Pakistan sought a quick resolution of its dispute with India on the 330-MW Kishenganga hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir and wanted an immediate site-inspection by the International Court of Arbitration during its preliminary hearing on January 14 at The Hague.
Pakistan did not seek an interim stay on India's Rs. 3600-crore project — as in the case of the Baglihar Dam dispute, which went to a neutral expert — but did seek an early decision before the project construction reached an “irreversible” stage.
Both India and Pakistan will have to spend an estimated $2.5 million each towards the settlement of the dispute that was taken by Islamabad to the international arbitration court that was specially set up as per the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.
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Pakistan wanted an immediate inspection of the project in the snow-bound Kashmir region. India suggested inspection of Pakistan's Neelum-Jhelum project site as well, which was agreed to.
India will now invite and send a schedule for a visit by the seven-member court headed by international law expert Stephen M. Schwebel to the Kishenganga site in Jammu and Kashmir.
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The court is learnt to have asked Pakistan to submit its memorial (affidavit) after which India would submit its counter-memorial. As per the procedure, Pakistan would then be asked to give its rejoinder.
Law expert
The Indian team comprised international law expert Shankar Das, noted lawyer Fali Nariman, Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijay Singh, Chairman of Central Water Commission A.K. Bajaj, Indus Commissioner G. ArangaNathan, Deputy Commissioner Darpan Talwar, Mr. Nariman's junior Subhash Sharma, officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, and K.S. Nagaraja, executive director of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC Ltd.) which is constructing the project. Besides them, India has taken on board four international experts/lawyers.
Pakistan has raised objections on India diverting waters for its run-of-the-river project on Kishenganga, a tributary of Jhelum, saying that it would affect water-flows for its Neelum-Jhelum project downstream.
India maintains that it is well within its rights under the treaty to construct the project.
Islamabad also has reservations about India's plan on drawdown flushing outlets in the project below the dead storage level. Such a provision was allowed by the neutral expert in the Baglihar project, says New Delhi.