“Our ministry’s mandate is to carry out the directives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – “paani aur khoon saath nahi beh sakta“,” he remarked at the Powering Bharat Summit, organized by Network18 in partnership with Moneycontrol, News18 India, and CNBC Awaaz.
India had suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which resulted in 26 fatalities. The treaty was established in 1960 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President and Field Marshal Ayub Khan.
With no set expiration, the treaty specifies that the water of the ‘eastern rivers’ (Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej, totaling 33 million acre-feet) will be ‘managed’ by India, while the ‘western rivers’ (Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum, totaling 80 million acre-feet) will be ‘managed’ by Pakistan.
Following the treaty’s suspension, he mentioned that the ministry has been focusing on improved river utilization. “We are striving to ensure water access for every village. For security reasons, we are also engaged in efforts to optimize river usage after the IWT was halted,” Patil stated.
Water from the three rivers is vital for Pakistan’s agriculture, which makes up 25% of the country’s gross domestic product, as well as for energy supplies. According to Ember, a global think tank, hydropower represented 19% of the nation’s energy output in 2023.
The treaty permits India to utilize the western rivers for purposes such as power generation, navigation, property transport, and fish culture, provided it does not store or divert water in ways that impede access for Pakistan downstream.
