River sutra: stay within treaty but use India’s rights fully

The Union government has decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee to study India’s further options on the Indus Waters Treaty. The decision came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting to review the treaty following the terror attack in Uri.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary Shashi Shekhar, and senior PMO officials were present at the meeting.

Among the committee’s tasks would be to look into storage possibilities that would help irrigate fields in Jammu and Kashmir, where the State Assembly has often complained about the treaty being “unfair”. At present, India has access to the use of three “eastern” rivers of the Indus — the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, while it is allowed limited use of about 20 per cent of the three ‘western’ rivers — the Indus (Sindhu), Chenab and Jhelum.