India has not Utilised Indus treaty to its fullest

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi-As the government reviews the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, experts today felt that India has so far not utilised the agreement to its fullest to increase irrigation and hydropower potential in Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who had recently suggested that India should consider abrogating the treaty with Pakistan as response to the Uri attack, said if Islamabad is not prepared to honour any of its commitments, it should not be incumbent on New Delhi to honour them.

“Utilise the treaty to its fullest. We are allowed to build hydropower potential and use the water for irrigation. Under the agreement, we are allowed to do a lot more than what we have done,” former Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh told.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had passed two resolutions seeking more Indus water for the state. “We can legally do lot more in terms of irrigation…The terms of the treaty which are in India’s favour need to be exploited more,” he said.