China urged to be mindful of Indian interests downstream of Brahmaputra: Government

NEW DELHI: New Delhi has urged Beijing to ensure that India's interests are not harmed by any Chinese activities in the upstream areas of Brahmaputra river, Rajya Sabha was today told.

Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati was responding to questions as to whether China's $1.5 billion Zangmu hydro-power project on the river in the Tibetan Plateau is of "serious" concern to India and whether New Delhi has, in that case, taken up the matter with Beijing.

In her answer, Bharati said that "according to reports", the Zangmu project has been fully operationalised in October, 2015.

'Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China' indicates that three more hydro-power projects on the mainstream of the river in the Tibet Autonomous Region have been approved for implementation by Chinese authorities, she added.

The Centre "carefully" monitors all developments on the river, Bharati said, adding that the four projects in question are considered to be Run of the River (RoR) hydro-electric projects.

"As a lower riparian state with considerable established user rights to the waters of the river, India has conveyed the views and concerns to Chinese authorities, including at the highest levels of the Government of People's Republic of China.

"India has urged China to ensure interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas," the minister said.

She further said that during a March, 2013, meeting between the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the fifth BRICS Summit in South Africa, the latter had said that Beijing was "quite conscious" of its responsibilities and the interests of lower riparian states.

In 2006, two sides had established an India-China Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers. During Singh's visit to China in October, 2013, the two governments had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, Bharati said.

"The joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in May, 2015, states the two sides will further strengthen cooperation through the ELM on the provision of flood-season hydrological data and emergency management and exchange views on other issues of mutual interest," the minister added.