NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday welcomed neutral expert’s decision upholding India’s stand after seven questions were raised in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects on matters related to the Indus water treaty.
“India welcomes the decision given by the neutral expert under Paragraph 7 of Annexure F to the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960. The decision upholds and vindicates India’s stand that all seven (07) questions that were referred to the Neutral Expert, in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects, are differences falling within his competence under the Treaty,” MEA said.
“It has been India’s consistent and principled position that the Neutral Expert alone has the competence under the treaty to decide these differences. Having upheld his own competence, which comports with India’s view, the neutral expert will now proceed to the next (merits) phase of his proceeding. This phase will culminate in a final decision on the merits of each of the seven differences,” it added.
The World Bank had appointed a “neutral expert” and a chairman of the Court of Arbitration (CoA) regarding the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants.
The ministry said that the government is committed to preserving the sanctity and integrity of the treaty with Pakistan and continues to participate in the Neutral Expert process.
“Being committed to preserving the sanctity and integrity of the Treaty, India will continue to participate in the Neutral Expert process so that the differences are resolved in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Treaty, which does not provide for parallel proceedings on the same set of issues. For this reason, India does not recognize or participate in the illegally constituted Court of Arbitration proceedings,” MEA said.
“The Governments of India and Pakistan also remain in touch on the matter of modification and review of the Indus Waters Treaty, under Article XII (3) of the Treaty,” it added.
In 2015, Pakistan requested the appointment of a Neutral Expert to examine its technical objections to India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs).
In 2016, Pakistan unilaterally retracted this request and proposed that a Court of Arbitration adjudicate its objections. Pakistan, despite repeated efforts by India to find a mutually agreeable way forward, has refused to discuss the issue during the five meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission from 2017 to 2022.
