NEW DELHI: With India looking at full exploitation of its rights under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan, a high-level inter-ministerial task force held its first meeting on Friday, focussing on bringing Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir on board for speeding up work on the ground through better co-ordination.
Discussions at the meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister’s principal secretary Nripendra Mishra, revolved around fast-tracking proposed hydro-power projects in Jammu and Kashmir and building necessary infrastructure, including storage capacity, to tap water from three western rivers of the Indus system — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
Since Punjab’s participation in the entire process is also important due to India’s right over the eastern river system (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej), chief secretary of the state also attended the meeting.
