Islamabad: The International Court of Arbitration has allowed India to go ahead with construction of the Kishanganga dam in Jammu and Kashmir, over which Pakistan had raised objections.
The court delivered its “final award” on Friday night after India requested clarification of an order issued by it in February.
In its “partial award” in February, the court upheld India’s main contention that it has the right to divert waters of western rivers, in a non-consumptive manner, for optimal generation of power.
The western rivers are allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.
The “final award” specifies that 9 cumecs (measure of flow rate) of natural flow of water must be maintained in Kishenganga river at all times to maintain the environment downstream, said a statement from the Indian High Commission here.
This is much lower than the 100 cumecs of natural flow that Pakistan wanted to maintain, it said.
“We have also received the clarification we sought from the court with regard to the technique of draw-down flushing used for the desiltation of reservoir in run of the river power projects in the western rivers of the Indus,” the statement said.
