Thanks to sustained persuasions of the MoS in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh and very cooperative attitude of the River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharati, who together brokered the resolution of water dispute between the two neighbouring States of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. This significant achievement has come after at least three decades of prolonged and elusive wait and uncertainty. The agreement signed between the senior bureaucrats of two States under the aegis of the Union Minister for River Development will come into force after it is formally ratified by two Governments. However, indications are that work on the prestigious Shahpur-Kandi dam will be resumed very soon. The 55.5 high Shahpur-Kandi dam is located in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and the proposed dam will help in providing irrigation facility to 5000 hectares of land in Punjab and 32173 hectares in J&K mostly the Kandi area of the districts of Kathua and Samba. Besides providing water, the dam will generate 206 MW of power out of which 20 per cent will be the share of the J&K State. The cost of Rs. 3.50 per unit of power has also been fixed. The project will be built with an estimated cost of Rs. 2285.81 crore and is included in the Scheme of National Projects of the Government of India. According to the agreement that has been signed by the top bureaucrats of the two States J&K will get 1150 cusecs water from the Ravi.
The design of the project shall be as already agreed to by the parties while concurrently model structure will be done to ensure that the mandated share of 1150 cusecs of water is available to J&K. It will be a binding on both states. Though the Punjab Government has agreed to build the project yet there will be a tripartite team to monitor the implementation of the agreement and respond to any issue that might arise. Government of Punjab has also agreed to pay the balance of land compensation to the holders whose land has submerged under the Thien Dam.
A resolution of this long standing dispute had remained in limbo essentially because of the decision of the Punjab Government to rescind the water agreement with the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Punjab continued to use the water of Ravi and the J&K State staked her claim to 8000 crore rupees owing to denial of water. Since J&K stuck to its demand that this amount of money be paid to the state by way of compensation and the Punjab Government was not at all willing to make compensation, a stalemate had ensued in the resolution of the dispute. However, realizing the harm that the people in two districts of Kathua and Samba were facing owing to denial of water, it became a priority with the Government of India to bring the two disputing parties together and hammer out a formula to resolve the four decade old dispute. The MoS in PMO played the crucial role of negotiating a deal through the aegis of the Union Minister of Water Resources, Uma Bharati, and at the end of the day, through perseverance and through giving impetus to the sense of national reconstruction, the impasse was broken and jubilation gripped the stakeholders.
This is a priceless gift to the people of the dry areas of the districts of Kathua and Samba generally called the Kandi area. It is dry land and yearns for a drop of water. Though, it is fertile and productive land yet absence of water has been its bane.
Signing of the agreement over a somewhat ticklish issue shows that given the will and sense of responsibility, even complicated issues can be solved amicably. It also shows that through cooperation and understanding, our country can become really strong and can do miracles to alleviate the suffering of deprived people. This agreement is going to usher in a new life and history of a vast Kandi area of Jammu region. With irrigation facilities available, the agricultural growth will increase several fold and that means changing the entire economy of the region. We salute all stakeholders in this project for creating history and example to be emulated by others.
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