Indus Treaty a mistake, govt to draw water use plan: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

After suspending the Indus Water Treaty, the Centre will frame short-, mid- and long-term plans to utilise river waters for irrigation in border states, says Chouhan

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the government will prepare “short-, mid- and long-term” plans to utilise the waters granted to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty, to provide irrigation facilities to farmers—particularly those in border states.

 

He said the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 is a “historic decision” in the national interest.

 

The government suspended the decades-old treaty following the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, in a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April.

 

Calling the 1960 treaty with Pakistan a “historical mistake” by the then government, Chouhan said it allowed maximum water usage by the neighbouring country.

 

“I want to share one important fact with our farmers. There was a historical mistake, and that was the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960,” he said.

 

The minister stated that it was unfortunate that 80 per cent of the water from Indian rivers—including the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum—was allowed to flow to Pakistan under the terms of the treaty.

 

Following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, the government decided to suspend the agreement.

 

“The Indian government will make short-term, mid-term and long-term plans to ensure every drop of water is utilised by our farmers,” Chouhan said.

 

He asserted that the suspension of the treaty serves the interests of the farming community.

 

With this move, farmers in the border states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, will have greater access to water for irrigation.

 

“This is a historic decision, which is in the country’s interest and also in the farmers’ interest,” Chouhan said.

 

He also reiterated that the government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, is determined to eliminate terrorism from its roots.

 

Chouhan further praised the Indian Army for the successful execution of Operation Sindoor.

 

On the intervening night of 6–7 May, the Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan, including Bahawalpur—a stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit—and Muridke, a base of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

 

The strikes under Operation Sindoor were conducted two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Pahalgam.