Indus Waters Treaty leaves Himachal powerless over using its own rivers

Despite originating in Lahaul-Spiti, Chenab’s waters remain largely untapped due to Pakistan’s persistent objections

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh, a state where the Chenab originates, is facing a peculiar paradox — it cannot freely use its own water.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 and suspended by India after the Pahalgam terror attack, has left the state unable to fully utilise Chenab water for irrigation or hydropower projects.

The treaty, which allocates the waters of the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, allows India only limited rights for non-consumptive use such as hydropower generation.
However, even within those parameters, Pakistan has consistently raised objections, stalling development and investment in the region.

Power projects blocked, irrigation stalled

Chenab originates in the Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi, where it is initially known as the Chandrabhaga.
It carries an average of 800.60 cusecs of water across nearly 960 km in Himachal before flowing into Jammu & Kashmir and eventually into Pakistan.

Yet, this significant water resource remains grossly underutilised. Not only has irrigation been minimal in the region — despite the valley’s fame for crops like potatoes and peas — but even hydroelectric projects have struggled to take off.

One example is the 4.5 MW Thirot Hydropower Project in Lahaul, which was designed without any water storage to avoid triggering treaty violations. Still, Pakistan lodged a formal objection.
Over the years, Islamabad has raised concerns against nearly 30 hydropower projects planned across the Indus basin rivers, including several in Himachal and Jammu & Kashmir.

Expert calls for strategic utilisation

Hydropower experts have emphasised the importance of developing energy projects on the Chenab basin — not just for Himachal, but for the entire country.
“Despite the potential, the pace of hydropower development on the Chenab has remained sluggish. Utilising these resources strategically is in the national interest,” he said.

The experts say if energy projects are established efficiently along the Chandra and Bhaga tributaries, they could yield substantial electricity output while adhering to the treaty’s limitations. However, political sensitivity and diplomatic pressure have continued to stall progress.

Caught between geography and geopolitics

The Indus Waters Treaty, though widely seen as a diplomatic success story for surviving decades of tensions between India and Pakistan, has created complex limitations for Himachal.

While India retains rights to “non-consumptive use” of the western rivers, the procedural hurdles and constant surveillance by the Pakistan Indus Commission make even permissible development a diplomatic tightrope walk.

For the people of Lahaul-Spiti, this means living next to a river whose potential remains locked by the terms of an international treaty.

TNR News Network