Srinagar- Peoples’ Conference president Sajad Lone on Wednesday described Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s remarks on the Indus Water Treaty as “rightwing gibberish” intended to appease the ruling BJP at the Centre.
Abdullah on Tuesday said the treaty between India and Pakistan was restricting the Union Territory’s ability to harness its huge hydel power potential, primarily due to storage constraints.
However, Handwara MLA Lone said the criticism was music to the ears of the ruling party at the Centre.
“Typical rightwing gibberish. And a recently elected chief minister is bending his back backwards to please the ruling party at the Centre,” he said in a post on X.
The Peoples’ Conference chief said he personally did not support the treaty as it was “unfair” and signed by the then ruling party in India.
However, he criticised the National Conference for its inaction on water resource management.
“May I, as a Kashmiri, ask that what have the previous ruling parties, especially the National Conference, which has been in power for the longest time, done with our water resources?” he said in the post.
He said Jammu and Kashmir had not harnessed even 20 per cent of its potential in hydroelectricity.
“And what we have harnessed is mostly owned by the NHPC. The NHPC’s most profitable projects are in Jammu and Kashmir. We should have been net exporters of power. (But) we are net importers of power,” he added.
He urged Abdullah to advocate for Jammu and Kashmir’s rights over its water resources.
Speaking at a conference of power ministers of states and Union territories in New Delhi, Abdullah had said the Indus Water Treaty was restricting Jammu and Kashmir’s ability to harness its huge hydel power potential, primarily due to storage constraints.
“As a fallout of the treaty barriers, Jammu and Kashmir pays a heavy price in the peak winter months when power generation hits a low, creating hardships for its people,” Abdullah had said.
He had highlighted the limiting clauses in the treaty that restricted Jammu and Kashmir from realising its full hydel power potential by only permitting run-of-the-river projects and said “hydel power is Jammu and Kashmir’s only viable energy source. The region is compelled to rely on power imports from other states, which adversely impacts its economy”.
Jammu and Kashmir will require special compensation from the Centre, including viability gap funding and equity assistance, to harness its untapped hydro-energy potential, the chief minister had said.
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