Bury IWT, Reclaim Jhelum—Part II of the Western‑River Revival
PREFACE: The Indus Waters Treaty is now history, and every cubic metre of the western rivers is once again India’s to shape. Across three articles, this being the second, we lay out the full spectrum of technically feasible projects—mega, mini and micro—on the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab that New Delhi can launch immediately: high‑rise storage dams and pumped‑storage caverns, medium run‑of‑river upgrades, and village‑scale micro‑schemes. No more treaty‑imposed storage caps, diversion bans or foreign vetoes—only engineering imagination, environmental care and national will.
Bury IWT, Reclaim Jhelum—Part II of the Western‑River Revival
1. Treaty Shredded, Valley Unshackled
With the Indus Waters Treaty extinct, the Jhelum is no longer quarantined for Pakistan’s benefit. From Verinag in South Kashmir to the Line of Control at Uri, 320 kilometres of river and tributaries now lie entirely at India’s command. The old cap that barred us from storing more than a thimbleful upstream of Pakistan is gone; so is the veto that let Islamabad stall every barrage, tunnel and canal that could lift the Valley out of winter water stress.
2. The Crown Jewel: Gurez–Kanzalwan Mega‑Reservoir
Just below Dawar in the Gurez bowl the Jhelum cuts a tight granite notch. A 220‑metre concrete‑face rock‑fill dam here will hold 2.3–2.7 MAF (2.8–3.3 billion m³) of live storage—ten times the capacity India was once permitted. A twin‑unit underground station delivers 1.2 GW by day, while the reservoir itself becomes Kashmir’s year‑round life‑line, able to release 10,000 cusecs even in the coldest January. The cost—₹60–65 thousand crore—is benchmarked against the 1,000‑MW Tehri CFRD, adjusted for head and Himalayan altitude.
3. Power Multipliers Ready to Pounce
Kishanganga Conversion. The existing 330‑MW run‑of‑river plant at Bandipora gains gated storage of 0.3 MAF and morphs into a 700‑MW peaking station for an extra ₹6 thousand crore, using Pakal Dul’s per‑MW upgrade cost.
Uri‑I & Uri‑II Crest‑Raises. Two short concrete lifts plus side buttresses create daily pondage of 0.15 MAF and squeeze out another 400 MW of evening surge for ₹5 thousand crore.
Banihal High‑Level Pumped Storage. Two natural shelves on either side of the Jawahar Tunnel align perfectly for a 900 MW / 7 GWh daily cycle plant. Budget: ₹7 thousand crore, priced off the Tehri PSP tender.
4. Water on the Move—New Lifelines and Leverage
Jhelum–Ravi Gravity Tunnel. A 38‑kilometre horseshoe heading under the Pir Panjal drops 1 MAF (1.23 billion m³) into the Ravi every year, firming the Shahpur Kandi command and giving Jammu its first Himalayan drinking‑water line. Price: ₹22 thousand crore, derived from the Chenab–Beas tunnel DPR.
Srinagar Ring‑Canal & Lake Recharge. A 110‑kilometre concrete channel taps the Gurez reservoir to stabilise Dal and Nigeen Lakes, irrigate 50,000 ha of apple orchards and guarantee 24×7 potable supply to two million Kashmiris for ₹12 thousand crore—costed against Rajasthan’s IG canal upgrades.
Winter Navigation Pool. By locking the Gurez release at a constant 4,000 cusecs, the Jhelum becomes navigable from Baramulla to Wular even in February, slashing Army logistics costs and reviving the Valley’s historic river trade at negligible extra expense.
5. What It Costs—What India Gets
All told, ₹1.2–1.3 lakh crore buys India roughly 3 MAF of fresh storage, almost 3.2 GW of new hydro capacity and over 2 GW of pumped‑storage flexibility, plus a drinking‑water, irrigation and navigation grid that seals Kashmir’s self‑reliance.
6. Constraints We Will Overcome
Seismic Bar. The dam sits in a zone that saw a magnitude‑7.6 quake in 2005; a CFRD with double PVC cores and real‑time fibre sensors is mandatory.
High‑Population Corridor. Downstream towns of Bandipora and Sopore require an automatic fuse‑plug spillway and siren network for any emergency draw‑down.
Snow‑Avalanche Risk. A concrete snow‑shed over the radial gates and a 20‑MW snow‑melt heater line keep ice from jamming the intakes.
LoC Proximity. The reservoir’s back‑water stops twenty kilometres short of the Line of Control, eliminating any cross‑border dispute and keeping the artillery on our side of the ridge out of splash range.
7. How Pakistan Pays the Price
The Jhelum supplies 25 MAF a year to Pakistan at Mangla. Impounding just 1 MAF in October sends Mangla’s inflow tumbling by nearly fifteen percent precisely when Pakistani Punjab fills its wheat canals. Islamabad can cry “water aggression,” but the truth is simple: stop exporting terror and India can release the water early; persist, and your canals run dry while our orchards thrive. In summer the same reservoir can trim the Neelum–Jhelum project’s surge flows, denting Pakistan’s peak‑power dreams and forcing Islamabad to talk before it taps.
8. The Strategic Pay‑Off
For barely half the money India spent on farm fertiliser subsidies last year, we can turn the Jhelum valley into a permanent hydraulic shield, an energy storehouse and a political lever. Kashmir gains flood security, drinking water and navigation; Punjab and Haryana receive glacier‑proof supplies; Pakistan inherits a brand‑new reason to behave. The treaty is dead, the water is ours, and the Jhelum—like the Indus—now answers to India alone.
DISCLAIMER: I don’t claim to be an expert and I have no access to privileged information. The article below is stitched together from material freely available on the public internet, with cost figures based on transparent, good‑faith assumptions. As I often say, it’s better to be approximately correct than precisely wrong.