News Centre Plans Big Indus Gift For North India Ahead Of 2029 Elections

Anari

Anari

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Centre Plans Big Indus Gift For North India Ahead Of 2029 Elections

The government is trying to ensure that the project to make Indus water available to northern states is ready ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Reported by: Akhilesh Sharma Edited by: Chandrajit Mitra - India News
Sep 25, 2025

India is gearing up to make massive changes to the Indus River system to meet the water demands of the northern states. In a strategic move after suspending the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, the government is now trying to ensure that the project is ready ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

During a review meeting by senior ministers last Friday, it was stated that a detailed project report (DPR) is already being prepared to construct a 14-km tunnel that would connect the Indus River with the Beas River, both part of the Indus system, according to people privy to the developments.

Multinational construction firm L&T has been tasked with preparing the project report. It is expected to be ready by next year.

The work on the proposed 113-km canal that would deliver the Indus water to the northern states was also reviewed at the meeting, sources added.

The Indus Water Treaty was a landmark water-sharing deal signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan following an intervention by the World Bank. India suspended the treaty in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with the government asserting that "water and blood can't flow together".

The government had since been working on a detailed plan to utilize India's share of the Indus water. To make this a reality, an ambitious project has been conceived under the Inter-Basin Indus Water Transfer Scheme and is being monitored at the highest levels of the government.

The most challenging part of this project is the construction of the 14-km tunnel, say sources. Such a tunnel would require a detailed study of the mountain rocks, and in case of weaker rocks, the tunnel will be laid through pipes. Its construction will begin after the government receives the DPR report.

The use of tunnel boring machines and rock shield technology has been proposed to ensure speed and safety. The tunnel would also be connected to the Ujh Multipurpose Project in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir to enable water transfer from the Ujh River, a tributary of the Ravi, to the Beas Basin.

The completion of this tunnel will connect the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej system to the Indus Basin, enabling India to maximize the utility of its share of water. Sources estimate that its construction will take three to four years and be ready by 2028. The estimated cost is around Rs 4,000-5,000 crore.

The tunnel's construction will be carried out in separate sections, it was informed during Friday's meeting.

The project aims to increase irrigation capacity in the arid regions of Rajasthan by diverting water to the Indira Gandhi Canal. States like Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab will also benefit from this project. A canal will be built to connect the Chenab River to the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej system. It will be linked to the existing canal systems of these states so that water can reach the Indira Gandhi Canal directly and deliver the water to Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.

Besides, the project will also enhance drinking water availability in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

The project will stop the excess water from India's share from flowing to Pakistan, thus strengthening the country's water security and reaffirming the government's resolve that "water and blood can't flow together". It will also help address the impacts of climate change and changing rainfall patterns, besides strengthening the existing 13 canal systems.

There are further plans to extend the length of the Ranbir Canal from 60 to 120 km in Jammu.

 
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Dear mods,

Make this thread sticky because there will be regular news on this subject - construction of dams, tunnels, etc.
 
Anari said:
Centre Plans Big Indus Gift For North India Ahead Of 2029 Elections

The government is trying to ensure that the project to make Indus water available to northern states is ready ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Reported by: Akhilesh Sharma Edited by: Chandrajit Mitra - India News
Sep 25, 2025

India is gearing up to make massive changes to the Indus River system to meet the water demands of the northern states. In a strategic move after suspending the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, the government is now trying to ensure that the project is ready ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

During a review meeting by senior ministers last Friday, it was stated that a detailed project report (DPR) is already being prepared to construct a 14-km tunnel that would connect the Indus River with the Beas River, both part of the Indus system, according to people privy to the developments.

Multinational construction firm L&T has been tasked with preparing the project report. It is expected to be ready by next year.

The work on the proposed 113-km canal that would deliver the Indus water to the northern states was also reviewed at the meeting, sources added.

The Indus Water Treaty was a landmark water-sharing deal signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan following an intervention by the World Bank. India suspended the treaty in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with the government asserting that "water and blood can't flow together".

The government had since been working on a detailed plan to utilize India's share of the Indus water. To make this a reality, an ambitious project has been conceived under the Inter-Basin Indus Water Transfer Scheme and is being monitored at the highest levels of the government.

The most challenging part of this project is the construction of the 14-km tunnel, say sources. Such a tunnel would require a detailed study of the mountain rocks, and in case of weaker rocks, the tunnel will be laid through pipes. Its construction will begin after the government receives the DPR report.

The use of tunnel boring machines and rock shield technology has been proposed to ensure speed and safety. The tunnel would also be connected to the Ujh Multipurpose Project in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir to enable water transfer from the Ujh River, a tributary of the Ravi, to the Beas Basin.

The completion of this tunnel will connect the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej system to the Indus Basin, enabling India to maximize the utility of its share of water. Sources estimate that its construction will take three to four years and be ready by 2028. The estimated cost is around Rs 4,000-5,000 crore.

The tunnel's construction will be carried out in separate sections, it was informed during Friday's meeting.

The project aims to increase irrigation capacity in the arid regions of Rajasthan by diverting water to the Indira Gandhi Canal. States like Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab will also benefit from this project. A canal will be built to connect the Chenab River to the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej system. It will be linked to the existing canal systems of these states so that water can reach the Indira Gandhi Canal directly and deliver the water to Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.

Besides, the project will also enhance drinking water availability in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

The project will stop the excess water from India's share from flowing to Pakistan, thus strengthening the country's water security and reaffirming the government's resolve that "water and blood can't flow together". It will also help address the impacts of climate change and changing rainfall patterns, besides strengthening the existing 13 canal systems.

There are further plans to extend the length of the Ranbir Canal from 60 to 120 km in Jammu.

Click to expand...
Most people think we "suspended" the IWT coz of our policy of terror & water can't flow together. However that was merely a pretext to undo what is essentially a deeply unequal treaty whose continuation would have jeopardized Northern India .

North India is one of the most water stressed regions on the planet apart from pockets in other parts of the country especially in peninsular India or the Deccan. Paxtan is too , primarily because of their critical dependence on the Indus Water System .

www.wri.org

25 Countries, Housing One-Quarter of the Population, Face Extremely High Water Stress

New data on WRI's Aqueduct platform ranks the world's most water-stressed countries. One-quarter of the global population regularly use up their entire water supply.
www.wri.org www.wri.org

We need to implement mandatory rain water harvesting , water recycling in all our Tier 1,2 , 3 & 4 cities on yesterday's basis. All coastal cities ought to go in for de salinated sea water treatment plants to make up for at least 50% if not more of their consumption in as short a time period as possible.

Equally drip irrigation must be made mandatory for crops with water guzzling crops banned in areas of high water stress like paddy cultivation in Punjab & sugar cane cultivation in Maharashtra. However there are considerable political risks to it , hence these moves ought to be graduated over the course of time.

Another reason we aren't going in for EV adoption on a war footing is coz like the rest of the world we don't wish to trade one dependency for another as far as energy goes. However this will have unintended consequences on our energy & water policies.

The original plan of breeding Thorium as a fuel for Thorium fired N reactors was to have taken care of running such massive de salination plants whose power requirements would be equally massive as envisaged by our planners in newly independent India led by Dr Bhabha onwards.

However given the slow progress we're making in this realm , it's anyone's guess when can we expect them . That power requirement can be offset by renewable energy like solar & wind to an extent. Unfortunately coal will also feature considerably in those plans.

The BSR & SMR couldn't have come at a better time for in addition to massive power requirements for the aforementioned activity we've also to cater to other power guzzling new ventures like Data Centers , new industrial set ups , massive urbanization etc. The key here is quick approvals followed by massive implementation.

Just to give you an idea of what the rest of the world is facing & how climate change along with water scarcity can trigger off events with deep political ramifications enough to upend the world order as we see it today , I'm linking a few documentaries on what the situation is in our immediate & extended neighborhood 👇



& the solutions at hand . 👇



Apart from political problems plaguing various parts of Asia which as I've pointed out before will see resolution one way or another by the end of next decade this one problem has the potential to have even more devastating consequences which wars being predicted in our part of the world will be unable to solve on a permanent basis.

Unfortunately there are simply far too many humans dependent on ever decreasing resources like potable water which will devastate many other parts of the world especially our part .

If we don't do what we're doing to Paxtan , we risk facing a civil war. Better fatalities on their side than ours. However this isn't going to end well especially when both countries are N powers .

Even assuming we along with like minded partners de fang them of N Weapons, we'd still be faced with a massive highly radicalised population with no productive work or resources to sustain themselves . All these issues will manifest itself in sectarian conflicts , religious conflicts , etc .

It's high time we start thinking in terms of the final solution for the other side is doing so in any case & since partition. And I'm not just referring to Paxtan here . BD is turning out to be a smaller yet more deadlier version of Paxtan.

More deadlier coz they've already anywhere between 30-60 million of their people settled here since independence across the country who've now intermingled with the local muslim population here. And that's not all , as BD keeps unravelling we'd be faced with unprecedented numbers trying to come across.

We'd be unable to prevent all of them & those that make it across will serve as footsoldiers to an ever growing 5th column of which what we saw in Delhi recently was only a small trailer.

We're in for massive conflicts for the rest of this century & it's coming at a time of a precipitous drop in our TFR making this an existential war . Make no mistake about that.

Just my 2 cent weekend rant.
 
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_Anonymous_ said:
Most people think we "suspended" the IWT coz of our policy of terror & water can't flow together. However that was merely a pretext to undo what is essentially a deeply unequal treaty whose continuation would have jeopardized Northern India .

North India is one of the most water stressed regions on the planet apart from pockets in other parts of the country especially in peninsular India or the Deccan. Paxtan is too , primarily because of their critical dependence on the Indus Water System .

www.wri.org

25 Countries, Housing One-Quarter of the Population, Face Extremely High Water Stress

New data on WRI's Aqueduct platform ranks the world's most water-stressed countries. One-quarter of the global population regularly use up their entire water supply.
www.wri.org www.wri.org

We need to implement mandatory rain water harvesting , water recycling in all our Tier 1,2 , 3 & 4 cities on yesterday's basis. All coastal cities ought to go in for de salinated sea water treatment plants to make up for at least 50% if not more of their consumption in as short a time period as possible.

Equally drip irrigation must be made mandatory for crops with water guzzling crops banned in areas of high water stress like paddy cultivation in Punjab & sugar cane cultivation in Maharashtra. However there are considerable political risks to it , hence these moves ought to be graduated over the course of time.

Another reason we aren't going in for EV adoption on a war footing is coz like the rest of the world we don't wish to trade one dependency for another as far as energy goes. However this will have unintended consequences on our energy & water policies.

The original plan of breeding Thorium as a fuel for Thorium fired N reactors was to have taken care of running such massive de salination plants whose power requirements would be equally massive as envisaged by our planners in newly independent India led by Dr Bhabha onwards.

However given the slow progress we're making in this realm , it's anyone's guess when can we expect them . That power requirement can be offset by renewable energy like solar & wind to an extent. Unfortunately coal will also feature considerably in those plans.

The BSR & SMR couldn't have come at a better time for in addition to massive power requirements for the aforementioned activity we've also to cater to other power guzzling new ventures like Data Centers , new industrial set ups , massive urbanization etc. The key here is quick approvals followed by massive implementation.

Just to give you an idea of what the rest of the world is facing & how climate change along with water scarcity can trigger off events with deep political ramifications enough to upend the world order as we see it today , I'm linking a few documentaries on what the situation is in our immediate & extended neighborhood 👇



& the solutions at hand . 👇



Apart from political problems plaguing various parts of Asia which as I've pointed out before will see resolution one way or another by the end of next decade this one problem has the potential to have even more devastating consequences which wars being predicted in our part of the world will be unable to solve on a permanent basis.

Unfortunately there are simply far too many humans dependent on ever decreasing resources like potable water which will devastate many other parts of the world especially our part .

If we don't do what we're doing to Paxtan , we risk facing a civil war. Better fatalities on their side than ours. However this isn't going to end well especially when both countries are N powers .

Even assuming we along with like minded partners de fang them of N Weapons, we'd still be faced with a massive highly radicalised population with no productive work or resources to sustain themselves . All these issues will manifest itself in sectarian conflicts , religious conflicts , etc .

It's high time we start thinking in terms of the final solution for the other side is doing so in any case & since partition. And I'm not just referring to Paxtan here . BD is turning out to be a smaller yet more deadlier version of Paxtan.

More deadlier coz they've already anywhere between 30-60 million of their people settled here since independence across the country who've now intermingled with the local muslim population here. And that's not all , as BD keeps unravelling we'd be faced with unprecedented numbers trying to come across.

We'd be unable to prevent all of them & those that make it across will serve as footsoldiers to an ever growing 5th column of which what we saw in Delhi recently was only a small trailer.

We're in for massive conflicts for the rest of this century & it's coming at a time of a precipitous drop in our TFR making this an existential war . Make no mistake about that.

Just my 2 cent weekend rant.
Click to expand...

If I may add another cent there. For all the galore and applaud US policy makers and society get for "good" policies, development etc..
I find them one of the worst in modern times. My Rationale being:

US has got one of, if not The Best Geography in the world. It is very big. It has all types of weather, terrain needed for ample agriculture. It has almost all the resources it needs. It has the Money, the manpower, geopolitical heft. Everything a nation needs to be as close to utopia as possible.
And yet! And yet! They are failing their residents. A country like that should be efficient and affordable. It should be a country with little to no poverty and exploitation that goes on there.

India and maybe China ( not Tibetan, mongolian lands) should be given far more praise then the west for reaching where we are. As a nation with very high population density. Comparably lower available arable land, went through centuries of exploitation from outsiders, every kind of resource crisis.

America doesn't use resources, it wastes them. Way too much.
 
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Posting this here as can't locate the right thread & too lazy to create a new one .

Timely topical discussion on the single biggest threat we're likely to face in the sub continent namely water security.

While we're indeed taking up measures these are too little too late & half hearted in my opinion which won't achieve the desired results.

What's needed is a holistic approach as pointed out in the video involving everyone from the top to the bottom , state central municipal & gram panchayat level participation which means de centralisation of powers & true empowerment of local bodies .

Secondly it's time the need for potable water is also linked to agricultural industrial usage apart from sanitation requirement such that water usage is optimised , provisions for storage made for rain water harvesting , water recycling for industrial & sanitation purposes & optimised usage for agriculture thru widespread adoption of drip irrigation techniques.

All this needs to be done on a war footing as we're already in a race against time else what Paxtan is going to face in the next few years is something we'd soon face perhaps within a decade give or take.
 
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_Anonymous_ said:


Posting this here as can't locate the right thread & too lazy to create a new one .

Timely topical discussion on the single biggest threat we're likely to face in the sub continent namely water security.

While we're indeed taking up measures these are too little too late & half hearted in my opinion which won't achieve the desired results.

What's needed is a holistic approach as pointed out in the video involving everyone from the top to the bottom , state central municipal & gram panchayat level participation which means de centralisation of powers & true empowerment of local bodies .

Secondly it's time the need for potable water is also linked to agricultural industrial usage apart from sanitation requirement such that water usage is optimised , provisions for storage made for rain water harvesting , water recycling for industrial & sanitation purposes & optimised usage for agriculture thru widespread adoption of drip irrigation techniques.

All this needs to be done on a war footing as we're already in a race against time else what Paxtan is going to face in the next few years is something we'd soon face perhaps within a decade give or take.
Click to expand...

Right Now , India is waiting for Monsoon rains to start

Especially given the El Nino Factor this year
 
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