Why is Kashmir facing a power shortage?

After the political conflict, power is arguably the second-biggest topic for the residents of India-administered Kashmir, who have been complaining that New Delhi is eyeing up control of their hydropower resources.

Kashmir has the potential to produce 20,000 megawatts (MW) of hydropower, which can become a major driving force for its economic growth, but it currently produces a mere 3,263 MW.

After militancy faded away in the early 2000s, energy needs have been at the heart of policies among political parties in Kashmir vying for power.

Regional political parties have been demanding the return of seven power projects currently under the stewardship of the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) — a government of India enterprise.

Of the current 3,263 MW hydropower generation capacity, the NHPC generates 2,009 MW from these projects but shares only 13% of that with Kashmir, which has to purchase electricity at higher prices from India's northern grid to meet its requirement.

'We don't even get six hours of electricity'

"In this harsh winter and subzero temperatures, we don't even get six hours of electricity. We depend on timber to heat water for bathing and washing our clothes," said Naseema Rasool of Wagoora town in northern Kashmir's Baramulla district.

Rasool pointed out that patients with respiratory illnesses and schoolchildren, who are appearing in examinations, are the ones who suffer the most. "Our children can't afford to study late in the evening or early morning because there will be no electricity," she said.

Fight for power

In the absence of an elected government in Kashmir after the abrogation of the region's special constitutional status on August 5, 2019, New Delhi has signed agreements — so-called MoUs — to hand over another five power projects to the NHPC, triggering unease among locals.

Last week, New Delhi had to reverse course on a proposal to merge the region's power department into the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) after facing protests from local employees, resulting in the region witnessing a major power breakdown in the midst of an extreme cold wave.

At the heart of the power crisis in Kashmir is the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) — a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan to regulate the flow of the transboundary Indus River and its five tributaries — and a fight to control their water resources.

The IWT gives New Delhi unrestricted control over the three eastern rivers — the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — while Islamabad has control over the three western rivers — Jhelum, Chenab and Indus — flowing through India-administered Kashmir and into Pakistan. However, India can use 20% of the water of the three western rivers for purposes of irrigation, transport and power generation.

"New Delhi and Kashmir-based pro-India political parties were never on the same page on the construction of power projects along the western rivers. Both sides wanted to gain maximum control over the water resources," said a senior officer in the power department who asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the issue.

"The popular sentiment in Kashmir has been that hydropower projects should not create water shortage in Pakistan. So regional political parties never encouraged building water storage facilities," he said.

India wants to renegotiate IWT

After Narendra Modi's BJP government came to power in 2014, New Delhi started weighing options either to move completely out of the IWT or exploit the water resources as much as it can.

Given that the notion of scrapping the treaty entirely would have consequences, New Delhi decided to use the water resources to the maximum possible extent.

India's major push for maximum exploitation of the waters came after the abrogation of Article 370 when authorities started handing new power projects with a generation capacity of 4,136 MW to the NHPC, said Raja Yaqoob Farooq, the managing director of Jammu Kashmir Power Development Corporation.

"In the last six to eight months, the MoUs we have signed with the NHPC, under the guidance of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), will pave the way for generating 3,500 MW of additional power in the next 4-5 years," said Manoj Sinha, the New Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Under the IWT, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers, subject to specific criteria for design and operation. The treaty also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers.

In the past, Pakistan has raised strong objections to multiple hydropower projects, such as Baglihar and Kishanganga in Kashmir, over their design. These projects were allowed to go ahead only after correction in their design, albeit after a delay of many years.

In August, a parliamentary committee of India tabled its report in the legislature. The committee recommended renegotiating the IWT with Pakistan in order to examine the utilization of the irrigation and hydropower potential.

It asked the government to take the necessary diplomatic measures to renegotiate the IWT with Pakistan.

Edited by: John Silk