Centre clears Dulhasti Stage II hydropower project on Chenab

A panel under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved the 260-megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said on Saturday.

The clearance comes against the backdrop of India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in April this year. The Expert Appraisal Committee on hydel projects accorded approval during its 45th meeting earlier this month, paving the way for floating construction tenders for the run-of-the-river project, estimated to cost over Rs 3,200 crore.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the panel noted that the waters of the Chenab basin are shared between India and Pakistan in accordance with the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, and that the project’s parameters were originally planned in line with the treaty.

“However, the Indus Waters Treaty stands suspended effective from April 23, 2025,” the panel noted.

When the treaty was in force, Pakistan had rights over the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers, while India had rights over the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. With the treaty now in abeyance, the Centre is pushing ahead with several hydroelectric projects in the Indus basin, including Sawalkote, Ratle, Bursar, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru and Kirthai I and II.

Dulhasti Stage-II is an extension of the existing 390 MW Dulhasti Stage-I hydroelectric project, which has been operational since its commissioning in 2007 by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited.

Under the plan, water will be diverted from the Stage-I power station through a separate tunnel measuring 3,685 metres in length and 8.5 metres in diameter to form a horseshoe-shaped pondage for Stage-II.

The project also includes a surge shaft, a pressure shaft and an underground powerhouse housing two units of 130 MW each, resulting in a total installed capacity of 260 MW.