Krishna wants us to believe Chinese promise on Tsang Po

NEW DELHI: China has assured India that the dam it is building on the Tsang Po river in Tibet for generating power would not affect the water flow of the Brahmaputra.

External affairs minister S M Krishna told Parliament that China had given this assurance during his recent visit to Beijing to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“It is a fact that when we met in Beijing, the question of the power station did come up. The Chinese foreign minister assured me that there would be no water storage at the dam and it would not in any way impact on downstream areas,” Mr Krishna said during question hour in Rajya Sabha.

The minister was responding to a supplementary question from BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on the impact of the Chinese dam. Chinese activity on the Tsang Po river, which is the Brahmaputra in India, has caused a lot of concern in India, particularly in Assam. India and China exchange hydrological data, but have no separate mechanism on dealing with water sharing issues.

However, New Delhi seems to be somewhat reassured by Beijing’s assurance on the dam project considering this is the first time it has even admitted activity on the river.

But, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Kumar Deepak Das pointed out that the dam is a 450-mw hydroelectric project and could not be labelled a small project. In response, the external affairs minister merely said “with reference to trans-border rivers, we have an expert level mechanism to address the issue. A meeting of experts from both India and China is scheduled to take place from April 26-29 in Delhi and the issue will be discussed in it”.

In spite of the Chinese assurance, India is expected to continue keeping track of China’s activities on the river. The Brahmaputra, which is 2,906-km long, starts in Tibet and weaves through India and then through Bangladesh. The China stretch is 1,625 km, while the next 918 km is in India and the remaining 363 km in Bangladesh.

When asked about the dam project, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao also said that the Chinese side had assured India that the project would not in any way divert water. “This would not a be a project that would divert water... It is not a storage dam for irrigation purposes,” she said on the information given by the Chinese side during the bilateral discussions.

The external affairs minister pointed out that India has concerns about the boundary issue. “There are concerns over the boundary question. It has been our policy that a fair and mutually acceptable solution to this is needed. Our special representative has held 13 meetings with his Chinese counterpart on this and the 14th meeting is scheduled soon,” he said.