The present length of the canal is 60 km, which, according to sources, will likely be doubled.
New Delhi:After putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack, the Centre is planning to double the length of the 60-km Ranbir canal in Jammu and Kashmir on the Chenab river, to optimise the water resource for domestic use. The present length of the canal is 60 km, which, according to sources, will likely be doubled.
Till now, India has been using limited water from Chenab, mostly for irrigation, but with the IWT in abeyance, there is scope for expanding its use, especially in the power generation sector, sources said. India was planning to ramp up its current hydropower capacity of around 3,000 megawatts on the rivers that were earlier being used by Pakistan and a feasibility study to that effect is on the cards.
It is learnt that the cost of the expansion of the canal network will be borne by the Central government, and if needed, the Union home ministry may allocate additional funds to the J&K government.
The exercise for desilting the Ranbir canal, along with other similar systems in Jammu and Kashmir, is under consideration for execution in a phased manner. The main aim of the desilting is to increase their water-carrying capacity to increase the irrigation cover in the Union territory. Already the process of desilting has started on Kathua, Ravi and Paragwal canals, the official said.
The Ranbir canal is one of the two major canals of the Jammu district, which takes off from the left bank of the Chenab river. It was initially constructed by the erstwhile ruler of Jammu and Kashmir state and was completed in the year 1905. Being a major source of surface water irrigation, it catered to the Kandi belts of Jammu district, primarily the areas abutting Akhnoor Road, Bishnah, R.S. Pura and Arnia belts, among others. The canal was designed initially for net irrigated land of 16,460 hectares.
As per the Indus Waters Treaty 1960, Ranbir Canal is to carry 1,000 cusecs for irrigation purposes and 250 cusecs for hydropower use, besides water withdrawal for silt extraction from April 15 to October 14 every year.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mr Omar Abdullah has called to revive the stalled Tulbul Navigation Barrage on the Wular Lake in North Kashmir. “It was started in the early 1980s but had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan citing IWT. Now that the IWT has been temporarily suspended,’ I wonder if we will be able to resume the project,” Mr Abdullah had written on X. He claimed this project will allow the people of J-K to use Jhelum River water for navigation and improve power generation during winters.
Brokered by the World Bank in 1960 after nine years of negotiation, the IWT governed the distribution and use of the Indus river and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. But India decided to suspend the treaty after the Pahalgam attack and has since then maintained that the treaty will remain suspended "until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism"
