New Delhi, February 18
The International Court of Arbitration (ICA) at The Hague today upheld India's right to divert water from the Kishanganga hydroelectric project (KHEP).

Reacting to the development, an official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said: “The award of the Court of Arbitration at The Hague today reaffirmed validity of India's position regarding KHEP by allowing diversion of water from the KHEP as envisaged by India.”

He said: “It highlights once again that India is adhering to all provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty.” The spokesperson also said the details of the award were being studied.

Pakistan had been objecting to the construction of the hydroelectric project on the Kishanganga in Kashmir, which is called Neelum upon entering Pakistan.

In November 2009, Pakistan had proposed the establishment of a Court of Arbitration and the appointment of a neutral expert to resolve the Kishanganga dam dispute.

The Indus Waters Treaty, inked between India and Pakistan, provides appointment of a neutral expert by the World Bank as a last option to resolve water-related issues between the two countries.

The Kishanganga plant, in Bandipora district of north Kashmir, is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga to a power plant in the Jhelum basin.

While India had been maintaining that it was within its rights, under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, to divert Kishanganga waters to Bonar Madmati Nullah, Pakistan had been objecting saying India’s plan to divert waters would cause obstruction to the flow of the river. The project had been discussed in the Permanent Indus Commission.

Pakistan approached the international court with its main objections being diversion and change of sub-basin of the Kishanganga. — PTI