Kishenganga/Neelum River for power generation.
The court has given India the right to divert water for the project and has accepted Pakistan’s demand for uninterrupted flow of water.
In another milestone, the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal was notified on February 19, 2013 after a delay of six years.
The move came after the Supreme Court rapped the Centre for delaying the decision and had on February 4 set February 20 as the deadline to issue notification.
The Tribunal, comprising chairman Justice N P Singh and members N S Rao and Sudhir Narain, in a unanimous award in February, 2007 had determined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet at the Lower Coleroon Anicut site.
The proceedings of the Tribunal, set up in June, 1990, went on for more than 16 years.
In, what was then described as a balancing act, the Tribunal gave Tamil Nadu 419 TMC of water(as against the demand of 562 TMC); Karnataka 270 TMC (as against its demand of 465 TMC); Kerala 30 TMC and Puducherry 7 TMC.
For environmental protection, it had reserved 10 TMC.
After the issuance of the notification, institutions like the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) chaired by the Prime Minister and the CMC will cease to exist.
New organisations like the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee will be constituted which will have representatives from all the co-basin states, experts in hydrology and agriculture.
These will be headed by an officer of the Central Government and will be under the control of the Centre.
While Tamil Nadu had been demanding an early notification, Karnataka was opposed to it saying till the times cases filed by it in the Supreme Court are settled, the notification should be kept in abeyance. (AGENCIES)
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