India pushes Chenab hydropower buildout and signals readiness to renegotiate Indus Waters Treaty
India is pushing for faster development of a series of hydropower projects on the Chenab river and is signalling that the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan would need to be renegotiated before any return to normal cooperation, according to government sources. The move comes a year after New Delhi put the six-decade-old water-sharing pact in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack. The projects are being presented by officials as part of India's wider water-security and clean-energy strategy.
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Government sources said the priority is the speedy completion of five Chenab projects with a combined capacity of more than 5,000 megawatts. Those named are the 1,856 MW Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project, the 1,000 MW Pakal Dul Project, the 850 MW Ratle Project, the 624 MW Kiru Project and the 540 MW Kwar Project. Sources said the Kiru and Pakal projects are expected to be completed by the end of this year, while the others are expected within the next two to three years.
Officials quoted in the report said the treaty, in its present form, "cannot function again" and that it has outlived its utility. They said any future reactivation of the river water-sharing provisions would require a modified agreement, and that this would depend on Pakistan permanently ending cross-border terrorism directed against India. The sources also said Pakistan has not shown signs of ending such activity, which they described as a pre-condition for resuming cooperation under the treaty.
The developments matter because the Indus Waters Treaty has long been one of the few durable agreements between India and Pakistan, governing the use of rivers that are vital to agriculture, power generation and water security on both sides of the border. A shift toward renegotiation would mark a significant hardening of India's position and could affect a sensitive area of bilateral relations that has historically been insulated from some other disputes. The Chenab basin is especially important because it sits at the centre of the treaty's rules on river use and hydropower development.
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The government sources said the projects are being framed not only as energy infrastructure but also as part of broader basin management and regional development. They said the schemes would strengthen India's hydropower capacity and support grid stability, while allowing fuller use of what they described as India's legitimate rights under the Indus basin. The report also said the Indian approach is being shaped by Pakistan's efforts to mobilise international opinion in its favour.
What remains unclear is whether any formal diplomatic channel has been opened for renegotiation, or how Pakistan would respond if India moves ahead with a revised framework. The timing of the remaining projects, especially the larger Sawalkote, Ratle and Kwar schemes, will also be closely watched. For now, the immediate signal is that New Delhi is linking water cooperation to security concerns and treating the treaty as unlikely to resume in its current form.
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