In a series of tweets, Union water minister Nitin Gadkari said: "Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab". A dam is being built on the Ravi river at Shahpur-Kandi. "Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states," a second tweet from the minister read. "He (Nitin Gadkari) is talking about diverting India's share of Indus water, which was going to Pakistan - and he has always been saying this as you all know," news agency ANI quoted Neeta Prasad, a senior official from the Water Resource ministry as saying. Under the Indus Waters Treaty -- brokered by the World Bank and signed by India and Pakistan in 1960 -- India has control over the waters of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers. Pakistan has control over the waters from Jhelum, Chenab and Indus. Of the total 168 million acre-feet, India's share of water from the three rivers is 33 million acre-feet, which constitutes nearly 20 per cent. India uses nearly 93-94 per cent of its share under the Indus Waters Treaty. The rest of the water remains unutilised and flows to Pakistan. This is the water that India has decided to stop. After the attack at the CRPF camp at Uri in 2016 by Pakistani terrorists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, "Blood and water cannot flow simultaneously". The government then announced the suspension of talks of the Indus Water Commission. A decision was also taken to fast-track dam construction to block the unutilised water through three projects -- at Shahpur-Kandi and a second Sutlej-Beas link in Punjab and the Ujh dam in Jammu and Kashmir. The projects, announced in 2016, have recently been inaugurated. The Indus Water Commission talks, however, started again a few months after the Uri attack. In the interval, the army had conducted surgical strikes on terror bases across the Line of Control.<doc-sep>Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the government is working on project to divert water from three rivers flowing into Pakistan from India in order to improve availability of water in the Yamuna. He said both the countries hold the right to use water flowing in three rivers each under the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960. But India has not utilised river waters it is permitted to use under the agreement, he said. “After formation of India and Pakistan, India and Pakistan got the right to use waters in three rivers each. The water from our three rivers is going to Pakistan. Now, we are planning to build a project and divert the water from these three rivers into Yamuna river. Once this happens, Yamuna will have more water,” news agency ANI quotes Nitin Gadkari as saying at a public event in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat on Wednesday. Watch: Post Pulwama, Gadkari talks of diverting water from 3 rivers back to India On Thursday evening, Gadkari took to Twitter to say that all the three projects have been declared as national projects. “Under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab,” the minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation wrote on the microblogging site. Also Read | Paramilitary jawans deployed in Kashmir allowed air travel; govt issues order after Pulwama attack In another tweet, Gadkari said, “The construction of dam has started at Shahpur - Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states.” Gadkari’s comment has come at a time when India has mounted pressure on Pakistan in the wake of a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama last week. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed in the attack, for which Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility. India responded by revoking the most favoured nation (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan in 1996. It also hiked tariff on imports from Pakistan by 200 per cent. Also Read | In backdrop of Pulwama terror attack, resolution on Kashmir situation likely in upcoming RSS meet In an aggressive diplomatic move, the ministry of external affairs reached out to more than two dozen countries including P5 – the US, the UK, France, Russia and China, which has repeatedly used its veto to block sanctions against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar at the United Nations. This is not the first time, however, when Gadkari has spoken about construction of projects on these rivers, whose water is going unutilised into Pakistan. In January this year, Gadkari had said India’s share of water has been going to Pakistan without being utilised asserting that “we have decided that we will stop the flow and divert the water which is rightfully ours”. According to the Indus Waters Treaty, subject to certain conditions, India has the right to use water flowing in eastern rivers, namely, the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej while Pakistan controls the right to use water in western rivers, namely, the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab.<doc-sep>File image: Nitin Gadkari Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari announced on February 21 that India will stop water sharing with Pakistan. He said water from the eastern rivers will be diverted and supplied to the people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. The announcement comes days after a dastardly terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir which killed 40 jawans. The Centre has expedited a slew of measures to isolate Pakistan on global platforms and minimise trade with the neighbouring country. However, government officials clarified that the move was not a direct impact of the Pulwama attack. Rather, it was implementation of a Cabinet decision taken on December 6, 2018. The construction of dam has started at Shahpur- Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states. — Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019 Gadkari tweeted: The two nations share the waters of six rivers – Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. In August 2018, India had said that they were open to talks to resolve the dispute over sharing river waters, after Imran Khan took charge as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The dispute was over India constructing two dams on the Chenab. The six rivers have been a potential source of conflict between the two countries even after a treaty on water sharing was signed in 1960. In 2016, New Delhi had said that India will review the treaty after 17 jawans were killed in the Uri attack in Kashmir. Under the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960, Pakistan has exclusive rights on the western rivers – Indus, Chenab and Jhelum; while India has exclusive rights on the eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The treaty was signed after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory. The treaty allows construction of dams for power generation until they don’t affect the flow.<doc-sep>Nitin Gadkari indicated that the water of the rivers, which were given to Pakistan during partition, would now be diverted and used to nurture the Yamuna. Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the Central government was planning to build three projects on three rivers, water of which was flowing to Pakistan. This step has been taken to block the flow of India's share of Indus water into the neighbouring nation. The Union minister indicated that the water of the rivers, which was given to Pakistan during partition, would now be diverted and used to nurture the Yamuna. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, India shares the waters of the Beas and Sutlej rivers with Pakistan. The development has come in the aftermath of the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama which killed 40 CRPF personnel. They died after an explosive-laden SUV rammed into a convoy bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. While addressing the gathering at a rally, Nitin Gadkari said, "Bharat aur Pakistan hone ke baad, jo humaari teen nadiyan Pakistan ko mili thhi aur teen Bharat ko mili thhi. Humaare teen nadiyon ke adhikaar ka paani Pakistan mein ja raha thha, abb uss par teen project karke yeh paani bhi Yamuna mein wapas la rahe hain [India and Pakistan got three rivers each. So, the water which we rightfully owned was going into Pakistan. Now water of those three rivers will be diverted to Yamuna.]" Gadkari later took to Twitter and said the surplus water would be diverted to Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019 'Surplus water to be used by Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan' Hailing the government's decision to stop India's share of river water from flowing to Pakistan, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the excess water not utilised by Jammu and Kashmir would now be used by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. He added the Centre's decision had corrected a long-standing anomaly. "The earlier governments have to answer why they sat over this (Shahpur-Kandi) project for nearly half a century. It (the decision to stop water going to Pakistan) is a correction of a long-standing anomaly which remained unattended by the earlier governments," the minister told PTI. Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said the construction of the Shahpur-Kandi dam on river Ravi was started due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "When completed, the entire water of river Ravi, which was flowing into Pakistan despite being India's share of water under the Indus Water Treaty, will now be utilised in the border districts of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Gurdaspur in Punjab," he said. Singh, who is a Lok Sabha member from Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur constituency, said a pragmatic decision was taken by the government to simultaneously construct a canal system so that water, which is not utilised by Jammu and Kashmir, can be used by neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan instead of flowing into Pakistan. Also Read | Pulwama fallout: Kashmiri shawl vendor thrashed in West Bengal's Nadia<doc-sep>
New Delhi: The government has decided to "stop" the flow of India’s share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Water Treaty, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday, a week after the Pulwama terror attack claimed the lives of 40 CRPF soldiers. "Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern Rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab," Gadkari tweeted. The move to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighbouring country. However, an official later clarified that it was not a "new decision" and that the water resources minister was "simply reiterating" what he has always said. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop flow of India's share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016 as well. Officials said the actual implementation of the decision may take up to six years as dams as high as 100 metres will have to be built to stop flow of water. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers - the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers - the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej - to India. India's share of water from Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers came to 33 million acres feet (MAF). While about 95 per cent of the water was being used in the country after the construction of three main dams across the rivers, close to 5 per cent water or 1.6 MAF would flow to Pakistan. To gain access to this water, India is now building more dams which will be completed in six years, officials said. In another tweet, Gadkari said, "The construction of dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states." In an address at a public rally at Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, Gadkari said, "We have started the work of purification of river Yamuna ... After the formation of India and Pakistan, Pakistan got three rivers, and India got three rivers. The rightful water of our three rivers was flowing to Pakistan." "Now we will build three projects on them, and divert the water to river Yamuna," he said. The Union Cabinet in December had approved the Shahpurkandi dam project on the Ravi river in Punjab, a move that was intended to help India arrest its share of water flowing into Pakistan. For this, a central assistance of Rs 485.38 crore for irrigation component over five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23 was also announced. In September 2018, the Punjab and the Jammu and Kashmir governments had signed an agreement to resume works on the Rs 2,793-crore Shahpur-Kandi project, according to officials. Though the work on the project began in 2013, it was halted due to certain issues raised by J-K.