A Joint Inspection Commission of Pakistani and Indian officials are scheduled to inspect the site of the controversial Kishanganga hydro-electricity project on Monday (today).
A three-member Pakistani team led by Indus Treaty Commissioner Asif Baig had reached India on Sunday to visit the site. The disputed power project is being built on the Neelum River at Gurez in Indian held Kashmir.
In September 2011, the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) had stopped India from any permanent work on the project in response to Pakistan’s appeal for “interim measures” against the dam which may cause diversion of the river’s flow. The ICA is expected to announce its verdict in February 2013. Pakistan believes the construction of Kishanganga dam on the Neelum-Jhelum River would deprive Pakistan of 13 percent of the river’s water, which would be a big blow to the country’s agriculture sector.
During a hearing in August 2012 in the international court at The Hague, Pakistan placed the matter for determination before the court. The question was whether India’s proposed diversion of the Neelum-Jhelum River into another tributary, the Bonar Madmati Nallah, being one central element of the Kishanganga project, breaches India’s legal obligations owed to Pakistan under the treaty.
Another dispute raised by Pakistan was whether India may deplete or bring the reservoir level of a run-of-river plant below Dead Storage Level (DSL) in any circumstances except in the case of an unforeseen emergency.
