Key Jammu & Kashmir reservoirs' flushing to begin soon as India suspends Indus Waters Treaty

Having put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, India may soon give the go-ahead for 'flushing' or desilting of key hydel plants in J&K instead of waiting for the monsoons, ET has learnt.

Most of the essential flushing, reservoir emptying and refilling to check sedimentation is largely restricted to the peak monsoon month of August, as per the IWT regime.

However, with the treaty in abeyance, India can now desilt the most affected plants much earlier, it is learnt.


The most significant being the Salal hydel plant on Chenab river in Reasi district - located downstream from Baglihar dam.

The first and the oldest project on the India side that came up under IWT, the Salal plant, is said to be working at just about half its capacity due to heavy silting and the highly restricted 'flushing' operations.

A 2019 NHPC assessment found that the average annual sediment load entering Salal reservoir is around 30 million cubic meters. While the reservoir's initial capacity was 284 MCM, it is now 'down to just 12 -13 MCM'.

Flushing of the Baglihar project, also on Chenab, could be expedited, as the recent rainfall has deposited considerable silt, it is learnt.

IWT has considerably constrained India from conducting the 'flushing' exercise despite high sedimentation or silt load across J&K rivers.

As a result, power output at hydel plants and overall longevity have been adversely impacted.

Following the Pahalgam attack and the consequent suspension of IWT, India has been mulling steps to optimally use its share of the western rivers of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

The overall impact of this to the water flow in Pakistan is unclear but is a major cause of concern in the neighbouring country, given the high dependency for its agriculture sector.

Flexibility in determining 'flushing' is one of the key steps on the table. India is also considering withholding hydrological data with Pakistan.