BENGALURU-TUESDAY: India is exploring the possibility of diverting critical water flows from Indus River systems to Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, according to exclusive CNBC analysis of government sources.
The South Asian giant is reportedly accelerating infrastructure plans that could double its extraction capacity from shared river basins, creating immediate concern among Lahore’s farming communities dependent on treaty-guaranteed water supplies.
This strategic pivot follows New Delhi’s April decision to suspend compliance with the landmark 1960 Indus Waters Treaty – a bilateral agreement governing river usage between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Six government insiders confirm that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed officials to prioritize development projects on three key rivers – Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus – all historically designated under the treaty’s Western Rivers allocation for exclusive Pakistani use.
Central to these plans is the proposed $450 million expansion of the Ranbir Canal system, which currently channels Chenab waters through 120 km of Punjab’s irrigation network before reaching Pakistani farmlands. Two senior bureaucrats involved in technical consultations revealed Modi’s administration aims to double canal capacity as part of broader water resource optimization.
Citing confidential energy ministry documents and infrastructure committee discussions, these sources indicate India’s extraction rate from Chenab could surge from 40 cubic meters per second to 150 cubic meters once expansion work concludes – a quantum leap with direct commercial implications for Pakistan’s $25 billion agriculture export sector.
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