PANCHESHWAR
PROJECT – INTERNATIONAL
News:
Nepal-India official
dialogue silent on landmark Pancheshwar project
What's
in the news?
●
More than a month after India and Nepal
signed the agreement on long-term power sharing, the two sides have not managed
to make any forward movement on the stalled negotiations over the landmark
Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP).
●
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra met
his Nepali counterpart Sewa Lamsal here.
Key
takeaways:
●
A press note issued on this meeting
mentioned the two sides discussed “multifaceted cooperation” but it did not
include any reference to PMP, which is by far the biggest bilateral power
project conceived between the two sides.
Pancheshwar
Project:
●
It is a bi-national hydropower project
between India and Nepal, planned for
development along the Mahakali River,
which forms the border between the two countries.
Backdrop:
●
In February
1996, India and Nepal entered into the Mahakali Treaty. The focal point of
this treaty is the implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project.
Aim:
●
Its main goals are to produce energy and improve irrigation in both countries.
Features:
●
It includes building a 315m tall dam across the Mahakali
River, called Sharda in India.
●
The project aims to generate about 6,480 MW of energy, divided equally between both
sides.
●
It will also provide water for irrigating 130,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 240,000
hectares in Indian territory.
Concerns:
●
Environmentalists have raised concerns
about its potential impact on regional ecology and local communities.
Go
back to basics:
Mahakali
Treaty:
●
It is an agreement between the Governments
of India and Nepal regarding the integrated development of the Mahakali River.
●
The treaty recognizes the Mahakali River
as a boundary river between the two countries.
●
The treaty was signed in 1996.
Mahakali
River (Sharda River):
●
The Sharda River, also called Kali River and Mahakali River,
originates from Kalapani in the Himalayas, situated in the Pithoragarh district
of Uttarakhand.
●
The river flows along Nepal’s western
border with India and joins the Ghaghara (Karnali/Manchu) River, which is a
tributary of the Ganga.
●
Tributaries:
○
Left
- Chameliya, Ramgun in Nepal
○
Right
- Kuthi, Dhauli, Gori, Sarju, Ladhiya rivers in Uttarakhand (India).