India Seeks Indus Treaty Changes, Panjab Starts Floodplain Survey

India has formally issued a notice to Pakistan seeking modifications to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), one of the longest standing water treaties in the world. India cites fundamental changes in circumstances that require a review of the 1960 agreement. This marks the second notice, with the first sent in January 2023, due to Pakistan’s lack of cooperation in the treaty’s implementation. IWT allocates water from the eastern rivers — Satluj, Beas, and Ravi, about 33  million acre feet (MAF) annually — exclusively to India, while Pakistan receives the majority of the water from the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, totaling approximately 135 MAF. Under the treaty, India is allowed to develop irrigation over 1.34M acres of land in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh but has utilized only 642K acres so far. India can also store 3.60 MAF of water from the Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus rivers, though no significant storage capacity has been developed. The treaty further permits India to construct run-of-river dams, giving it the temporary ability to restrict the flow of water in rivers allocated to Pakistan. Meanwhile, on 11 Sep, the Panjab govt. initiated the demarcation process of the Satluj River floodplains in Ferozepur and Tarn Taran districts after the Central Water Commission refused assistance due to the state’s inability to meet necessary requirements. This involves two $120K workstations and advanced drone surveys to create a digital elevation model, with the Panjab govt. acquiring its own software and collecting data independently. The Chief Engineer (Mining Operations) assured the National Green Tribunal on 11 Sep that demarcation would be done by 31 Dec, with reports submitted by early January 2025.