New Chenab River projects raise fears over India’s control of flows vital to Pakistan’s food security
A view of the Uri-II hydroelectric project dam on the Jhelum river flowing from Indian Kashmir into Pakistan administered Kashmir, near Uri in Baramulla district of Indian administered Kashmir, May 7, 2025. REUTERS
In a move that has sharply escalated hydropolitical tensions, India has approved the controversial Rs 3,277.45 crore Dulhasti Stage-II run-of-the-river hydropower project with a capacity of 260 megawatts on the Chenab River in Indian-occupied Kashmir, further undermining the Indus Waters Treaty and threatening Pakistan’s water security.
The project includes a 3,685 meter long diversion tunnel, horseshoe ponds, pressure and surge wells, and an underground power plant with two 130 MW units. 60.3 hectares of land are needed, including 8.27 hectares of private land in the villages of Benzwar and Palmar.
The Environmental Assessment Committee (EAC) under India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has cleared the Dulhasti Stage II project, which will draw water from the existing Dulhasti power plant (Stage I) through a separate 3,685 m long and 8.5 m diameter tunnel, leading to the construction of a horseshoe pond for Stage II.
In addition to the pond, the project will have a surge well, a pressure well and an underground powerhouse equipped with two units of 130 MW each, resulting in a total installed capacity of 260 MW.
India’s approval of the Dulhasti Stage II Hydroelectric Project while keeping the Indus Waters Treaty on hold reflects a growing pattern of unilateral expansion of upstream infrastructure that undermines the principles of cooperative transboundary water governance.
The construction of additional tunnels, pond structures and flow regulation infrastructure in the Chenab River system raises serious concerns regarding India’s growing ability to manipulate downstream river flows critical to Pakistan’s agricultural and food security.
By withholding hydrological data and limiting technical transparency despite repeated international consultations, India is undermining confidence in treaty-based mechanisms designed to ensure stability, predictability and equitable management of rivers in South Asia.
India’s continued expansion of hydropower into western rivers, without the sharing of critical hydrological data, risks exacerbating hydropolitical tensions and increasing the vulnerability of millions of people who depend on the Indus Basin irrigation system.
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The Dulhasti Stage-II project illustrates how run-of-the-river infrastructure can gain strategic importance when combined with non-cooperative water policies and suspension of institutional obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty.
In an era of accelerating climate stress and water scarcity, India’s manipulation of transboundary rivers reflects an increasingly irresponsible approach to regional water security and sustainable basin governance.
The growing network of hydropower projects upstream of the Chenab River enhances India’s operational control over seasonal water flows, creating uncertainty for downstream crop cycles, irrigation planning and long-term agricultural resilience in Pakistan.
India’s refusal to restore full treaty cooperation while expanding strategic hydropower infrastructure raises broader concerns about the politicization of water resources and the erosion of international legal norms governing shared river systems.
